El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-01-12
THE Millions
Of THE ENEMY
United States Is Not For
feiting Alien Property;
Only Using It.
BY FREDERIC J. HAsKTE.


Washington. D. C. Jan I7.-In the
Palmer. allen property custodian.
1880 reports Of enemy property hold
ings in this country have already
been filed, and are now believed to
have a total value OF nearly q billion
dollars. Liquid funds alone are es-
timated at two hundred million dol
lars, and these will probably be In
7 vested In Liberty bonds
Although the last date for the fling
Of reports By alien enemies having
property In the United States was the
goth OF December, there Is reason 70
/ believe that the task Of finding and
/ caring for enemy wealth Is just begun
Some investigators think that the
amount now on the books Is knt .
fraction OF the total
Not COnfIscatlng Property.
! MISUNDERSTANDING OF the purposs
/ and method Of the custodianship has
| caused a great deal OF difficulty. The
I enormous Withdrawals OF postal and
/ other savings which followed the
/ creation OF the office was evidently
due to an idea that the property Of
/ enemies was to be confiscsted. As
| todian is to conserve this property by
/ acting as 3 trustee for its owners.
and also to prevent any use OF It
/ which would be detrimental to the
/ United States government
There has also been much misun-
/ Outstanding as to what constitutes an
enemy alien. Place Of residence o.
/ business Is the true test Of enemy
! character, and not nationality or cit
/ izenship. A subject OF Germany, who
obeys its laws may continue IA the
I possession OF his property and In bus
/ mess, even though he has not de-
! clared his intention Of becoming An
American citizen Il Is property To-
Gated in this country, bSt owned By
enemies who reside in enemy coun-
I tries. that Is the special care OF the
| custodian That IS why the estate OF
Gladys Vanderbilt. whose husband IS
an Austrian OF Austrian residence.
must be placed in the hands Of the
custodian. while In almost any town
German subject may be found con-
Quoting bakery and building ID
bank account as usual
Busch Estate Il Held.
Thus the largest estates which
have come within the care Of the Gus
/ todian are those Of the two daughters
OF Adolphus Busch. the American
on the Rhine and spent his summers
in Germany Both his daughters mar
ried Germans, and are resident IN that
country. Hence their incomes. which
are said to be $1,000 q day each. must
be administered BY the custodian
sisundcrstandinF OF the purposes
OF the custodianship - only one Of
the difficulties which Il faces The
great variety Of enemy holdings N
this country. and the tact that many
of the holders are probably not aware
OF their duties IN the matter. make
the task Of locating enemy wealth
an enormous one. Thus large sums IN
American municipal bonds are held
in Germany and Austria American
travellers IN those countries have Ere
quentiy been surprised At the interest
expressed by Germans and Austrians
in the progress OF various American
cities until they learned that holder
OF St Louis or New York city bonds
rare. II Is known that the kaiser at
one time purchased some bonds Of
the city OF New York.
Digging Up Property.
Almost daily unexpected holdings
OF enemy property are coming 10
light Information was recently re-
cesved al the custodian'1 office that
= certain wealthy German living n
Germany owns much property IN the
CITY Of Aiexs ndria, Virginia. within
eight miles OF Washington. He vas
once q butcher. made fortune BY
selling meat and Investing IN real
estate, and returned to Germany 70
become a man OF leisure
reports viii yet be mzds BY enemy
aliens who have but recently learned
what IS their duty with regard 70
their holdings IN this country. Al
though heavy penalties OF fine G1d
Imprisonment are provided for all
who had not made returns within the
time limit those who voluntarily
made a later report because OF igno-
rance Of the law VIII be dealt with
leniently
that are deliberately concealed the
custodian has at his disposal an
elaborate machinery His investigat-
ors have the cooperation OF al the
secret services OF the government
which have played such = large,
though inconspicuous pars In diplo-
matte and Industrial life since the
war began The secret Servis> OF the
treasury department Is about the only
one OF these which IS well known to
the public. The department Of justice.
the postoffice department and the
state department have also large and
well organized investigative services.
which have been greatly strengthened
since the war began
Enemy Hoidiags In Colonies.
A fertile field Of future work By
these government detective services
viii probably be In the American
colonies. There Is reason 70 believe
that both Hawaii and the Philippines
harbor large enemy holdings which
have not been reported. and which
might perhaps be more easily con-
verted to enemy use than holdings
within the continental United States
Enemy property discovered In all
OF these ways viii be administered al
rectly from the Washington office OF
the custodian. There Will Be no dsp-
uty custodians In various sections OF
the country, as many persons seem to
have assumed.
Germans Seize Food In