Evening star., 1939-11-26
Thousands in War Zone Owe
Escape to Breckenridge Long
Americans Home, Brings En-
Back Alive
By Marquis ". ChiIds.

~ AVA W. 4"s'
With the outbreak of the European
war, Secretary of State Hull assigned
Mr.. Long was made head of special
division delegated to shepherd home the
thousands of Americans who chanced to
be wandering about Europe when the
guns began to 60 off.
1t was Mr.. Longs assignment to bring
'em back alive Now that the great
rush of the first months is over it is pos
sible to appreciate what it has meant to
return more than 10000 Americans, all
of whom were determined to leave on the
same day and by the same boat.
At present there are % or % Ameri-
cans missing as result of the torpedo
ing of the Athena. 1t is Mr. Longs hope
that not more than 200 American citizens
are missing in Poland, although he is not
at all optimistic about this figure. Other
wise there have been no casualties in the
mass flight from war that Mr.. Long and
his assistants helped to direct
Perhaps the reason may lie in the fact
that careful plans were made for setting
up the special division months in ad-
vance of the outbreak of war. Antici-
pating the conflict, State Department
officials had arranged to have Mr.. Long,
Ambassador to Italy from 1893 to 1886,
take over. Vacationing at Nantucket
when hoStilities began. he took the first
boat to the mainland and was in charge
on September 2.
No Figures to Go On.
There were no exact figures on the
number of Americans abroad. Approx
mately $4,000 passports had been issued
after March /, indicating that at least
that many tourists had gone Europeward
In the spring and summer. But there
were no figures on the number who had
returned prior to September l.
In addition, "a SOB Americans were reg
istered on January as more or less per-
manent residents of Europe with con-
sulates scattered from Northern Scotland
10 the remoter periphery of the Balkans
While they are all American citizens,
technically speaking, many have lived
abroad so long that they have lost all
connection with the United States A
large number are naturalized citizens
who have returned to the land of their
birth with a small but sufficient hoard
Of American cash.
A great many of these citizens speak
no English. Some of them were citizens
merely by virtue of the fact that they
we're born in the United States. Taken
back to Europe as children by their par
ents, they have only the technical tie
with their native land.
Embassies and consulates in Europe
were besieged by panicky Americans So
were the Offices of the special division in
Washington. Frantic relatives telephoned
and wired from every part of the coun-
try. The horrors of the last war had
been so vividly and persistently described
that people imagined Paris and London
would be Immediately bombed
Many Without Funds.
1t was soon realized tnat hundreds of
Americans were stranded without suffi-
cient funds to return to this country. In
many instances steamship sailings were
Cancelled and tourists found 1t difficult or
Impossible either to make an exchange
to another line or to get their money
back. The State Department had no
money from regularly appropriated
sources to meet this crisis.
President Roosevelt by executive order
made available $500,000 from other
sources to increase the small emergency
fund that the State Department nor
mally has. Embassies and consulates
were authorized to lend sufficient money
to stranded Americans to get them home
again after examination to make sure
that they had no money of their own.
Borrowers were required to sign PROM
tssory note agreeing to pay the money.
This particular phase Of the rescue Job
was complicated by rumor that good
old Uncle Sam was sending all Americans
home free of charge. Most of those who
sought funds for passage, however, were
genuinely destitute. A New England
schoolteacher and his wife had II school
children with them on personally con-
Quoted tour and no funds Gables were
w SAo"NSN Why SouA0 1loe SCv WOIu
through to this country. The Embassy
in London advanced them $1,000. If
money had not been Immediately forth
coming, this party would have had to
wait and would have been on the ill-fated
Athena.
Band Plays Way Across.
Just how many Americans got travel
loans and the total amount will not be
known for some time. There will be
losses, of course, but high percentage
of repayment is expected. All sorts of
problems came up. Members of Negro
jazz band were stranded in Paris with
out cent when the cafe where they
were working was closed by the war. An
arrangement was worked out whereby
the band got free passage in return for
playing on the way over.
On the night that word of the sinking
Of the Athena reached Washington, Mr..
Long was reused from sleep and sum-
moned in the department Immediately.
Within the first few hours 200 long
distance calls came in from frantic rela-