The Waterbury Democrat., 1937-06-17
BILBAO HORROR
 DESCRIBED
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 Everything that I saw up to the moment that left Bilbao Tuesday. to send this first uncensored dsi- patch from the beleaguered city, in- dicated that it is not going to be easy for the nationalists to consoli- date their victory. Unless there is collapse which has not been ap- parent the nationalists may have to fight their way through the city streets. Every building may prove a fortress and every window may conceal its ri1eman or machine gunner.
 Basque Government Sticks
 The Basque government has not left the city. President Jose An- tonic de Aguirre and his colleagues have established their headquar- ters in a sub-cellar of one of the city'S most modern buildings. Win dows in the portion of the build- ing above ground are protected by steel plates. Some 2,000 nationalist political prisoners have been moved westward to Santander province. I had been in the Bilbao area for the duration of the war. was there when the war broke out and re- mained to report the northern fronts left Bilbao Tuesday. My last visual impression was the burst of an artillery shell, just as left, which sent several people down in the street. Our ship proceeded slow ly because we had to dodge nation- alist warships off the coast. As left the loyalists were just mining the big bridge over the Nervion river at it's mouth. am informed today that this bridge has been blown up so that the nationalists cannot cross to the west bank. II Months of Nightmare It was difficult for me to believe when arrived here late last night that I was at last on soil where there was no war after living Il months in nightmare. Weeks ago, as the nationalists approached, still far away, watched thousands of Bilbao's children sail away to for eign countries, homeless, orphaned. Relentlessly the nationalists moved in until Bilbao began to hear their guns and the airplanes began com- ing over with their bombs and ma chine guns. There were 28 air raids one morning. The plants sent little bombs like hand grenades down into the streets, and followed them up with machine gun bursts. Aged people, children, wounded, inmates of insane asylumS were sent west ward over the roads toward San lander, to be bombed and machine gunned as they fled.
 City Was Dead Place
 Before left the city was dead place. Only soldiers and officials, in addition to newspaper corre- spondents, circulated the streets freely. Airplanes were sweeping down to within 700 feet, machine gunning. At the time left the off, cial casualty list covering men at the front was 5000 dead and 17,000 wounded. These figures were sup pressed by censors. Just bfore I left airplane bombs destroyed one of the big city reservoirs and flooded the entire quarter surrounding it. This threat to the water supply was one of the most serious of all.
 am able to say now that the ar- rival at Bilbao, previously reported, of Burno Alonzo. was due to an out break of insubordination and sabot- age among the crews of the destroy CT Ciscar and three submarines. Alonzo, loyalist chief in Santander, had been at Cartagena, the loyalist navy base on the east coast, help- ing to reorganize the fleet. He was sent here by the central government to look into the outbreak.