Hendaye, Apr. 8.
(Nationalists today expected the imminent collapse of the Republican defence of Madrid as another division of Republican troops mere, withdrawn from the city for the defence of "Tortosa, (Nationalist troops avoided Tortosa in their drive toward the coast by executing à wide flanking movement to the south, Vanguards of Gen. Francisco Franco's! columns reached ithe outskirts of Chert, only eighteen miles from the coast in northern Valencia.
Other (Nationalist units on the nor-them Aragon front completed the occupation of Tromp and seized the dams and villages at the foot of the Sierra de Boumort mountains, Barcelona's hydro-electric power system there was today completely in Nationalist hands.
Reports from Barcelona said seizure of the power plants and *severing of lines had not seriously affected the Catalonian capital as emergency sources of power for the city's factories had been provided beforehand, Nationalists hoped re—duction of the power supply to Barcelona would hamper munitions manufacture there, The Republican - Government admitted that execution squads in Barcelona had renewed their activity. The Cabinet in the last few days has approved an increasing number of executions; mostly on charges of desertion.—United Press; $10 Robbery Second Bystander Hit by Flying Bullets; Armed
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.