Custodian. I understand such measures were justified by the United States on account of the allegation that such individuals and corporations were doing business with firms and persons within those countries with which the United States was at war. During the last years, numerous proceedings were instituted by the Legation and myself with the Department of State and the Alien Property Custodian, in order to obtain the release of those assets, inasmuch as they were owned by individuals and corporations of a neutral State.

The Trading with the Enemy Act was amended by Congress on June 5, 1920,1 to permit such neutral individuals to recover property seized by the Custodian, but up to the present time no legislation has been enacted relieving certain neutral corporations, and among them certain Swiss corporations, from the enemy status imposed by the Trading with the Enemy Act, and the consequent seizure of their property.

Under the laws of the United States and of Switzerland, the corporate entity is recognized, and the assets belong to it and not to the individuals who might own the shares at any given time: Particularly, following the interpretation of the Trading with the Enemy Act by the Supreme Court of the United States in Behn Meyer & Company v. Miller, 266 U. S. 465 [457], corporate entity is considered a person and its nationality that of the country where it is organized and existing, irrespective of the nationality of the stockholders therein. In that case, which concerned a British corporation, the Supreme Court held that the seizure of the corporate assets in the United States by the Alien Property Custodian on the ground that the shares were owned by Germans was an erroneous construction of the law. Such corporations are subject to the usual obligations imposed by the State and are likewise entitled to the equal protection of the laws.

The proposed legislation now pending in the Senate provides in effect, in paragraph 13, on page 27 thereof, that such neutral corporations, in order to recover their property still held by the Alien Property Custodian, shall be obliged, as provided in Section (m) of the proposed Bill, to file a consent that 20% of their property may be retained by the United States, in other words, Section 13 of the proposed legislation makes no distinction between a corporation organized and existing within the countries with which the United States was formerly at war and certain corporations organized and existing under and by virtue of the laws of Switzerland.

If such proposed legislation is finally enacted into law, certain Swiss corporations and in consequence Swiss shareholders therein, will suffer substantial losses. The interested parties are entitled by

'41 Stat. 977.

international law to demand a return of their possessions, and they have the right to expect an immediate and full restitution, as no claims remain to be made as far as they are concerned.

I consequently have the honor, by instruction of my Government and with reference to the treaty of November 25, 1850, between Switzerland and the United States of America, to request Your Excellency to take such steps as may be appropriate to safeguard the rights of the Swiss corporations and Swiss nationals, particularly with the view of assuring the complete release of Swiss properties which are still held by the Alien Property Custodian. Accept [etc.]

763.72113/2218

MARC PETER

The Secretary of State to the Swiss Minister (Peter)

WASHINGTON, January 23, 1928. SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note of January 17, 1928, in which you request, by instruction of your Government, and with reference to the Treaty of November 25, 1850, between the United States and Switzerland, the complete release of Swiss properties which are still subjected to sequestration measures. In reply it gives me pleasure to inform you that a copy of your note under acknowledgment has been transmitted to the Chairman of the Committee on Finance of the Senate, to which body there has been referred an Act (H. R. 7201) passed by the House of Representatives on December 20, 1927, which contains inter alia provisions for the disposition of property held by the Alien Property Custodian.

Accept [etc.]

3

For the Secretary of State:

W. R. CASTLE, JR.

763.72113/2221

The Danish Minister (Brun) to the Secretary of State J.No.7.T.a/1(2)

No. 5

WASHINGTON, January 23, 1928. SIR: I beg to refer to previous correspondence concerning compensation for German merchant vessels seized by the United States during the world war and belonging to residents of North Slesvig, who later became citizens of Denmark, lastly your note of April 20, 1926

'Hunter Miller (ed.), Treaties and Other International Acts of the United States of America, vol. 5, p. 845.

'By letter of Jan. 23, not printed.

Enacted Mar. 10, 1928; 45 Stat. 254.

and the note from this Legation of April 23, 1926,5 and to state as follows:

As you no doubt are aware there is now before the U. S. Senate a bill on this subject (H. R. 7201), which was passed by the House on December 20, 1927. The provisions regarding merchant ships are to be found inter alias in Section 4 b. No. 1 and Section 4 e.

These provisions would however appear to have regard only to German nationals, as defined in Section 17, and to have for purpose to indemnify such German Nationals within certain limits and on certain conditions, on which point it is argued that whatever legal rights for compensation the original owners may have had, were wiped out by the provisions of the treaty of Versailles adopted by the treaty of Berlin, see Report No. 17 of December 15, 1927 from the Committee on Ways and Means of the House page 8.

In these circumstances I beg to suggest that these Danish citizens were not bound by the treaty of Berlin, and that full and unqualified compensation should be granted to them, and I venture to ask you to be so good as to submit this suggestion to the Committee of the Senate. This Committee appears to be about ready to report the bill, and I would be greatly obliged to you if my request could be communicated to the Committee as soon as convenient, in order that an amendment covering the aforesaid Danish interests might be proposed and passed, if deemed proper.

