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Show 1 . ' Silver Deadline Extension Assured for Producers SURRENDER PLEA MADE BY FRAflCO Rebel Army Captures " Key City in Drive on Barcelona LERIDA, Spain,. Jan. 16 (AP) Generalissimo Francisco Fran-cisco Franco appealed to government gov-ernment Spain today to lay down its arms, warning that an insurgent victory now was Inevitable. Franco's message was broadcast by the insurgent radio. He declared that insurgent ' troops were marching against Barcelona, the government capital, "not to destroy her, but to save her." Th 8nantah Insurgent command today reported capture of Cer- . .. vera in a swift drive toward Barcelona Bar-celona alone the center of ita 100-mile 100-mile front In Catalonia. Cervera, an Important town of , 4000 Inhabitant, Ilea within 50 milea directly weat of the government capital on the highway from Lertda. Roads connecting the Lerlda-Barce-lona highway with government territory ter-ritory to the north and eouth Join at Cervera. Franco'a central Catalonian column col-umn laid aiege to the town yeeter-day. yeeter-day. Hie commanders reported that government defeneea there were amaahed thia morning, clearing the way for a new eaatward thruat to a the next immediate objective, Igua-lada, Igua-lada, about milea nearer Barcelona. Barce-lona. Force Veer North The inaurgenta' lower Catalonian forces, which had captured Tarragona Tarra-gona at the coast and pushed Into Barcelona province Inland to Bell-prat, Bell-prat, were reported veering north toward Igualada to combine with the central column for a maaa drive on Barcelona. Jubilant lnaurgent army columns ' Installed themselves In positions east of strategic Tarragon today (or a new attack against a aecret defense line barring their way to Barcelona and the poaaible end of the Spanish civil war. The capture yesterday of Tarragona, Tarra-gona, second city of Catalonia, put Insurgent advance guards within M miles along the Mediterranean coast .from th government capital and witrffn 37 miles of Barcelona along the interior front ' Lack Information Reports reaching the frontier aald Insurgent field commanders know there ia a second government defense de-fense line between Tarragona and Barcelona, although they lack exact Information about Ita precise location loca-tion and strength. The Barcelona administration Indicated In-dicated Ita confidence In the defeases de-feases by announcing that Ita militiamen mi-litiamen had withdrawn from Tar-I Tar-I ronga to "prerade poaitiona altu-ated altu-ated eaat of the Valla-Tarragona line.1 Military observers calculated that the line probably would be located lo-cated In mountainoua areas between be-tween Vendrell and Igualada. The almost unhindered advance of lnaurgent Generalissimo Francisco Fran-cisco Franco'a columns Into ancient Tarragonda followed three daya of conalstent gaina In the Catalonian campaign that started December 13. ' Fight Way to Gate 1 Insurgent report ssld th main attacking eorpa of Navarreae soldiers sol-diers fought ita way through the government's rear guard to the gatea of the provincial capital. After reaching that position th column swung eaatward to the Gaya river, about three and a half milea distant and then began a alow march back weat Th shock troops were astonished, aston-ished, these reports declared, when they did not encounter any resistance resist-ance and were forced to concern themselves principally In turning back a long atream of refugeea fleeing flee-ing th supposed battle sone. Insurgent h e a dquarters announced an-nounced that revised figure of the Catalonian campaign showed they had taken control of 2789.5 square mile of territory since the drive toward Barcelona began. Although they did not name them all, lnaurgent statisticians asserted 2 villages were captured yesterday while th Tarragona advance waa going on. Previously they had aet the total at 13 village since the tart ef th campaign. Barcelona ordered th people of Seo d Urgel, Juat eouth of the French frontier, to leave the town within M houra The government was reported planning a big defense Of Seo de Urgel, key to the Puig- wraa Tauvj uiq uie rauroaq una linking Barcelona with France, I from which the government hopea may come arm and foreign fighters. fight-ers. Th refuge problem became pressing. About 70,000 aged men, children and women fled Tarragona. Tarra-gona. Many of them trudged northward with all th possessions thsy could carry. Highways were clogged and th movement of troop hampered. Reus, a government munitions enter about nine miles from Tarra- gone, was said by insurgent to bar fallen. I |