The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1917-08-04
GERMAN'RES|DENTSF
!. may Be HARD HIT
Fear Financial Ruin Because Of
Trading With Enemy Bill
Now Before Congress

ga XIV AH VI 80 4
5 German residents in Honolulu and n
few firms controlled by German capital
have become deeply concerned and
alarmed pisf the rapid progress Of the
Enemy Trading Bill, which is now in
congress before the house Of represen.
In the drastic provisions of the bin,
which is aimed to crush all trading with
tho enemy, directly or indirectly, they
stand in fear Of financial ruin. The
bin is drsfp PIP along the lines gof the
British, French and Italian measures
with the 'black listn feature. ~. :.
One of the important provisions of
the bill is the creation of the Office of
custodian of enemy property. 1t pro.
vides that any person, firm or corpora.
ton having property of any kind be,
longing to an alien enemy must so no.
tify the secretary Of commerce, and the
President may thereafter cause the
transfer and assignment of such prop.
erty to the custodian. ., -
Two-foid Purpose ....
The bill has two.fold purpose. For
one thing it would relieve the rules OF
International law under, which the prop,
erty of Germans would be practically
forfeit, by allowing alien enemies who
obey the law to continue doing business
here under certain restricted conditions
The second purpose is to stop all trad
ing with Germany by Americans OF
German residents in the United States
Poweris given the President to Issue
what would be in effect t'black list D
against persons trading with Germany
The prohibition runs as much against
| Americans as Germans, in this respect
or against the world for that matter
because II really resolves itself into g
question of election between trading
with America or Germany #srrNI
The bill as first drafted would in
clude naturalized citizens of German
birth on the same footing as citizens Of
subjects Of Germany, but this was don,
away with after long debate.
| Congressman Parker of New Jersey
sized up the entire plan of the bill il
the opening day of the debate in tn,
house as follows. ~. .s...
"This bill has two effects: One is Il
i relieve the rules of international Law
with reference, we will say, to German
citizens living in the United State
who mind their own business and d,
business here and do not try to do bust
4 ness with Germany. Under the old in
ternational law they could to certain
extent do business, but they could no
collect debt. They were aliens, for
eigners, enemies. We want to say I,
them that as long as they behave them
selves with Americans, they are friends
unless the President names them unde
a subsequent part of the bill and tell
them that they will have to be put IN
der special guard. The other side O.
this bill is just as strong.
go Business now is worldwide, ant
we have come to war, and we want I,
stop trading, not only with anyone il
| Germany, but we also want to say Il
any business man throughout TIL
/ world, 'You can trade with German,
or with us, but you can not trade wit
both; If you do business in Germany
we will not do business with YOU
is, in effect, the I'VE do not patronize,
/ which we have heard so much of, whicI
may be boycott or a blacklist, thin
i which must be abolished in time o
peace, but in time of war has bee
found to be absolutely necessary. W
do not want to send funds or ALLOW
Americans to send funds to firms tina
have German connections, and VIII
may see that those funds get into Gel
marv. whether those transactions b
conducted in Holland, South Americi
or in any other neutral country"