The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-01-17

mems places III OII1Ce UT 1dCUOIys Slowed for Moment
 The Nationalist drive on the Loy- aIist capital had slowed. but only for the moment, due partly to stiff ened Loyalist resistance, partly to the near-exhaustion of the insurgent troops after 24 days of constant fighting since the start of their Catalonia offensive two days before Christmas.
 Francisco Franco, the Nationalist generalissimo, had issued a procla- nation appealing to Loyalist sol- diers to surrender and asserting that their cause was hopeless. The Loyalists presumably did not agree. They began intensive work on two separate fertilization lines running roughly north to south, west of Barcelona.
 One of the new lines runs from Fora, in Lerida province far north west of Barcelona, past Calf, Igua- lada and Villafranca to Villanueve This line is about 25 miles from the capital at its nearest point.
 The second line extends from Sol- soma past Cardona and ManreSa, and thence follows the river Llobre- gat to the sea, only few miles out side the Barcelona suburbs.
 Manresa was the chief town in the new defensive system. It is 28 miles northwest of Barcelona. In Southern Spain
 In southern Spain, Gen. Jose Miaja continued his diversional op- erations with an attack in the AL cala La Real rector between Gra- nada and Cordoba, where the Loy- alists attacking in a zone which had been quiet for many months, captured the village of ToZar and part of the Tozar range of hills, 15 miles northwest of Granada. At the same time Miaja continued his offensive in the Cordoba region. His men yesterday took the Calabar mountain pass west of Monterrubio. Semi-official advices at Bar celona said that in the Alcala La Real sector, Miaja's men reached a point less than two miles from the main Granada Cordoba highway and had the Granada-Algeciras rail- road under their artillery fire.
 The Nationalists made no prog ress along the coast yesterday in their Barcelona drive. They made about 5 miles at the central part of their lires, in the Cervera sector. Here they entered Barcelona prov ince to take the town of Bellprat. They estimated that, by shortening of their lines in recent days, they now had 4,000 men to the mile. Must Have Help Geneva, Jan. 17.-CUP)-Julio Alvarez Del vayo, foreign minister of Loyalist Spain, was reported to- day to have informed League of Nations delegates that his govern ment could not hold out much long, CT unless it received immediate aid.
 In private conversations, and not before the 104th session of the league council, he was said to have minced no words in describing the Loyalists' plight. He urged that the European democracies sell the Loyalists artillery and airplanes in the same quantities as the Na- tionalists are getting them from Germany and Italy.
 Publicly, he thanked the dele gates for their humanitarian assist ance in sending food to the starv- ing population of his country.
 Tomorrow or Thursday, Del Vayo was expected to appeal to the coun- cil itself. The league then will dis cuss insurgent bombings of civilian centers.
 Turns Down Assistance
 League delegates congratulated Del Vayo for "the way the Barce- Iona government has withdrawn all foreign combatants from its trench es," but turned down his feelers for assistance.
 After appearing before the coun- cil and announcing that Loyalist re- sistance would continue ito the last man." he held private conver- sations with other delegates, chief ly Viscount Halifax, foreign secre- tary of Great Britain, and Georges Bonnet, foreign minister of France.
 A Loyalist victory was important to French security and the British French alliance. he said to have told them, adding that the Loyalists still could win if they could get war materials.
 Burgos, Spain, Jan. 17-UP)- The insurgents have captured 38,- 900 prisoners since the Catalan of- fensive started, it was announced | officially today.