Evening star., 1936-09-05
Continued From Page B-1.)

tCOULu1u1Q rage >
you find your friend here in Wash
ington?" "Sure!" came the reply.
How would you go about it if he
were lost in the city?" queried Mr..
Hengstler.
FIRST I would call up the princi-
pal hotels"
But there are any number Of no
tells in the city and If you did not
know at which particular one your
friend was stopping, which one would
you know to call? And besides, your
friend might not be stopping at
hotel. He might be at a boarding
house somewhere in the city, of which
there are q great number and not all
listed as such. Or he might be with
some friend In the city. In that case
1t would be rather a difficult task,
don't you think, to find your friend?"
Thinking it over. the irate indi-
vidual admitted it might be harder
than he thought"
And then Mr.. Hengstler shot home:
"And you are asking me to find an
individual in Germany-an empire,
not a city-and to do it quickly
His caller saw the point and retired
from the scene.
Pathetic cases come before Mr..
Hengstler, but, as he says, you must
not let them wiring your heart" They
are cases where boys are lost abroad,
stranded, possibly in some minor
trouble, without funds. He recalls
the instance of two brothers who pre-
sented such a dilemma. They tore
at the heartstrings, for they were
nfQrtunate-arrested for vagrancy.
One of these, by private subscription,
Mr.. Hegstler got home. The other is
waiting for funds to be collected
through the generosity Of Americans,
at the instance of Mr.. Hengstler, be-
fore he returns.
There are certain definite rules that
should be followed by all Americans
travelling abroad, says Mr.. Hengstler.
At the outbreak Of any trouble, he
suggests, every American in the coun-
try affected should get in touch with
the nearest American Consul and
register. Further than this. all Amer
leans staying abroad six months or
more should do the same. They
should also leave the names of friends
at home and relatives so as to make
communication easy. A good de-
scription of themselves should also
be given and, in case Of travellers,
the next destination in mind.
COME Of those travelling in Spain
have been impossible to trace up
to the present time because they did
not follow this simple procedure.
They are in the interior, in very small
places, especially in the northern
provinces One, relative of prorni-
nent persons in the United States. has
been the object Of wide and inten-
sive search by the Foreign Service Ad-
ministration for weeks. Every Consul
in Spain and a number in France
have been telegraphed regarding this
missing individual
At the outbreak of the Spanish
trouble 407 Americans were registered
in Madrid alone. Many Of these hao
never been registered before. OF thi:
number 249 have been evacuated
There still remain in the city some
$50 Americans.
The Government of the United
States takes care of its own national:
only in case of foreign trouble. Tt
date, many requests have come in II
the State Department to look after
relatives of Americans in Spain who
are Spanish subjects.
This cannot be done" says Mr.
Hengstler, "for several reasons. Ir
the first place, they are not citizens
of the United States. They are ma
tionals Of the country in which the
trouble exists. We have no care oi
them"
Furthermore, for the United States
Government to interest itself in for
eigners in their home country at wal
would be to invite disaster upon itself
Especially where civil war is concerned
1t would lay itself open to the charge
Of playing favorites. There would be
also, no way of telling what disposi.
ton would be made of funds sent these
relatives by folks in America. They
could 60 to replenish factional wal
chests, as well as supply the needs oi
those for whom they were intended
A great many persons cannot under.
stand why their relatives abroad, moi
American citizens, cannot be made
charges of the United States. They
do not stop to think that it would moi
be proper, even If the Government
had-which it has not-the time anc
facilities to take care of them.
The Foreign Service Administration
has personnel Of about SO. Thi'
does not include sten0graphers from
the stenographic pool Of the State De-
partment. When MIR. Hengstler can't
to the service 38 years ago as q clerl
there were only six persons on ths
staff. Then it was called the consular
service. 1t existed alongside anothel
called the diplomatic service. In 1924
under the Rogers act, these two serv'
ices were merged into the present serv
ice and Mr.. Hengstler, then head o
the consular service, was made head o.
the merged service. He has seen tn
consular and diplomatic service grow
from q political plum tree into . caree
4