Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1918-06-25
GERMAN FIRMS EVADE
ALIEN PROPERTY LAW
New York Lawyer Accused Of Advis-
ing Concern How to "Safcguard"
Its Interests Here.
-FOUR MEN ARE INVOLVED
Scheme Was to Dispose Holdings OF
Corporations to "American" Com
panies, Thus Conccaling Enemy
ershil,-i'alsc Returns Filed.

NEW YORK. June Fisherman plo,s
to hide enemy assets under the cloak OF
American corporations organized or
loaned for the purpose Was revealed
here to-day when a. Mitchell ralmcr,
allen property custodian took over
three German-Owncd concerns with AN
aggregate capitalization Of $500. 0o,.
Federal investigators wcr" reported bv
Mr.. Palmer 10 he on the trail Of 9th r
highly capitalized firms which have
used tho same means To defeat the Law.
The companies Ia the group taken
over to-day were Dicckcrhon. Hafii".r
d Co. importers and manufacturers Of
notions. at $50 Broadway; Ranioer
Erbsloh e. Co. cordase manufacturers.
OF the same address. with plants in
Cuba and tho American Storage Com
pany, of Havana
It is charged that or. aIarch II. 1917.
three weeks before the Cuitcd States
entered the against Germany,
George Carlton Comstock. New Yorn
lawyer, advised Edward {. Dicck
nom. one OF the principal owners, -
Safeguard" his property Comstock.
in letter which was discovered by
tho Department Of Justice. is said to
nave written on that date:
The hes, way to safeguard yorr
property would DC to trausf.:
all OF your assets 20 New York cor
poration which could DC organized TO-
mis- purpose. or corporation already
IN existence could he used. We have
corporations in this Office which ar.
to' =, ins anything al this timc-they
having been created FOR certain pu"-
poses, and those purposes having been
accomplished. are now available for
other uses after amendments Of the OBJ
jccts and increases OF capital stock
have taken place"
Dicckcrhor is said TO have lived in
this country fifteen years. but never
has been naturalized. Others involved
arc Rudolph Erhsloh. OF New York,
native OF Germany, but now natu--
allied American: William H. Erhart
OF New York, an American citizen, VIII .
has one sister married 10 Erbsloh and
another In Germany. Sill other owners
OF the concerns taken over arc living
In Germany.
The scheme. according to Mr. Palmer
was devised TO cover these German
holdings by apparently selling all the
German assets TO one or more Amer
can" companies and receiving pay For
them in notes not due for three years
before which time II was expected thu
war would be over. so the property
could be returned 10 the Germans
The corporations then filed alleged
false returns With the alien property
custodian. showing no cncruy-ownci
property. In support OF these returns
Dicckcrhon and Erbsloh filed volumiu-
GUS afdavits. swearing such transact
tons had been made In good faith.
ATTORNEY Comstock suppor;cd their de-
Iarat!ons with assurances that tn
deals were bona ndc. i, is asserted
Last winter, the revelations showed
The cordnre business In Cuba VAS sold
.or $500. 600 cash to a Cuban co..
poraton. and this money was innedi-
holders I'm anticipation OF dissolution -
leaving the company an empty she!
Dieckerhon Erhsloh and Comstock
when confronted with the facts de-
,e!opcd by Mr.. Caravan and his aids
are said TO have offered neither cx-
cusc nor explanation. The alien prop
e-ty custodian Immediately took over
the properties in New York terminated
DicckcrhoN's connection with tho COM
pancs. stopped his salary and took
steps for obtaining restitution OF the
s1.50o.0oo distributed TO the German
stockholders.
Conviction for conspiracy TO cvahc
the trading with-thc-e act Is pun
ishahle by a fine OF $4,000 or ten years
in prison or both