Evening star., 1940-11-18
By LELAND STOWE.

PATRAS Nov. 18.-Seventy thou
sand people normally live in this
thriving PcIoponnesIan port, but
only about 5000 remain here today
PaUas has probably never been 50
quiet, nor its pulse of life so muf-
fed nor lis streets so empty, IN
several centuries.
Fnland'S seaport of Viipuri and
the Kareuan Isthmus used TO be
almost the exact size Of PatraS and
it was just about as ghoStlike and
weird when last We visited il, but
this deserted city is different, be-
cause the coma inflicted by the
Italian bOmbers should soon pass
as the refugee populations gradual
y return.
Nevertheless. the public squares of
PatraS seem extraordinarily large
today and the streets uncommonly
straight and long. Pedestrians are
so scarce that the cats proving
hungrily about attract your atten-
ton nearly as much as human
beings do. First OF all however
your eyes focus on The gaping
roofs and broken beams OF wrecked
houses and on heaps Of rubble which
indicate bomb hits down the side
streets.
Military Objectives not Damaged.
The hits are scattered about with
out rhyme or reason. but We cannot
find any within half a mile Of the
railroad or within several hundred
wards Of the port installations Since
these we're the clty's only military
detectives. the Italian ayiatOrS do
not appear to have been efficient at
their job. Being the first newspaper
men to visit PatraS since the war
started. We obtained the first au-
thOrltatiye story Of what happened
here.
Five Italian bombers came Zoom-
ing over Pauas early on the morning
of October %. Most of the city's
population still did not know that
Greece was being invaded People
fOcked into the streets. They saw, or
t-4bD-44a bI4tN 81 " NJ tNf- il4s1- al -
on the planes Many of them began
to applaud what they assumed to
be their own air force. As they ap-
plauded the first bombs car0e down
into the heart OF the Citr The
prefet told us that several dozens of
men, women and children died as
their mistaken cheers were oUlit-
Grated BY terrific explosions
This. once more, was war without
warning. For one hour the Fascist
bomberS circled over Patras, drop
ping their CargoeS with complete
immunity, since there was not
single anti-air cannon in the entire
city. The nearest Greek Warship
was also many miles away. If any
large. open city is fair game in to-
talitarian warfare, Patras was a
perfect target.
No Time to Find Shelter.
So the bombs came down upon the
two and three story dwellings. Wip-
ing out families and spreading ter
roy and death. Fortunately, the
bombs We're small. mostly 100
FOUNDERS. But they were big enough
ia wreck small buildings. virtually all
constructed of wood or bricks and
plaster. There was no time for peO-
pie to find shelter and cellars were
TOO exposed to be OF much use any
way. Thousands ran wildly through
the streets. screaming and helpless.
But the houses in which they sought
safety were nothing but death-traps
wherever a direct hit occurred.
When the first hour OF terror
ended. not a single bomb had fallen
IN the harbor or struck the WhaTves.
According to universal testimony,
the Italian raiders never descended
low enough to pick out the two or
three places which could be regarded
as military targets An EnghShman
who lives in PatraS said
Every one Of the Italian pilots
should have been coTtmartialled
for missing the only targets which
exist anywhere III the region, There
was nothing whatever to stop them.
But they few very high and they
didn't seem to make the slightest
attempt to locate the railroad or
the port
In the afternoon the Italians re-