A SPECTRE IS HAUNTING COMMISSIONER WOOD:

The CLARION

Organ of the Ottawa District of the Communist Party of Canada
Price: five cents Vol. 1.No.14 Feb. 25, 1941

Commissioner S.T.Wood, R.C.M.P., recently suffered a stricture and shot off his typewriter in The Canadian Spokesman. After a few introductory remarks about the need of stopping the activities of Nazi and Fascist agents in Canada (who, incidently, were never even bothered by the police until war broke out) the Commissioner displays his real purpose by announcing that his MAIN enemy is the Communist Party of Canada. Suppression of the Communists, complains Wood bitterly, is complicated because “your Red has the protection of citizenship and his foreign master is not officially an enemy.” In other words, Canadian Communists are Canadians, but the R.C.M.P. could nullify this if only Canada would declare war against the Soviet Union. A pretty thought, Commissioner.

We know what is bothering Commissioner Wood. Despite vigilant sleuthing, the R.C.M.P. have failed to stop the Communist Party from telling the truth about the war to the Canadian people, via underground press, leaflets and radio. And in Ottawa, the nation’s capitol, the illegal Clarion appears regularly and circulates widely, causing the Commissioner plenty of headaches. Within the past two weeks, Commissioner, you have received letters from Vancouver, Winnipeg, Windsor, Toronto, London and Kingston informing you that the Ottawa Clarion is still publishing, despite your official statement that “the R.C.M.P. have no reason to believe that any Communist paper is being printed in Ottawa, but are actively searching for the printing place.” A Mr. Clark of Windsor was quite sarcastic about it, wasn’t he, Commissioner? (What’s that? How do we know? Why, Commissioner, it’s simple: we read your mail. Turn about is fair play, you know.)

Yes, Commissioner, you’ve got the jitters. But that recent switch in the Ottawa Red Squad personnel won’t help you. We have been acquainted with that new inspector from out west from away back when. And why did you demote the local squad sergeant just because he couldn’t locate the Clarion print shop? We think your employees need a trade union to protect their jobs.

“Many may be surprised to hear that it is not the Nazi nor the Fascist but the radical who constitutes our most troublesome problem,” you write in the Spokesman. No doubt “the gullible public” (as you so contemptuously refer to the Canadian people) will be surprised. Most persons had an idea that the war was against the Nazis and Fascists. But not you, Commissioner, not you. Why, some of your best friends are Fascists!

“A few parliamentarians, who are apparently sincere but, obviously un-informed or indifferent to facts, are greatly encouraging the subversive elements by attacking the Defense of Canada Regulations,” you write. Lapointe had to rise in parliament and apologize for your stupid blunder--and tell us, Commissioner, did you get your ears slapped in private for making this slip of the tongue? We’d respect you more if you’d openly say what you think, i.e. : “To hell with democracy! Give me a big enough police force and I’ll do as good a job in Canada as Himmler and the Gestapo in Germany. What has Hitler and Himmler got that I haven’t got?”

Don’t look now, Commissioner, but your face is Red!