Opinion ID: 1479224
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Emergency Act of March 9, 1933.

Text: Section 2, of this Act (12 U.S.C.A. § 95a) gave the President power to investigate, regulate, or prohibit, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, by means of licenses or otherwise, any transactions in foreign exchange, transfers of credit between or payments by banking institutions as defined by the President, and export, hoarding, melting, or earmarking of gold or silver coin or bullion or currency, by any person within the United States or any place subject to the jurisdiction thereof. Section 3 of the same act (12 U.S.C.A. § 248(n) provided: Whenever in the judgment of the Secretary of the Treasury such action is necessary to protect the currency system of the United States, the Secretary of the Treasury, in his discretion, may require any or all individuals, partnerships, associations and corporations to pay and deliver to the Treasurer of the United States any or all gold coin, gold bullion, and gold certificates owned by such individuals, partnerships, associations and corporations. The above act was held constitutional by the Supreme Court in Norman v. Baltimore & O. R. Co., 294 U.S. 240, 55 S.Ct. 407, 79 L.Ed. 885, 95 A.L.R. 1352, and Nortz v. United States, 294 U.S. 317, 55 S. Ct. 428, 79 L.Ed. 907, 95 A.L.R. 1346. But it is argued that its provisions did not affect the complainant if the latter, as is claimed, was not in business or, to use the common legal terms, was not found or present within the United States. It may be said in support of this contention that the Attorney General rendered an opinion on May 25, 1933, to the effect that the Executive Order of April 5, 1933, No. 6102, 12 U.S.C.A. § 248 note, promulgated under the act, had no concern with foreign owners of gold not within the United States. That opinion, however, by its very terms, did not purport to construe the act, but only the Executive Order of April 5, 1933. The Executive Order of the President, dated April 20, 1933, No. 6111, 12 U.S.C.A. § 95 note, was broader than his April 5th order. It empowered the Secretary of the Treasury to prohibit the export or withdrawal of currency from the United States by any individual    within the United States. This was the basis for the refusal by the Treasury Department to grant an export license to Ladenburg, Thalmann & Co., who were the complainant's bailees and persons within the United States. Even if the provisions of section 3 of the Emergency Act (12 U.S.C.A. § 248(n), authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to requisition gold, were limited to acquiring gold from an owner within the United States, section 2 (12 U.S.C.A. § 95a) authorized the President to prohibit export of the gold by any person within the United States, and thus justified the denial of an export license to a foreign owner who would be obliged either to come here in order to obtain delivery of his gold or to act through an agent within the jurisdiction who could not under the terms of the Executive Order obtain an export license.