Evening star., 1936-07-26
Fall of Madrid
Predicted by
Insurgents.
CAPITAL EXITS
HELDBLOCKED
Fascists Lose City
i'm Southeast to
+ Loyalist Force.

BACKGROUND
Spain turned left,Dard in Febru-
1ry rs election tDhen Radical Front
1Don pictory at the polls, tollotDed
by amnesty for 25,000 members of
Socialist and Communist parties.
Spanish shift to rddicaliSm fol-
loned several months later by
Lettist pictory in France, tDhere
Leon Blum early in June took oDer
government at the head OF codli-
tton OF radical parties.
Disturbances occurred in both
countries, but outbreak tOdS more
intense in Spain, 10here Fascist and
n1onarchist elements in the army
resented repressiue measures OF the
Lett government.
Crisis in unrest occurred last
Ueek, Dhen reDolt OF army troops
in Morocco quickly spread to Spain
itself, resulting in the do,UntaH OF
the Quirogd cabinet.
u the Associated Press.
Spains Liberal government, claim.
ing that it had halted Fascist ad.
vance from the north go miles from
Madrid and that rebels were bottled
up in important southern cities, as.
serted early today it was in contro
Of the nine-day-old rebellion.
Col. Luis de Villanueva, commander
of an insurgent column at Vera. ir
the northwest, countered the govern
ment;s declarations with the assertion
that the revolters had blocked the
exits from Madrid He said the capital
would be forced to capitulate within
a week because of food and water
shortage.
There were 161 American refugees
at the United States Embassy in
Madrid, awaiting evacuation. The
State Department announced more
than 130 Americans had been removed
from the country.
Albacete Surrenders.
The Spanish government announced
the surrender of Albacete, rebel CEN
ter in the southeast, after q steady
government drive and continued bomb
ing of Fascist positions. It said re-
VOTERS at Cadiz, Seville and Cordoba
were surrounded and claimed those
important southern cities would fall
into loyal hands within a few days.
The French government, authorita-
tive sources in Paris reported, refused
to send arms to help the Spanish
Popular Front government-similar in
political complexion to that of France
The mayor of Irun, Spain, reported
to French authorities at Hendaye that
the rebels had been firing artillery
shells across a projecting piece OF
French land on the Franco-Spanish
border. He said he intended to senc
loyal fighters across this French area
to get at the revolters. Paris was in
formed of this development.
Cordoba in the southwest was un-
der heavy fire from Leftist planes
while dynamite-armed miners occu.
pied Fl Carpio. in Toledo Province
and shattered rebel strongholds.
In the jagged mountain passes
north of Madrid loyal troops held con-
troll Of the gateways to the capital
while revolutionaries paused on the
northern slopes awaiting new move.
ments.
Rebels 60 Miles From Madrid.
Rebel leaders acknowledged theil
columns were at least so miles from
Madrid, but declined to disclose pro.
jected offensives.
The government handed a knotty
diplomatic problem to the Socialist
French government by asking ap.
proval for immediate shipment ot
munitions from French ports.
The request precipitated a sudden
cabinet meeting, in which Premier
Leon Blum found Radical Socialist
opposition to granting the aid.
The first actual contact was estab.
lished at Fuenterrabia Fortress with
United States Ambassador Claude G
Bowers. Capt. Townsend Grifiss. all
attache at the Spanish Embassy, went
(See SPAIN Page A-40