Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-08-26
Ghosy Treasures Gathered Bureau of dead Mems Shoes
Once Cherished Belongings T I'll of
Careers and Would Have Great
Value to Heirs If They Gould
Be Reached-Hundreds
E.1 - 81
Engaged in Search.

American citizen dies In any of those
| countries his estate is handled by the
nearest consul.
II within the statutory period of
year consul Is unable to Establish
| communication with the legal claim
| ants, the estate Is generally reduced to
| money, save such articles of senti-
| mental value as might be family heir
| looms. American ENJOYS have no legal
control over real estate; only personal
| property can be handled in their off,
| cial capacities. However. our consuls
may exercise unofficial supervision and
observe court proceedings to see that
| real estate Is not dissipated or exposed
| to ridiculous charges.
| Our State Department has one man
whose duty 1t is to instruct consuls on
| international law and legal technicali-
| ties. 1t is a matter of state to keep
this personality out of print. When
ever in doubt, consul communicates
with the department spokesman, who
Is capable of advising on the most DEL
| icate problems. The question frequently
arises as to whether a consuls author
| ity is superior to some officer of the
country with which he deals. Then
there are questions of priority of claims,
and frequently Uncle Sam himself
I
a consul Is mentioned in will and
receives certain testamentary directions.
| A State Department ruling forbids
any consul from acting as administra-
| tor If he Is named in a will, except on
the express authority of the Secretary
Of State.
, A signed and sealed report OF every
| death is sent by consuls to the State
Department, as well as to interested
persons. This report includes an in
| yentory of the estate and its appraised
value. Such an inventory must be COM
| piled by the consul. with the assistance
of two other competent parties. All
expenses incident to such administra-
ton come ont of the estate proper.
When the estate is ready to be trans
| ferred to legal claimants. a final &C
| counting Is added. showing receipts and
disbursements since the property came
under the control of the consul. Each
consul is required to collect 2 per cent
| of the total value handled. This IS the
Governments salary for its services.
DAILY the State Department is
made privy to all sorts of interna-
tional dramas that arise out of citizens
deaths abroad. For strange reasons
some Americans leave the fatherland
and wear new names. Sometimes 1t is to
live down evil regulations, other times
this YuSe serves TO veil criminal move
nlents. The ore-man department is at
wits end when he Is handed an estate
belonging to John Jones, alias Smith,
Kelly and Psycholav He makes a
brave search and, il not rewarded
within year, the effects are inher-
tied by the controller generals office.
Money is deposited in the Treasury, but
letters. jewelry and knick knacks are
| stored In the Bureau of Dead Mems
Shoes.
Once q naturalized American citizen
returned to his land of birth for nup-
tials. The guests were met. the feast
was set, when the bridegroom suddenly
collapsed. The unlucky bride almost
dissolved herself in tears. and crying.
that all men might hear. vowed that her
| oetrothed would be buried In his cradle
land. Here, again. sweethearts had no
legal rights. The dead mans heirs in
America claimed the estate: so did the
potential bride. Her position was chal-
lenged, and the scales of justice weighed
| against her. She lost out.
| Myths and Pigments frequently tell Of
vast sums OF money eft by rich Ameri-
cans who die abroad. While more than
500 citizens die away from home annu-
ally, 1t IS extremely rare for an estate
to aggregate more than 100000 In
| most cases. heirs make themselves
known Immediately only in in
stance out of so is the State Depart
ment unable TO establish some relation
ship with living persons
| Two Americans, searching for min
erals in foreign country recently. were
attacked by brigands and slaughtered,
The crime scene was far from American
consular headquarters. Considerable
wealth was involved in these estates,
and the Government administrator was
called upon for detective work, as well
rs his usual services
IL so happened that on the date of
murder death had claimed one of the
prospector's relatives in the United
States. Who died first? On the an
swer to that question rested the DISPOSE