125.1673/438: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Consul General at Barcelona (Perkins)
Your October 7, 6 p.m.61 It is our general policy not to evacuate the Spanish employees of our offices in Spain and although these [Page 734] employees at offices where conditions have been dangerous as at Barcelona have been active in the protection of American property interests, we have received no other recommendations that our Spanish personnel should be evacuated. We do not feel that the death of Iturralde can be regarded as a case in point for although he was killed in an attempt to go to the aid of an American citizen, it does not appear that the attack on him was due to resentment of American intervention but on the contrary was made in ignorance of his mission and identity. We feel, therefore, that we cannot give you general authority to evacuate your Spanish employees but we shall be glad to give consideration to particular cases in which unusual circumstances might seem to warrant a departure from our established policy. It is suggested that for the protection of those Spanish employees whom you may be compelled to leave behind, you notify the local authorities of their names stating that they remain employees of the Consulate General and will act as custodians of the consular premises until such time as you are in a position to reopen the Consulate General.
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