The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1922-08-04

corporation ready ut all times to de-
| fend its rights In the courts" but that
| the public In whose interests the F0lin.
dalton WAS organized Is entitled TO be
| fully Informed MS 10 the circumstances
nnder which the demand was made md
| the reason why II Is unqualifiedly re-
fused. The demand itself, Mr.. Garvan
asserts, together with the letter written
by the President and the statement
made by Acknowledgement Daugherty,
demonstrate that you, Mr.. President,
have been grossly misled by the attor-,
ney-general, both as TO the law and the
facts Of the case"
eliminating enemy interest"
Thereupon Mr. Caravan contends ~
that the Encouragement has listened
exclusively to German agents, which Is
no investigation; ~, that the United
States government has no interest In
the suit brought by the Foundation to
determine the ownership of funds held
by the treasury; (3), that when Presi-
dent Wilson authorized the sale Of the
German patents, neither tile President,
secretary of state nor alien property
custodian was, under the law, In the
remotest sense trustee for the Ger
man enemies; (4), that specific power
to sell the patents was granted by Con-
gress after full committee hearings on
November A, 1918, and on December 3,
1918, President Wilson, vested with
power to supervise all sales, authorized
Acting Secretary Of State Frank l..
Polk TO approve the sale OF the German
chemical and other patents 90, that
on February 20, 1919, Polk ordered the
sale in the public interest, noting that
public sale was not in the best In
terests of the public because 1t would
offer opportunity for the patents to get
into the hands of spectators and
monopolists, and that the Chemical
Foundation, obligated to grant nom
exclusive licenses, was the best means
for eliminating allen interests hostile
to American industries and of the adj
vancement Of chemical and allied In
dustries in the United States;" (6),
that President Wilson, returning from
abroad, confirmed Folks order on Feb
ruary 10, 1920, with this comment:
my reasons for the foregoing determi-
nation and order are stated in the said
orders Of Frank L. Polk and In
addition thereto, the public interest
will be best served by the elimination
of any enemy interest adverse to
American citizens arising by reason of
said chooses in action, or rights, inter-
ests and benefits under said agree
ments ;"
This sale" Mr.. Caravan continues,
twas made in the full light of all
branches of the government and in the
full light of publicity. The idea Of its
formation was the result of the inti-
mate knowledge Of the past use Of these
patents In a manner hostile to the
United States interests, and In full
consultation with all of the executives
Of the government, the experts of our
army and navy, and leaders of our
chemical business organizations and
the heads of all our scientific and re-
search organizations. do not ask you
TO accept my present statement Of the
matter, but insert here an extract from
the report of A. Mitchell Palmer, hled
with the President February %, 1919.
and by him forwarded to the Congress,
and by that Congress made public
document and most widely commented
on by the press Of the country"
Palmer's Version Of II
Mr.. Palmer stated In TIE course az
tbA report referred to by Mr.. Garvan:
''These patents, as had already been
indicated, formed colossal obstacle to
the development of the American dye
stuff industry. Evidently they had not
been taken out with any Intention OF
manufacturing in this country or from
any fear of American manufacture
{. upon consideration It seemed that
these patents offered a possible solu-
ten for the problem, hitherto unsolv-
able, of protecting the new American
dye industry against German competi-
ton after the war :. The Idea was
accordingly conceived that II the Ger
man chemical patents could be placed
in the hands of any American institu-
ton strong enough to protect them,
real obstacle might be opposed to Ger
man importation after the war, and at
the same time the American Industry
might be freed from the prohibition en-
forced by the patents against the man
ufacture of the most valuable dye
stuffs. Accordingly these considerations
were laid before various associations Of
chemical manufacturers, notably the
Dye Institute and the American Manu-
featuring Chemists Association. The
suggestion was met with an instan-
taneous and enthusiastic approval, and
as a result corporation has been or
ganized to be known as the Chemical
Foundation (Inc), In which practically
every important manufacturer will be
q stakeholder, the purpose of which Is
to acquire by purchase these German
patents and to hold them as trustee
for American industry. +. The first
president of the Chemical Foundation.
will be Francis P. Caravan Of the New
York bar, to whose clear vision and in
defatigable industry / am chiefly In
debted for the working out Of this plan.
The combination was not objection
able to public policy, since 1t was so
, organized that any genuine American,
whether a stakeholder Of the com
pany or not, could secure the benefits
of the patents on fair and equal terms,
A Quasl-Public Idea
Mr.. Garvan goes on to state that at
that time he was dollar year man.
with no expectation whatever Of be-
coming alien property custodian; that
1t was only when Attorney-G General
Gregory resigned and Palmer was ap-,
pointed Encouragement that Palmer
asked him to take the custodian's