Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-01-06
By JAMES B. MORROW.

~ ROPERTY valued at hundreds OF
III millions Of dollars Is now being
seized by tho United States 1t
- belongs to persons living In
Germany aud Austria and In
countries that are the allies Of both.
After its seizure 1t Is placed in the
control Of a trustee. The trustee,
known under the law as the alien prop
erty custodian, is A. Mitchell Palmer.
He was appointed by the President.
Mr.. Palmer is lawyer. and his prac-
ffce has covered many states. He is
also business man of wide experience.
His home Is at Stroudsburg. which is
north of Philadelphia. The Palmers
for seven generations have lived in
that part of Pennsylvania The family
came from England with William Penn.
in the year 1882. sailing with com
pany of colonists In the ship named
Welcome.
A. Mitchell Palmer is a birthright
Quaker. which is to say that his father
and mother were members of that de-
aomination. And when he married he
chose Quaker maiden. He graduated
at Swarthmore College at the age of
nineteen. with the highest honors.
Then he read law. A prosperous
lawyer. he paused long enough between
cases in court to denounce what was
known as the rotation agreement Many
years before, Mitchell Palmer beng a
small boy, tho leaders of the demo-
cratic party in Carbon, Monroe. Pike
and Northampton counties entered into
q bargain with respect to representa-
tion in the lower house OF Congress
from that district. Each county was
to take its turn in sending a machine
democrat TO Washington Mr.. Palmer,
after becoming a lawyer. wrecked the
cqmbination BY consentins to be = can an.
district nominated him and then elected
him and then reelected him, thereby
breaking all precedents, and probably
vvould have continued doing SO had he
desired to remain in the House of Rep
resentattves.
After leaving Congress he practiced
law in Etroudsburg theoretically. but
actually In many cities OF the east and
west, He IL interested in banks. gas.
water and railway companies and owns
three newspApere-a daily and two
large weekiies-in the region where he
lives.
When Congress-, by the law OF Octo-
her 6, 1917, authorized the seizure of
the American property OF aliens living
in Germany and in the countries that
are all1e9 OF Sefmauys FIcsiuent w lisou
selected Mr.. Palmer to act for him in
that important particular. Mr.. Palm
er's appointment was made three weeks
after the lawswas enacted. He vaguely
supposed that the machinery was ready
and that he could turn on the power
and proceed with the seizures.
On reaching Washington, however. he
discovered that he had neither quar-
tsrs nor assistants Sworn into ONCE.
he carried his oath in his coat pocket
for two days while he searched for a
man authorized to receive 1t. Then he
left 1t at the White House.
Rooms were found eventually in the
rear of Q shoe store. Washington was
damned as never before with people,
and all Of the buildings downtown were
1lled. Other rooms were rented in the
same neighborhood. Mr.. Palmer's
helper at first was a coIored boy. Let
tiers began pouring in by the hundred.
Z 9tenographers were employed, and more
rooms were confiscated. for that Is
what the proceeding amounted to, but
still the work expanded SO fast that it
became unmanageable.
An apartment house. with ten OF the