The Washington times., 1936-09-17
BY III. r. KNICKERBOCKER
copyright. 1886. by International
News Servioa)

white army in the south, took me
to see Gen. Queipo de Llano. com
mander in the south Of the opera.
tons in Andalusia, that is to say
against Malaga principally for the
moment at which this is written
This redoubtable figure Is one
Of the most colorful takers on the
white side, and every evening for
half an hour and sometimes more,
he pours out Of the Seville radio
q whitening blast against the reds,
But he is just as colorful a
fighter. # Madrid had possessed
a white general with the CUTS
and quickfire decision Of de nano,
the capital would have fallen on
the day after Franco raised the
banner of revolt in Morocco.
Captain Bolin and I walked
into the generals headquarters,
saluted by 20 or 80 guards at the
doors. Captain Bolin's uniform
Of q captain Of the Foreign Legion
is better than any pass. The
Foreign Legion insignia is &C
cepted in white Spain as brevet
Of the elite military, a grade bet
ter than anything else in the
army.
In Civilian Clothes
General de Ilano's office door
was open, half concealed by a
screen. A visitor came out the
door, also a general. Captain
Bolin asked him if de Llano were
in. At that moment de Ilano ap-
peared at the door, to my surprise
in civilian Clothes beach suit
crinkled pretty badly.
The Savior Of Seville" was
most hospitable. He had an air
Of dignity and gravity which com
pletely belied the previous descrip-
tions I had heard Of him. He re-
minded me Of the old-faShioned
genuine Southern colonel at home
in America. -.
He is tall, thin, getting a bit
baldiSh, but has enough hair 70
part in the middle. His mouth Is
thin beneath a scanty moustache
He told me how he had taken
Seville.
He took it by sheer audacity.
This was a red city with tens OF
thousands of Frente Popular sup
porterS ready to go out in the
streets and shoot the military. But
General de Llano beat them to it.
With only 100 soldiers, he knew ne
could do nothing but die II he
took the defensive. So he put his
100 soldiers in automobiles and
sent them riding about the city.
blazing away at the least sign OF
resistance.
The first people they met were
q group of several hundred assault
guards, the organization which
the Madrid government h a d
founded to counterfeit the famous
Guardia Civil, who were always in
clined to favor the right.
Join His Forces
These Seville assault guards did
not know for sure which side they
were on, but General de Lano de
cided for them. The sight OF the
generals men, the generals own
firm behavior, convinced the as
Sault guards that this was the win
ming side, so they joined up instead
Of resisting. From then on, it was
easy and the de Lano army by
nightfall numbered thousands.
This is always the way it hap
pens in political or civil conflict.
Eighty per cent Of the people are
undecided or indifferent. About 10
per cent on the left and 10 on the
right know what they want, and
are deteremined to get it. The
side which puts up the greatest
show Of strength can count on
gaining the support Of the vast
majority who are looking for the
bandwagon.
General De Llano made Seville
believe he was the bandwagon.
Nobody in Madrid had the same
CUTS. Instead of going out on the
streets and shooting, the officers
Of the Madrid garrison stayed in
their barracks and waited for
FRANCOIS columns from Morocco.
But the navy rebelled, killed all
their officers and, long before
Franco got his airplanes to fly
and convoy his troops across the
Straits of Gibraltar, the officers
of the Madrid garrison were over
come, herded together and shot.
Pictures Of ShOotings
The memory Of that shooting of
the Madrid officers is one Of the
strongest motives in the hearts of
the white army today. I have
seen officers carrying pictures of
the shootingS, clipped from for
eign publications. They were some
remarkable pictures. One Of the
NEST vivid and terrible photo.
graphs I have ever seen was that
Of 8 Madrid officer c6lning out of
barracks with his hands in the air
and a wildly grinning red militia.
man holding an automatic re
golyer to the officers head.