Evening star., 1936-11-18

ness district at 4;l5 pm. yesterday.
The first artillery barrage lasted for
an hour and half. Shells fell in
the Gran Via. the capitals most mod
ern thoroughfare. struck business
establishments, including the tele-
phone building and set fires in many
buildings and homes.
Militiamen rushed into action with
hose and buckets of water as the
flames cracked through the Gran Via
area.
Later In the evening, insurgent war
planes loosed a dozen heavy bombs
over the center OF the city.
The force of the explosions shook
the area. shattered water mains and
destroyed store fronts The Puerta
del Sol, central square. was flooded.
Fascist artillery took up the deadly
attack again around midnight. Two
shells landed near the British Embassy.
Fear-stricken residents rushed to
evacuate the district. Some sought
haven in the underground subway sta
fee. with few hastily assembled pos
sessions. to the safer eastern section.
Street car service was suspended.
Not even in ruins will Madrid be-
long to the Fascists" screamed syndi-
calist newspapers in heavy type.
Every One Modified.
TvhA
labored to bolster the citys morale.
mobilizing every physically-fit male
resident to the capitals defense.
Troops marched to the nearby front
lines in the glare of a dozen buildings
burning brightly around the Puerta
del Sol.
The beautiful Liria Palace, home of
the Dukes of Berwick and Alba, was
Quilted by fire started by incendiary
bombs. Its priceless art collections
were being destroyed and its famous
wine cellars wrecked. Fred Letherin,
a groom in the palace, took his family
to the British Embassy for safety.
Firemen fought the blaze in vain.
Lives Of newspaper correspondents
in the telephone building were en-
dangered as shells during the first
artillery attack fell around the struc-
ture.
One shell crashed into Salud street,
so yards away Several more ripped
into the tile roofs of buildings just
behind in Hortaleza and Fuencarrol
streets. The newspaper men ran to
the lower floors.
Another exploded in Valverde street
at the buildings entrance. sending
shrapnel through the windows and
wounding cne Of the guards at the
door.
,, The correspondents went further
down-into the Subbasements. They
remained there for half an hour then
climbed to the fifth floor. Scarcely
had they regained their posts before
shell struck the building at the
sixth floor level.
1t burst through the walls. wrecked
furniture and broke a water pipe
Company officials ordered the front OF
L
bombing planes appeared overhead
dropping incendiary bombs north OF
the Gran Via.
At least Is shells made direct hits
in the center of the city. Two landed
in the Gran Via, two in Fuencarrol
street, one in Salud street, three In
the Plaza del Bilbao. one in Victor
Hugo street and at least one in Horta
leza and Valverde streets.
No one inside the telephone build
ing was injured. One of the chief op-
orators picked up piece of hot steel
from her bed.
To return to the United States EN-
bassy, American correspondents had
to dash across the Gran Via to the
subway station, push their way through
the crowds. take a train to Puerta del
Sol and then seek safety in the eastern
section. outside artillery range.
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