Evening star., 1936-12-02

houses TO splinters, killed between 80
and 100 men, women and children in
swift and terrible air raid today.
The emergency Red Cross station
said the known dead totaled 80 and
that the List might 60 as high as 100.
Many of the victims were women and
children.
Bombs that fell in Ferraz street de-
stroyed three houses: in Vale Hermosa
street, three others were ruined. Others
exploded in the section around Mon
tana Barracks.
Hospitals COPIED with what authori-
ties called 1.-The first gas cases" Of the
siege.
In all, close to so heavy bombs were
dropped by the Is roaring Capronis,
mostly in the University. Rosales and
Cuatro Caninos workers sectors.
Britons Escape Death.
One bomb wrecked the whole Of one
side of the Gale Jordan, in Cuatro
Caminos. Two visiting British mem
bers Of Parliament narrowly escaped
flying shrapnel.
One Of them. w. H. Green. said
they jumped into automobiles at the
frst explosion and rushed to the
| stricken district There. entering
wrecked houses, I'VE saw scores of
injured women and children-four
women and two children were thrown
! in one pile"
! Another woman's mangled body
was hanging over a tottering bannis-
ter. where the force Of the explosion
had thrown her" Green added.
The M. Ps. said the defense 1unta
had made no secret Of the fact their
presence in the capital had kept Ma
rid from being bombed to atoms ="
They explained this mornings raid
the hrst daylight attack since they
came to the capital, as spurred by an
announcement from the insurgent Sc
vile radio that they had left Madrid
yesterday.
The junta promised to conduct the
visitors on a tour Of hospitals, where,
authorities said, University City For
eign Legionnaires were suffering the
effects of a gas attack launched yes
terday.
Gas Report Questioned.
Although the defense oficials in
sisted gas had been used by the in
surgents, some military sources felt
the normal fumes of the violent, close
range barrage might have induced
symptoms of gas poisoning.
Nevertheless, the newspapers quoted
three deserters to government lines in
the Cordoba sector as alleging the in
surgent officers had repeatedly de-
clared: We'll use gas" Each Of the
deserters, the press reports said, was
equipped with Italian-type gas masks.
Militiamen and foreign volunteers
at the edge of Madrid held their
ground despite the spectacular bomb
ing.
The silvery Capronis, escorted ~
many fighting squadrons, flew so ~
they were barely visible.
Needless Of anti-aircraft fire. the
sailed over the city to dump their
deadly cargoes. Government defense
planes had dificulty n1aneuverins In
the heavy haze.
Food Shortage Threatened.
Meanwhile, an acute" shortage Of
food for Madrid's 1900, 900 people wa,
described to visiting members Of ths
British Parliament in tragic detail b.
Pablo Vague, commissar Of food sup
plies.
"Large-scale importation of fooe
from abroad has become an urgent
necessity" the 29-year-old ex-bakeI
told the British delegation in his Of
fice at the war department.
The shortage of beans, potatoes
and other foods for cooking has be.
come acute"
All Madrid, the commissar said, has
been forced on a vegetarian diet, with
not even o little ham bone In the way
Of meat seen for nearly month.
Actual starvation Is not yet facing
U.S." the plump, unshaven Vague IS.
sured his visitors, but we are all goini
short"
Little Lioness" Slain.
In Madrid the militia was stirred To
greater efforts by the death oi
'Leontina" Gittle Loness), fer,
peasant woman who commanded one
Of the women's brigades in the Maxim
Cork" battalion.
She was riddled by machine gun
IRE a she led her women troops ovel
! . hill dominating orado.