The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-02-10
General Franco Winds Up Catalonia Conquest
Prepares to Throw Full Strength of His Armies Against LoyaIists Around Madrid Premier
 Negr Has Made His Escape

for Paris, Valencia and Madrid, to hold consultations on @ decision for which all of Europe was waiting, and 1t was evident that nothing had been decided.
 As Negrin left, the long and bitter defense of Catalonia ended in a roar ing blaze of fire and explosion, as the last Loyalist troops crossed the frontier.
 Rear guards of the Lister and Modesto divisions, defending the last few miles of the coastal area, crossed the frontier this morning after blast ing railroad stations, viaducts, tun- nels, buildings and munitions dumps and leaving fires raging over a wide area.
 Blew Up Dumps
 The last few hundred Loyalists in the Puigcerda, after covering the re- treat of thei rarmy at the north western corner of Catalonia. blew up three great munitions dumps and the French side of the border, leav- retreated otward Bourg Madame, on ing the market square of Puigcerda in flames.
 Capitals all over Europe were waiting the decision of the Loyalist leaders. The question facing them was whether to seek peace terms with the aid of Great Britain and France or carry on the war, gam bling on an international crisis which might force France to inter- vent in their favor because of the presence of Italian and German troops in Nationalist Spain.
 For the moment there was no con- firmation of reports that the Loyalist leaders were trying to negotiate a surrender or that they would fight to the end.
 British Cruiser There
 The British cruiser Devonshire which took a Nationalist envoy to Minorca Island in the Balearics to negotiate surrender of that great base ito keep the Italians out of tar rived at Marseilles this morning.
 It landed 450 Loyalist refugees, including 300 civil and military lead CTS, 100 women and 50 children.
 It was reported consistently from Paris that the British and French governments, in cooperation, had of fered Gen. Miaja warships to embark him and fellow leaders in central Spain from the Loyalist naval base of Cartagena whenever they decided to give up the fight.
 The retreat of the Loyalist rear guard across the frontier in the coastal area was completed at a. m. today.
 Gen. Enrique Lister and Gen. Juan Modesto supervised the final stage and then took the road toward Perpignan.
 Gigantic Explosions
 As the last of the Loyalists reached the frontier, there began series of gigantic explosions which rocked the countryside. Munitions dumps, gas tanks, houses, went up in great blazes or burned fiercely in the early morn- ing light.
 The Loyalists loaded trains, of anywhere up to 20 and even 40 cars, with their munitions. drew them into railroad statoins or tunnels, and ex- ploded them. They blew up the Culebra viaduct, mile south of the frontier, which 50 Nationalist air raids had left almost undamaged. They blew up the important Bou tunnels and the Celbere railroad sta- ton. Cerbere was shaken and fires broke out.
 Townspeople ran into the streets in their night clothes and fled as the fires spread to munitions dumps Explosions came from buildings and village squares. A United Press cor respondent found 50 wounded men in the tunnel a few hours before the explosions started. He was warned to leave, as the station would be blown up. and he did not learn their I fate.