Imperial Valley press., 1941-03-28
FRIDAY, MARCH %, 1941
JusosIovs Ready
If War Declared

BELGRADE, March % (UP) -
Jugoslavia today proclaimed her
fun independence" and sent fight
ing men under full mobilization
orders streaming toward her bord-
ers to guard against threat from
any quarters.
Premier Richard Dusan- -Simo-
witch declared that the nation hop
ed to avoid any difficulties with
its neighbors but that it would
follow henceforth policy of in
dependence.
This pronouncement was made
after midnight cabinet session
and its enthusiastic support by the
Jugoslav populace again was DEM
onstrated today when young King
Peter II, ruling in his own right
for the second day, went to the
cathedral with the new cabinet to
attend services of thanksgiving.
Hundreds of thousands of citi-
zens lined the streets to watch
the procession from the royal pal
ace to the cathedral They cheered
themselves to hoarseness when
Peter, riding in a closed limousine
and followed by members OF the
government, appeared.
Repeatedly the crowds broke
through the lines of good-natured
police and surrounded cars in which
British and American diplomats
rode.
They cheered for Britain, for the
United States and for President
Roosevelt
At one point almost five minutes
were required for police TO clear
the way for the cars in which the
Americans and British were rid
ing.
Axis diplomats were in the pro-
cession too. Their cars passed in q
dignified silence as the populace
carried out the government m
struction to behave with meticulous
correctness.
But when the cars of the Polish,
Turkish, Greek and Russian d.
lomats came into sight they were
greeted with cheers of Long live
the Poles. Long live the Turks. .
Long live the Greeks. Long live
the Russians"
At the cathedral a special prayer
of thanksgiving was delivered by
Patriarch Gavrillo Of the Serb Or
thodox church, one Of the prime
movers in the coup detat.
King Peter sat erect in his auto
mobile, acknowledging the cheers
of the crowds. He wore the uniform
of an army air force general-pos-
sibly in token of the air forces
part in the coup which placed Gen.
usan-Simovitch, air force leader,
in power as premier.
The crowds went wild. Many
threw their hats in the air.
The diplomatic cars were led by
that of the British minister, Sir
Ronald Campbell, followed by the
automobile of the American mini
ster, Robert Bliss Lane, accompani-
ed by his military attache, Col
Louis Fortier.
The crowds had seen dramatic
and historic overthrow OF their
regency and government which had
committed them to support the axis
They knew that their little nation
might soon be re-committed to
tacit if not open defiance OF Nazl
Germany.
But they knew that their army,
which for weeks had been quietly
mobilizing, was rapidly approach
ing its peak strength. Tens OF
thousands of them had been called
to the colors yesterday. They had
the strongest cabinet in memory
and they seemed ready for any
thing which might come.
Swiftly consolidating its control,
the new government permitted
Prince Paul, head of the ousted
regency, to leave for Greece by
special train at his own request
at II O'Clock last night.
Former Premier Dragisha Cvet-
kovitch and former Foreign Mini
ster Alexander Cincar-Markovitch
had been released from arrest at