New-York tribune., 1918-07-13
Attorney General Begins
Investigation Into the
Transfer of Stock
Profits Run as High
AS LOO Per Cent
Treasurer of Roessler &
Hasslacher Company the
First Witness

An investigation into the ownership
of three chemical corapanIes to deter
mine whether transfer of German
owned stock to American interests just
before the United States entered the
war was bona fide was begun yester-
day by Attorney General Merton F..
Lewis. The inquiry started at the re-
quest of A. Mitchell Palmer, alien
property custodian, is in charge of AL
fred Becker, Assistant Attorney Gem
eral.
The concerns involved are the Roess
City: the Niagara Electro-Chemical
Company, Niagara Falls, and the Perth
Amboy Chemical Company. Perth AM
boy. N. ].
If the investigation shows that the
transfer of stock from German to
American interests was only nominal
the government will have the power to
seize ali the transferred stock. This
stock, combined with the present Ger
manowned stock, already taken over,
would give the government majority
OF the holdings in each of the three
companies, which manufacture all
kinds of chemicals used in the sciences
and pay large dividends.
Owned in Germany
Mr.. Becker said yesterday he would
seek to show that between so and 90
per cent Of the stock of each of the
companies still is owned by German
interests, and that when the war began
the mother corporation of all of the
concerns, the Gold and Silver Refining
Process Company. owned this amount
of stock. Mr. Becker added that he
would prove that Oscar Seitz, law
yer, of SO Wall Street, went to Ger
many just before this country entered
the war and succeeded in getting the
mother company to sell to American
interests a great part of the stock of
the three companies now under investi-
cation.
Since that trip, MIR. Becker said, own
ership of so per cent of the stock of
the companies now appears to be in
the United States.
William A. Hamann, treasurer Of the
Roessler 4 Hasslacher Chemical Com
pany, was the first witness He admit
ted there was sort Of mutual owner
ship of the stock between the three
originally been owned by the Deutsche
Gold and Silver Scheide-Anstalt, of
Frankfurt, Germany, and allied inter
ests in that country. He said Mr.
Seitz had been sent to Germany by the
Roessler & Hasslacher company to
have some of the stock transferred to
Mr.. Roessler and others in this coun-
Try.
Holdings Enumerated
Asked by Joseph H. Choate, attorney
for Mr.. Palmer, for the total amount of
outstanding stock, he listed it as fol-
lows:
Roessler & Hasslacher, $4,000 shares.
par value 81 300 900
Niagara Electro Chemical. 1000
shares, par value 100000.
Perth Amboy Chemical, 1000 shares.
par value 100000.
In response to question by Mr..
Becker Mr.. Hamann told of some enor-
nous dividends these companies had
pad The Niagara company paid LOO
per cent in 1915, he said
Mr.. Becker brought out that even in
The face of huge profits the German
owners had sold stock in the Roess]er
q Hasslacher Company, which had a
book value Of $50, for 5000 a share.
while the Perth Amboy stock had
book value of 81, $50 and was sold for.
@aoo Dividends of the Niagara stock in
year were more than double the
amount paid for the stock, it was
shown <'9
The hearing will be resumed Monday
morning at 1890.