Letter ; Letter (copy) : Situation in Spain

              INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF TRADE UNIONS
9,  AVENUE  D'ORSAY, PARIS-VIIe
TELEGRAMS : INTERFED-PARIS 
TELEPHONE : INVALIDES 45-88
AFFILIATED COUNTRIES:
ARGENTINE AUSTRIA BELGIUM CANADA CZECHOSLOVAKIA DANTZIG DENMARK DUTCH EAST INDIES ESTONIA FINLAND FRANCE GREAT BRITAIN GREECE HOLLAND HUNGARY INDIA LUXEMBURG MEMEL TERRITORY MEXICO NORWAY PALESTINE POLAND ROUMANIA SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH-WEST AFRICA SPAIN SWEDEN SWITZERLAND YUGOSLAVIA 
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: 
President: W.M. Citrine, Great Britain
Vice-Presidents: H. Jacobson, Denmark; L. Jouhaux, France; E. Kupers, Holland; Corn. Mertens, Belgium; R. Tayerle, Czechoslovakia
General Secretary: W. Schevenels
Sch/H
Letter 
No.
AIR MAIL AND EXPRESS:
13th August 1936.
Mr. Walter M. Citrine,
LONDON.
Dear Citrine,
On receipt of your letter of the 11th August, confirming our telephone conversation about medical assistance for our Spanish comrades, I at once got into touch with our friend de los Rios, in the Spanish Embassy in Paris and informed him of the whole matter. I not only gave him your letter to read, which he did very carefully, but I also informed him of the attitude of various other quarters which have already sent, or intend to send, ambulances and medicaments.
Comrade de los Rios confirmed the previous reply which I had received from him in this matter, from Comrade de Asua and from the chief of the Government medical service, namely, that there is no urgent need of medicaments, ambulances or surgeons, since the Spanish Governmental troops and militia have at their disposal the necessary ambulances and an ample number of highly qualified surgeons. Of course, de los Rios said, the sending of ambulances, as the French have done, or of medicaments and food, as the Belgians have done, is of a high symbolic value and helps to encourage and raise the morale of all those fighting for the democratic republic.  In the same way, the despatch of a British ambulance unit or units would have an important moral effect.
Nevertheless, Comrade de los Rios agrees with you that, on such an important matter of policy in the international solidarity campaign, it is very valuable to have the official opinion of the Spanish Government and the Spanish leaders in Madrid, and he therefore promised to get into touch at once with the competent bodies in Madrid and to let me know their point of view. I will wire you as soon as I receive any information on this matter.
Yours sincerely,
W. Schevenels, 
General Secretary: