The Washington herald., 1918-03-08
Uprooting Kukur.

Perhaps the American people need rentro-
duction to the Alien Property Custodian. Ii he has
seemed TO hold merely of the secondary war
jobs, recent developments may serve to disabuse
their minds of that idea
The Alien Property Custodian asks and will be
granted power to rip up the whole financial struc-
of Germanism in the United States. That
means that every German-owned industry or in
terest will have be-well, it is not wise to say
conhscsted; let rather say impounded or held
in escrow. Every tentacle of German finance in
this country will be sundered. Every share of
stock or bond, or other form of debenture which
German citizens hold in American industries are
to be seized by the American government and
held by it until the close of the war.
What then? Well, the Germans will get
their shares back but they WILL under certain
dtions be paid just and reasonable price for
them That is they will be paid this price pro-
vided Germany comes back into the family of
tions, and does not remain outlaw and a
pariah-a barbarous interoper trying to force the
clock of progress back into the Dark Ages. If
Germany disavows her apostles OF brute force, re-
forms her government, seeks equal but not
dominant place in the international community, she
need have no fear but that America will pay her ma
tionals Justly for the property that is taken from
them.
If she prefers the opposite course. then can
be as ruthless as she has been. The value OF Ger
man-owned property in the United States exceeds
that OF the property in Belgium and Northern
France which Germany has destroyed-it mounts
far above the indemnity she will be forced to pay
for the ruin she has wrought there Ii she prefers
to sacrifice the proceeds of the sale of her prop
erty in America because she refuses to be tanned,
that is her business At any rate, she IS
forewarned as to the sternness with which the
war after the war" will be waged if she cares to
;pto hat of
We TODAY hold club over Germany"s head,
a hostage against her good behavior, which will
cause more real anxiety in Berlin than would two
dozen American army divisions on the Western
'front.' The virtual ruin OF her foreign trade, which
already has been effected plus the wrecklng OF her
financial strongholds in the United States, is blow
which the business men OF Germany appreciate at
its real significance, although they may have d-
hcultv in transmitting their alarm to the military
party now intoxicated with the spols OF Russia.
In the past generation, we have seen German
intellectual penetration German educational pene-
tration and German financial penetration, in this
nation 1t has aspired nothing less than tearing
the republic away from its fundamental Anglo
Saxon heritage and traditions OF course, 1t was
fantastic to think that it could ever succeed In
such an undertaking; but it made dangerous pro-
cress We all assimilated certain amount OF
German propaganda and adopted certain degree
OF German custom. IT was only dmly realzed
that Berlin was the center OF all this tremendous
enterprise OF Germanization; that conspiracy was
afoot to make the nation German province and
colony.
Now. wherever Germany sends her gold for IN
ycsucnts in the industrials OF another country she
does it with a purpose. That is why the liquida-
ton OF all these German properties is oil such
vast importance. 1t is undoing the work OF the
past half century OF thousands OF German financial
agents. 1t is loosening the real grip which
Teutonism had left in the nation-the one weapon
which she could to restore her foreign trade
with the United States after. the
il has fallen to a Quaker, man who refused
TO be Secretary OF War because he did not believe
in war-A Mitchell Palmer-to deal the hardest
American blow against Germany that has yet oeen
struck.