Evening star., 1943-09-13
Old SiciIian COTTAGES
Prove 10 Be Pi||boxes
Facing Mazara Beach
BY THOMAS r. HENRY,
Star Staff Correspondent.

WITH IdE Itn ARMY In
SICILY (By MaiD.-The cleanup
around Mazara. one of the great
wine towns of Sicily, has revealed
many things not suspected in the
rapid American advance, including
cleverly camouf1aged pillboxes set in
the way of any movement of troops
from the beach. An Allied landing
presumably was expected there.
Scattered throughout the fields are
Sicilian peasant cottages" with the
look Of great age about them. The
stone walls look as If they easily
were 1000 years old, as many such
cottages are. But nobody lives in
them. On closer inspection they
are found to consist of thin veneer
Of stone or brick work, painted to
give the appearance, even close at
hand, of great age.
Inside are concrete walls and 10
feet thick. Often the guns inside
still are in place. Sometimes the
stimulation went far enough SO that
gardens were planted around the
cottages"
Realistic windows were painted on
the walls. In one case one appeared
open, the other shut-as would be
natural if the place were real cot
tage. In another case, Venetian
blinds were painted in. If these
pillboxes had been defended they
could have done incalculable
damage. The countryside is criss-
crossed with antitank bitches and
barbed wire. But practically no
effort was made to check the Ameri-
can advance in this area.
Mazara Fascist Stronghold.
Mazara was somewhat of Fascist
stronghold. Driving down the street
with a Sd Division medical officer
today, I saw a dignified gentleman
with long white beard walking
along the sidewalk.
Hi there, Doc" called out the
officer.
The old gentleman returned cold
stare, full of hate.
He just plain doesn't like us,
explained the officer.
The old gentleman, it appears, is
the only doctor in town. When the
American physician first came there
he found girl at the point of
death whose life might be saved by
surgical operation. 1t was none
of his business, but he did look up
the local practitioner.
This man protested that the girls
folks had not money, and folks
without money had no right to ask
for medical attention. Disguised
the American took over the case
and the patient now is doing we'll
But the white bearded gentleman
doesn't speak any more. He says
the Americans are teaching the Door
to expect things to which they have
no right-including the right to life
if they are poor 1t has been nec-
essary to throw into Jail quite few
local officials with the same atti-
tude, because Of their obstructionist
tactics.
Briton Wants Land Returned.
While was in the local AMG
Office in Mszara there appeared 82-
year-old Baron Jaicomat Hops
wine merchant and British citizen
although he doesn't speak a WORD
OF English. He is one of quite a
few of the same sort in the neigh
borhood, 1t developed When Lord
Nelson occupied the Sicilian ports
in 1910, some of his sailors got their
discharges and stayed behind. Baron
Hopps' grandfather obtained a con-
tract from the admiral for supply
ing the British fleet with Marsala
wine and made fortune.
Since then his descendants. born
OF British parents, have elected to be
British citizens. Because of this,
all the property of Baron Hops
the title is Sicilian-was confiscated
at the start of the war. Now he
wants to get it back.
The baron said he had difficulty
In understanding why the Italian
government should have confiscated
an Englishmans property just be-
cause there was war on