Evening star., 1939-07-18
Mystery CIooks Mission
OF Basque Diplomat in u. S.
De La Soto, Here,
Is Silent on Plans
To Outwit Franco
BY BLAIR BOLLES,

Over his gabardine suit Ramon
de la Sofa, a diplomat without a
country, wears cloak of exciting
mystery.
He is a major figure in a giant
intrigue, representing an invisible
republic, the government of lne
Basques. who have no lands to gov
ern. Well, today they haven't.
They belong to francois Spain. But
in Paris the Basques lay plans, and
there they have their government.
The future is bright.
The Basques are optimists," says
Senor de la Sofa, Basque from
Bilbao, in exile and ardent for the
cause. Here 1 am in Washington
today on business l cannot tell you
about. Next year, though-then 1
will be renting legation here for
the Basque Republic"
About anything in the world eX-
cept the plans for the Basque tri-
umph Senor de la Sofa talks with
abandon. But on the most i'm
portant business of his life he is one
big secret. The Fascists would like
to know that" he says, when the
conversation turns to his mission,
and then he says nothing. Where
does the money come from for the
support of the Basque government?
He cannot say; the Fascists would
like to know. How are the prov
inces to be removed from Franco?
That the Fascists would give their
right eyes to know. But they won't
know, If Senor de la Sofa has his
way.
Graduate Of Cambridge.
At the Hotel Elysee in New York
the invisible government has a dip
lomatic headquarters "a "delega-
ton Senor de la Sofa is its sec
retary. He is "a years old, graduate
OF Cambridge University, England,
who would have gone to Harvard
had not the civil war broken out
in 1886. In October, 1896, the
Basques established an autonomous
government over their three prov
lnces IN Northwestern Spain. Fran
co seized their country. The au-
tonomous government moved to
Paris, with the same president,
Aguirre.
The invisible republic agents oper-
ate not alone in New York, but in
most OF the South American coun-
tries, in London and in Belgium,
Here in the United States are 40 900
Basques, most of them sheep ranch
ers in the Northwest, and Paris and
New York keep them we'll informed
of each step in the road leading back
toward Basque freedom. They give
money for the cause of liberty. To
whom? To De la Sofa?
There is a question the Fascists
would like to have the answer for"
De la Sofa won't tell. Somewhere in
New York is a financial agent for
the Aguirre government. The young
diplomat is Sphinx on his identity
and his whereabouts.
Every few months De la Sofa, who
arrived in the United States last
August, comes to Washington. This
time he is staying in Georgetown
with a former classmate at Cam
bridge, Michael Straight, at 2811
Dumbarton avenue. Whom does he
see here? What counsel does he get
from the State Department? These
are secrets. In his head De la Sofa
carries one of the most enhancing
stories of the day, but he is not
one to spill the beans.
Battling Questions.
BY nature the Basques are mystic
rious. There are not many of them
a few more than a million. Their
Spanish provinces cover only $4,000
square miles. Where did they come
from? The etymologists would like
to know. What is the origin of their
strange language? The question
battles the most learned philologists
But the historians know that they
are fiercely independent race
They refused to knuckle to the
Romans, to the Visigoths, to the
Moors, to all the groups which have
held control Of Spain. Who is
Franco, they want to knoH, to think
that he can subjugate the liberty.