Evening star., 1937-03-17
BY ERNEST HEMINGWAY.

TOULOUSE, France, March II (by
wireless) On the day on which the
American State Department, follow
ing its policy of strictest neutrality,
refused Sidney Franklin permission to
accompany me to Spain to earn his
living as war correspondent, fearing
he might engage in bull fighting,
$4,000 Italian troops were landed at
Malaga and Cadiz.
French control of the border In
barring foreign volunteers is so her
metic that Nine. Stattelman, former
Red Cross nurse who served with the
French Army during the World War
and is Swiss citizen so years old, was
refused passport into Spain at both
Toulouse and Bordeaux. She was
carrying supplies of canned milk for
undernourished refugee children from
Madrid. However, I encountered no
difficulties over crossing the border
and am filing this dispatch just be-
fore hopping of for government terri
tory in Spain.
I am informed from a most reliable
source that Italian regular troops now
in Spain number $4,000. German
troops, according to the same in
formant, who had just returned from
Spain where he had been on deli
cate mission, numbered between 49,
900 and 10000 at their maximum and
were made up largely of flyers, me-
chanics. anti-aircraft men, signallers,
tank troops, engineers and other tech
nicians. They are based at Sala-
manca, under command OF Gen. Fau-
pel, a German. These troops suffered
heavy losses during an attack on
Madrid on January 7 and in recent
fighting on the Jarama River.
Doubts Foreign Units Engaged.
The same informant told me that
daily sight In Salamanca was the ar
rival Of trucks from Portugal. carrying
German material and driven by Por-
tuguese drivers in Portuguese army
uniforms. A small number Of Sene-
galese troops has also been recruited
by Gen. Frances army and it Is these
shiny black-faced soldiers who have
been mistaken by combatants Tor
Italian Askaris.
So far as I know now. there are no
italian native troops in Spain ana
there is no German infantry operating
as units in Spain. However, an un-
determined number of German troops
have been enlisted as individuals IN
the Nationalist Foreign Legion IN
Morocco. where these men had been
sent by the German government. The
exact number cannot be ascertalned,
but it is a known fact that normal
German enlistment in the Spanish
Foreign Legion is always heavy.
Posters Offering premium OF
1000 marks for volunteers for Spain;
see adjutant." were displayed in the
Reichswehr barracks at Munich last
January. The number of men en-
listed in this manner cannot be
checked, but the fact remains that
Germany and Italy are countries
where citizens are not allowed to
leave for any purpose without gov
ernment permission.
Yesterday I travelled from Toulouse
10 the Spanish Mediterranean frontier
to check the efficacy Of French border
control. It Is certainly effective.
Since February 20 no one has been
allowed to leave France for Spain
without a passport especially visaed
by the French government with visa
which is only procurable on demand
at the bearers consulate or embassy
Stopped BY Armed Guards.
Up a winding road lined with trees
through which we could see the cloud
circled snow-topped mountains OF the
Pyrenees, ours was the only car.
Twenty kilometers from the important
frontier passage Of LIE Perthus we were
stopped by two mobile guards with
fixed bayonets who allowed us to pro-
ceed on production Of the proper Gre
dentials. With the road climbing
steadily along rock-studded hillsides
bright with almond blossoms, we were
stopped again by two more guards
with fixed bayonets before arriving at
the final barrier at lie Perthus, where
We were questioned by the commissary
Of police.
We found no traveller had been
through along this road, which for
merly was the most important high
way into Spain, except "a few diplo-
matte people" Even you" we were
told, no matter what papers you have,
could not pass that line without the
new visa, and, if you passed with the
proper visa and returned, you would
have to go back to your embassy and
get another one"
The vigilance was equally vigorous
at the other frontier post we visited,
although none Of the frontier guards
knnHr uhefn Col INN nf Ilor,