Evening star., 1918-07-12
FOUR HELD AS ENEMIES
AFTER BANK SEIZURE
Transatlantic Trust Company Of
ficers Accused After q. S. Of
icials Investigate.

| NEW YORK. July 12-Julius Pr
nitzer. former president of the Trans
atlantic Trust Company. and three
been arrested as dangerous enemy
aliens. When they were taken into
custody yesterday 1t was disclosed
! that the bank was taken over several
| weeks ago and reorganized by A.
Mitchell Palmer, alien property GUS
todian.
The arrests were made on presiden-
| tial warrants. after investigations by
the Department of Justice and the
Army and Navy intelligence bureaus
which have been under way since the
United States entered the war. The
| men were held.
1t was explicitly stated that the ar
rests had nothing whatever to do with
| the taking over of the bank by the
mer's representative here, 1t had been
found that 73 per cent Of the banks
| capital stock was owned by institu-
! tions in Budapest, the Royal Hun
garian Postal Savings Bank. the Hun
garian General Credit Bank and the
4 bdUh oI OlSCouHl- HE
stock has come into Mr.. Palmer's pos
session. The remaining 81 per cent is
owned by American citizens. whose
Americanism cannot be doubted.
The bank is capitalized at 500. 900.
has deposits Of approximately $1,000. o0o
and surplus and undivided profits OF
approximately 100000.
Reorganization of the bank by Mr..
Palmer was effected by the selection
of New York city bankers to represent
him as directors. The reorganiZed board
then elected 2. S. Freeman.
The other men arrested were Andrew
Gomary. Printers private secretary;
Guido Won Steer. a former officer Of the
bank, who is said to have once been an
| under secretary in the Austro- o-Hungar-
ian cabinet, and DR.. Isidore Szekely
advertising manager of the bank.
Printer in 1915 caused the arrest of
Alexander and Hector Condos. newspa-
per publishers Of Bridgeport, Conn.,, who
were described as powers among the
Hungarians in this country. Printer
charged that the men had conspired to
extort $1,000 from him.
1t was stated in connection with
| these charges that the bank handled
about 60 per cent Of the 100000 real
| lied from the Austro-Hungarian war
loan fioated in this country in 1914
loan for which subscriptions were
| taken the same year.
Ten days before the German sub
marine Deutschland bobbed up at
Baltimore Printer and the Trans
Atlantic Trust Company caused con-
in the Hungarian daily, Amerikai
Magyar, of an advertisement an
nouncing that the bank would for
ward money to Hungary by the sub
marine, 100 kronan for $14." and
! would manage to get receipts by the
same way.
1--WE have no longer to fear the in
| Justice of England" continued the
advertisement. THE money forward
ed is no more in danger"
American Director Removed.
Morris Cukor, an American citizen
who was one of the directors of the
| by the alien property custodian yes
| terday, was removed as director OF
! that institution because of the dis
covery of alleged pro-German and
pro Austrian sympathies. This was
disclosed today by Francis P. Garvin
| investigator of the custodian. Cukor
only a week ago was appointed presi-
dent of the municipal civil service
commission by Mayor Hylan. His re-
moval as a director of the alleged
enemy owned bank occurred about the
/ same time.
Mr. GarVln sdio tnat investigator
| into affairs Of the trust company had
revealed the fact that August 10, 1918,
Cukor had delivered an address to
| ustro-Hungarians and Germans In
this city in which Cukor had attacked
all the present allies of the United
States, claimed the right OF Austro-
Hungarians to assist ''our fatherland."
and denounced the right OF the United
States to manufacture arms for use
against the Teutonic allies.
| The address was printed, according
! to Mr.. Garvin, in the New York Stats
Zeitung. under the headline. Hail to
the Hapsburgs."