The northwestern bulletin., 1923-12-22
CURIOUS MORGUE
. kept BY THE U. S.
neIrlooms and Treasures Of
Americans Who Die Abroad
Held In Government Vaults.

resplendent Uncle Samuel maintains
IN extraordinary undertaking establish
ment down In the neighborhood Of
. Eighteenth and e streets-a curious
norgue Of dead mems shoes where the
personal effects Of American citizens
and soldiers who die abroad are stored
tn safety vaults pending the appear
ance Of the heirs and claimants Of
these trtnkets, keepsakes. tewelry,
treasures and-whatnot.
Thousands and thousands Of care
fully sealed parcels, ranging In size
from q little package inclosed In o
stout manila envelope-legal size pa
per-to containers larger than the big
gest shoe box are being held In this
novel port Of unclaimed legacies.
II these mute, inconsplcuous parcels
could but talk, what tales they could
narrate--stories Of battlefield bravery
and conquest, accounts Of American
adventurers and explorers who dared
unknown perils to add to our scientific
or practical knowledge, intimate sto-
ries Of the human triangle and Its va
riegated issues, experience stories such
as never were written In novel, maya
sine or newspaper.
Belong to Next Of Kin.
The origin Of these articles, which
belong to missing next Of kin" Is any
where on the world map. From the
scorching sands Of the Sahara, from the
forest businesses Of the Congo, from
the mines Of Siberia, from the skylands
Of the Alps, from trading posts on little
Islands Of the Seven seas where ven
turesome Americans journey and die.
their personal effects are returned to
Washington to be held by the Treasury
department until the relatives can be
found who are the rightful heirs Of
the property.
When an American citizen passes
away on foreign soil, the American
consul in the nearest district Is notified
Immediately he takes charge Of the
personal effects Of the deceased. II
there are relatives at hand, the Official
transfers the articles to their keeping
II the man has no close relatives In
that latitude. the consul communicates
with the secretary Of state In Washing
ton, advising Of the death and either
giving the address Of American rela.
lives to be notified or else requesting
that the State department locate the
lawful heirs Of the dead man.
Ordinarily the American consul Sc
lects two local merchants who aid him
In inventorying the estate. All the out.
standing debts are paid and moneys
due him are collected and credited to
his estate.
Thousands Die Abroad.
The American consul il allowed. a
modest fee Of / or 2 per cent Of the
value Of the estate for his services.
The duties which the consular service
have to cover annually In these fields
are extensive and widespread, as the
last reports Of the State department
show that between 5000 and 1000
American citizens die each year while
visiting. travelling through or living In
foreign countries.
After the consul has converted the
estate Of the dead man into cash-un-
less legal claimants appear as legiti-
mate heirs-he forwards the funds and
personal trinkets to the treasurer Of
the United States. The consul has su-
pervision over only the personal prop
erty Of the deceased citizen--all the
real property Is governed by the local
laws Of the foreign land.
In the case Of an American citizen
who dies on the high seas, aboard q
United States or foreign ship, the Unit
ed States consul at the port where the
ship next docks takes charge of his
effects unless he Is accompanied by
relatives. In case the consular officers
can find no evidence to show the iden-
tity Of the deceased mans relatives
and their whereabouts. they cable the
State department at Washington TO
advertise In the American newspapers
the news Of the death. Postmasters
and police officials In different parts Of
the United States are qusried II the
estate Is large, and every effort Is made
to locate the rightful heirs.
Articles Held indefinitely.
The American consul holds the keep
sakes and effects Of decedent Ameri-
cans for one year, during which search
is made by Uncle Sam in all parts of
the United States for the missing or
unidentified relatives. II the heirs can
not be found the effects are sent to the
Treasury or State department In Wash
ington. There they are audited, sealed
and sent to the depository lockers In
the civil division Of the diplomatic and
consular service. where they are lseld
indefinitely until claimed.
All the cash funds from these ex.
traordinary estates are turned into the
treasury Of the United States, where
they. are credited to the relatives Of the
dead Americans under the decedent
trust fund, federal financial account
which now amounts to many hundreds
OF thousands Of dollars. II ever after.
ward any legal claimant or relative OF
the dead man appears, the money Il
turned over to such person when he
establishes his identity and relation.
ship to the satisfaction Of Uncle Sans