Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-07-07
THE CHEMICAL FOUNDA'
TON.

president Harding has or
l dered a suit in equity to be
commenced against the Chemical
Foundation, Incorporated" to COM
pei it to return to the United States
government a large number of Ger
mar patent rights, trade marks, ETC.,
which it bought from the alien
property commissioner under the
former Wilson administration. 1t is
charged that this incorporation
bought for the nominal sum of
S25o,000 patent rights that were
worth from fifteen to twenty mil
lion dollars. They were mostly
patent formulas pertaining to drugs,
chemicals, dyes, poison gases and
coal tar products. One of them
is the famous "salvarsen" or "60o."
an alleged cure for syphilis by use
of a single dose. 1t is alleged that
this patent alone is worth $6,000,-
900.
The American patent laws are
much more liberal to foreigners
that foreign patent laws are to us.
The German patent laws, for in
stance, require that the article pat
ented must be manufactured in
Germany.
When this country declared wal
against Germany, it found that our
enemy practically controlled the
supply of many chemicals and med
icines used in the United States,
including many chemicals needed
for war purposes. In order to
break the hold Of Germany on its
chemical monopoly and insure the
production of these things in the
United States, the former alien
property commissioner encouraged
the organization of the Chemical
Foundation, incorporated. This in
corporation is rot a money-making
concern. by its charter. 1t has only
$500, 900 in stock, which is held IN
the hands Of trustees, and it can
pay only six per cen interest on
that stock, all excess earnings 60
ing into a fund to promote chemi-
cal investigation.
The president does not charge
fraud AGAINST the Chemical Founda-
ton. He only charges that the
alien property commissioner sold
these patents and royalty incomes
at too low a figure to the Founda-
ton, and that as a result we de-
frauded the German owners of
these properties. On the surface
Of affairs, there is good ground for
the contention Of the president.
There seems little doubt that it
vas the intention of the alien prop
erty commissioner to confiscate the
property rights when he sold the
whole lot of them for a quarter of
A million dollars. There were more
than 500 of them and not all Of
them related to war products and
chemicals. Some Of them were
machinery patents.
American property in Germany
was c~onfiscated ruthlessly at the
outbreak of the war. Our chance
of getting any of it back after the
war would have been worth about
the exchange value of one mark if
Germany had Won the war. But of
course what Germany would have
done to us if she were in our shoes !
is no good argument concerning
what we should do. We are in
clined to side with the president in
his view of our trust relations to
the owners of alien property. AS
a war measure it was necessary that
we seize and use those German
chemical patents. AS a measure of
security for the future, we think it
was entirely justifiable that we
should sell them to Americans, SO
that we could not again find out
selves at the mercy of foreigners
for things essential to our well be-
ing. But on the other hand, the
war being over, and Germany being
no longer an enemy but a friendly
nation at peace with this country,
we should be ready to make good
the financial damage suffered by
German citizens through the sci
cure and sale of their property,
just as we have a right to demand
the same thing of Germany if she
has sold property belonging to
American citizens and cannot re-
store il.
Our understanding of the order
of the president to demand the re-
turn Of these patents to the United
States government is based on his