The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1918-04-07

poration, despite the fact that there
seems to be no provision in what is
known as the trading with the en-
emy act which gives him any such
authority. This procedure, how
ever, is simple, effective and alto
gether regular
The trading with the enemy act,
under which the office of the alien
property custodian is created, re-
quireS every corporation in the
United States to transmit to him a
full list of its stockholders who are
known to be, or whom it has rea-
sonable cause to believe to be, "en-
emies." When these reports dis
close that a majority of the cor
poration's stock is enemy held
the custodian issues a demand on
the corporation, or on the person
holding the certificates for such
stock in this country to cause to
be transferred to him in his official
capacity all the enemy-held stock.
Upon compliance, the custodian be-
comes the holder Of the majority Of
the stock, with right to ask rep
reSentation of the board OF direc-
tors proportionate to his holdings,
and through the installation OF these
government nominees the corpora
tons affairs are conducted or SUI
perviSed under the government gen
eral direction
Title Vested in Custodian.
All the right, title and interest
OF the enemy in the stock so de
manded becomes vested in the Gus
todian and the urgent deficiency
law, through its amendments which
were fought over in congress, em-
power him to sell the stock. Being
sold to American citizens, this will
eifectually Americanize all these
corporations that heretofore have
been German controlled and the
question after the war, it is an
nounced, will relate to the distribu-
tion of the proceeds OF the sale and
not to the restitution or distribu-
ton OF the stock itself.
The trading with the enemy law
was approved by President Wilson
October g. 1t prohibits trading di-
rectly or indirectly, an any manner
whatever, with the enemy. In an
ticipation OF the declaration OF war,
last April 8, and the passage of this
law, many OF the American corpora
tions owned by Germans tried to
cover up the situation by adroitly
selling the German-held stock to
American citizens, taking payment
therefor in notes payable after the
war, or in 1925. or at some other
distant date, and holding the stock
as collateral to such notes. Anoth-
er way was to incorporate a Ger
man partnership in this country and
issue stock in payment, which in
turn would be sold by the German
agents to American citizens for
nominal consideration, or ior a con
Sideration represented in longtime,
non-interest bearing notes. This was
with the hidden purpose OF simply
holding the German interests free
from the operation OF the trading
with the enemy act until after the
war, when the property would be
restored to the original German
owners.
The corporation returns do not
disclose upon their face the inter
est which the enemy really has in
them. If the plans resorted to were
carried out prior to the declaration
OF war, it is claimed they were legal
and cannot now be assailed bv the
alien property custodian, and the
fact that such acts weer done in
anticipation of the war declaration
does not invalidate them any more
than the acts done in anticipation
OF the passage OF tariff laws are in
valid.
Custodian Palmer, however, has
indicated his determination to make
demand for corporate stock IL which
he has reason to believe the enemy
really is interested. In ell cases un
to today, according to Mr.. Palmer.
the American citizens who in the
first instance may have taken stock
with the intention of holding it for
their German friends have, on sec
ond thought, recognized that they
should be American citizens first
and that their individual interests
should be secondary and they have
turned over these stocks to the alien
property custodian.