The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1936-07-31

EZRA, July 31.-Spain's white
army is on the offensive in the
north, and Madrid's reds are in
retreat.
Today, as we stood behind a
pair Of periscope binoculars, ankle
deep in the debris of war at the
front, was the first time this de-
cisive statement could be made on
the basis Of first-hand obServa-
ton by o neutral.
Eyes Confirm Victory
Artillery drumming in our ears
and shells bursting before Our eyes
down the valley on the way to
Madrid confirmed the victory Of
the whites.
Here at the front, SPANS civil
war in all its blood and drifts
idealism. its stencil, its heroism,
and its cruelty-became a binding
reality, and all the lies of the
reds and whites propaganda
agencies were dissolved in the
light Of battle.
All Europe is watching this war,
conscious the outcome may deter
mine the future Of the Continent,
and every nationalist prejudice
seeks to influence its by second
hand reporting.
Thus the dictator nations want
the whites to win, and the radical
nations want Madrid to win. but
mostly the betting favors Madrid
because Madrid controls the
strongest radio and can censor all
news from the Capital.
Watches Red Retreat
For this reason reports that
Madrid still holds the primary
pass of Some Sierra are given
credence, but today we stood on
the end of that pass; looking to-
ward the capital, and watched the
whites far up the road throw
salvo after salvo into the retreat
ing reds.
Until today it was impossible
personally to authenticate the
whites claim of domination of the
most important northern gateway
to the Capital. some IS miles
away.
Today we verified as eye-wit-
ness. first, that the whites have
conquered the entire pass, second,
that they have further stretch
Of territory dominating the next
village of Buitargo, third, that
they can advance, at any rate
surely even though slowly, and
fourth, that if they were forced to
go on the defensive they should be
able to hold the pass and thus
protect their northern provinces
with Burgos at the capital In
definitely.
Miles of Wreckage
We reached 100 miles from the
base at BurgoS after a three hours
drive along a trail of all the
familiar weckage Of war. For
10 days the seven miles of Some
Sierra pass has been the stage Of
a bitter struggle.
Purifying cadavers Of horses
and mules strewed the slopes on
both sides of the pass and filled
the air with horrifying death.
Men wounded but able to walk
passed us grim-faced. Beside the
road scores Of wrecked passenger
cars and trucks, riddled with
machine-gun bullets or blown into
q tangle of twisted metal by
bombs, gave evidence Of the ele-
mental violence Of the conflict.
Again and again our car had to
detour around huge motorbuseS
flung sideways across the road,
with their interiors burst into bits.
Each Of these buses had contained
half a company Of infantry speed
ing forward until the enemy'S
bomb blew them into eternity.
''VuIture" Brought Down
Most of the damage was done
by Madrid'S airplanes, but as we.
climbed the hills overlooking the
furthermoSt edge of the pass and
stood with the commander of
the White troops in this war-torn
headquarters, the first news we
received was that "The Vulture"
-Madrid's heaviest, swifteSt and
deadlest killer of the air-had
been brought down.
It was Col. Garcia EScameZ
speaking. Young, short and pow
erfully built, wearing a sweater
beneath a tunic and SPANS Vic
toria Cross and the Laurel Cross
of Saint Fernandez, Colonel Es-
camez fitted perfectly into his
setting in the heart of SPANS
civil war.
His headquarters had been the
home Of q small landowner who
doubtless chose it as a quiet re-
treat. Today it's walls were torn
with machine-gun bullets and a
vast hole in the parlor marked the
trail of shell. Every square inch
of window glass was shattered,
and around the house were frag-
ments of what once had been
furniture.
The colonel'S staff office had
been a bedroom. In one corner q
bed was propped up for the colonel