Evening star., 1939-01-29
BY VINCENT SHEEAN.

PERPIGNAN, France, Jan. %
NANAD.-A Fascist triumph in
Catalonia appears to.be beyond ques-
ton today. I have just returned
from Figueras, and it seems to me
sure that the Spanish tragedy will
end its days of active war very
soon.
Meanwhile. every road in North
ern Catalonia is choked with refu-
gees, who have had neither food
nor shelter for several days, and
the government services, scattered
here and there throughout the area,
are disorganized and in panic.
In previous retreats in Spain, one
has been aware that the disaster
was supported by an undefeated
spirit Now that spirit is no more.
There is no use trying to recall the
epic days of Madrid or otherwise
attempting to becloud the finality
OF the present catastrophe for the
government. AS an extremely sympa-
thetic observer, who has never hith-
ertO mentioned defeat. I tell the
plain truth, which is that this dis
aSter is irreparable
The army is without munitions
and the civil population is without
food. Government functionaries are
scattered through dozen different
towns, and some of them did not
succeed in escaping from Barcelona.
There Is no means of transferring
what remains of the government
machinery to the beleaguered south.
Thousands Of women and children
have neither bread nor shelter, and
last night. one of the coldest in
recent weeks, they lay in the open
along all the roads of Upper Cata-
lonia.
Accompanied Del Vay0.
I was in Paris and had no idea
of the urgency of the military crisis
until last Sunday night. The next
day. proceeded to get my passport
and visa in order. That afternoon,
I went to see Julio Alvarez del Vayo,
foreign minister of the republic.
at the Spanish Embassy, and asked
him for an airplane. He said there
were no planes, but also that there
was no haste. that Barcelona was
holding out and that ought to
wait. I did so.
With Del Vayo and his wife, I
left Paris on Tuesday night and
arrived at Perpignan the next
morning, Del Vayos motor car
was waiting, and. after brief
pause at the Spanish consulate. we
drove on to the frontier, reaching
Figueras about noon. And here We
stopped. The Barcelona road was
densely packed with refugees.
Fugitives were arriving in Figue-
ras every minute. The Barcelona
road was so choked that it would
have been impossible to make my
way down it, even if I had a car
and a pass. which I had not.
All the fugitives told the same
story. Barcelona was calm, was not
being shelled. and there were no
street demonstrations and no street
fighting. The last rations of bull.
lets had been five per day per rifle
on the southern front at the edge
of the city.
Gen. Modesta's army, now Gen.
Listers, had been cut to pieces.
This was the 5th Army Corps, best
army of the republic, which had
saved Madrid two years ago and
made the great offensive across the
Ebro last July. It had fought mag
nif1cently for a month, but had
been obliged to retire every time
because the army On either side
gave way.
All the fugitives from Barcelona
had been greatly harassed by bomb
ing from the air The coast road
near Mataro also had been shelled
from ships at sea,
The little town of Figueras. which
normally had population of per-
haps 5000 to 5000, was crowded
with refugees. There was no room
TO be had in the town. There was no
food, although some bread was pro-
Vided for government officials at one
time during the day. Women and
children rested in the gutter. We
slept on the floor of the nrona vanda