The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-01-25
Spanish Loyalists In Desperate Final Stand
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 and terrorized the population. The Nationalist plane escaped only by dropping It's five bombs on the ott- skirts of the village.
 Increasing attention was paid to the advance of Natlunalist troops ct the northern end of their line, in the Manresa zone.
 Taking Manresa, 2S miles nofth- west of Barcelcaa, yesterday, the Mathematics continued on to the ini- portant city of sabadeil.
 Reprisals Feared
 Paris, Jan. 2b--(UPl--France and Great Britain today agreed to appeal to rebel Gen. Francisco Franco to refrain from mass reptisals against Loyalists In Catalonia and an urgent message was dispatched from Lon- don to the insurgent capital ct Burgos.
 The message urged Franco to re- frain from acts of revenge In Bar Celona,
 The action was agreed upon as re- ports from the French frontier in- dicated that, because of lack of transportatoin, hundreds of thou- sands of men marked for execution or Imprisonment if captured might not be able to escape Into France.
 These advices said that insurgent troops were attempting to close Q pocket between Barcelona and the French frontier in order to cut of tho escape of the Loyalist listed in Franco's card index--said to con- tain 100000 names--of enemy in- dividuals.
 The appeal from London, made both to the Nationalists and Loyal ists, was designed also to save 2,000 political prisoners in Barcelona from reprisals by the Loyalists.
 The acting British agent ct Bur- EOS informed Nationalist authorities that 1t is the earnest hope" of the British government that Franco would exercise restraint and refrain from acts of revenge in territory oo- cupied by him, saying that such acts would create the worst possible ini- precision in Britain and elsewhere.
 Nationalist authorities replied that such acts would be "out of keeping with Gen. Franco's charac- ter and intentions"
 French Frontier Guarded
 The French frontier guards were reinforced by fresh mobile guard piatoons in preparation for an exo- dus of an estimated ib0000 refugees from Loyalist Spain. The first 2,0o0 already were at La Junquera await. ing permission to cross.
 Britain and France agreed to ask for creation of neutral zone on the Spanish side of the border where Republican troop refugees could be concentrated and fed by an i1terna- t!onal fund to which the British and French governments would be the chief subscribers. This zone would be designed to prevent mass reprisals against troops to which the French frontier has been closed.
 Local French officials along the border indicated that they would not, in an emergency, refuse refuge to Loyalist forces but the question of whether they could escape the Fran co trap was becoming acute.
 Rome, Jan. 2b--(UP)--An official announcement today said 00,000 re. gervists of the class of 1901 had been recalled to the colorg on February 1.
 Coincident with the call for the Reservists. the seni-official fnfor. nation Diplomatica said that French fears in regard to the pres- ence of Italian volunteer troops fighting with the Spanish frsurg- entS in the Pyrenees were truly ex. cessive" and warned against "any further French! Russian interven. ton" wfich would obiige Italy to resume liberty of action"-serd more troops-into Spain.
 The announcement that the Re- servists had been called disclosed the number involved for the first time although 1t had been confirmed yesterday that men now 30 years old had been called Up for re-train- ing.
 The Fascist officials described such restraining as e normal pro- cedure, but foreign military experts pointed out that the normal pro. cedure was to call the older classes for restraining late in the spring or fin the summer and to announce 1t in advance.
 Todayg official communique said
 "The first contingent of about 60,000 men of the 1901 class has been recalled as of February 1 for train- ing purposes"
 Foreign sources previously had said that the orders indicated Preni- fer Benito Mussolini was preparing for any emergency that might arise in connection with the end of the Spanish war and with the French Italian controversy in the Mediter. FanAaff