For your convenience I beg to enclose copies of the bill and report in question.

I have [etc.]

C. BRUN

763.72113 Au 7/21

The Secretary of State to Senator Reed Smoot &

WASHINGTON, January 24, 1928.

MY DEAR SENATOR: It has been brought to my attention informally that some of the members of the Committee on Finance are considering the question whether the Committee should recommend amendments to the "Settlement of War Claims Act of 1928" (H. R. 7201) now being discussed before the Committee for the purpose of providing for the return, under certain conditions, of the Austrian and Hungarian property sequestrated by the Alien Property Custodian.

Early last month the Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means informed me that his Committee was giving attention to that

Neither printed.

• Between the United States and Germany, signed Aug. 25, 1921; Foreign Rela tions, 1921, vol. II, p. 29.

་ Enclosures not printed.

8 Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance.

question, and requested for the information of the Committee a statement outlining the considerations involved therein. Under date of December 10, 1927, I wrote Mr. Green at some length on this subject and transmitted several documents bearing thereon, and since it appears that your Committee is likely to interest itself in the same matter, I feel that you should have before you the same information that I furnished to the Committee on Ways and Means. Accordingly, I take pleasure in transmitting a copy of my letter to Mr. Green of December 10, 1927, and the enclosures thereto."

Since sending the enclosed letter to Mr. Green I have been informed by the Austrian Minister that his Government has no objection to the publication of his note of November 29, 1927.10 As a result, the request contained in the last paragraph of my letter of December 10, 1927, to the effect that the communications from the Austrian and Hungarian Legations be treated as confidential is now applicable only to the memorandum which the Hungarian Minister submitted to me under date of December 16, 1926.11 I am [etc.]

FRANK B. KELLOGG

763.72113/2212

The Secretary of State to the French Ambassador (Claudel)

WASHINGTON, January 28, 1928. EXCELLENCY: I have the honor to refer to your Excellency's note of October 3, 1927,12 regarding the claims of certain Alsace-Lorrainese filed with the Alien Property Custodian to secure certain shares of stock in the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad held in sequestration, and to state that I am in receipt of a communication from the Alien. Property Custodian dated January 4, 1928, concerning the matter.12

The Alien Property Custodian informs me that the standing of such claimants will not be affected by the enactment of the pending legislation for the return of this sequestrated property, excepting that these claimants will not be obliged to prove pre-war ownership. It is added that, however, unless reciprocity is accorded by France to the claims of American citizens, this property can not be returned under the proposed act.

It is also observed by the Alien Property Custodian that he has no present means of identification of the individual claimants to be included in such category nor indication of their citizenship. In these circumstances the claimants would have to await their turn. in the administration of claims in excess of thirty-eight thousand.

"See Foreign Relations, 1927, vol. 1, p. 303.

10 Ibid., p. 301.

"Ibid., 1926, vol. 1, p. 143.

12 Not printed.

In order to facilitate an early consideration of the claims of Alsace-Lorrainese, now French citizens, for the release of their property, it is suggested that the Department be supplied with a list of the names of the claimants with a notation of the shares of stock claimed and the basic facts of their present French citizenship. Accept [etc.]

For the Secretary of State:

W. R. CASTLE, JR.

763.72113/2231

The Danish Minister (Brun) to the Secretary of State

J. No. 7. T. a/1 (2)

No. 14

WASHINGTON, February 13, 1928.

SIR: Referring to previous correspondence concerning compensation for German merchant vessels seized by the United States during the world war and belonging to residents of North Slesvig, who later became citizens of Denmark, lastly the note from your Department of January 28, 1928,13 I beg to state as follows:

It appears from the enclosed Report No. 273 from the Committee on Finance of the United States Senate,18 with regard to the bill H. R. 7201, that under Section 19 an amendment has now been adopted by the Committee granting compensation to the owners of the two vessels Carl Diederichsen and Johanne within certain limits and under certain conditions. This however does not seem to accord the full and unqualified compensation to which the Danish owners seem to be entitled and which I took the liberty to claim by my note to you of January 23, 1928. I also beg to observe that Danish claims exist not only with regard to the two named vessels, but also with regard to the S/S Maja, of Flensborg, which was seized in New York harbor in April 1917. These claims were laid before your Department by my notes of July 20, 1921 and August 18, 1921,14 on behalf of respectively Mr. Harald Smith (Romø) for a share equal to 1/60 or Mark 5000.-, and Mr. J. C. Poulsen for two shares equal to 2/120 and 3/60 in the said steamship, see the notes from your Department of August 29, 1921 and September 14, 1921.14

And of course there is a possibility of further similar Danish claims, which have not yet come to the notice of this Legation.

For this reason I did not specify the vessels Carl Diederichsen and Johanne in my note to you of January 23rd, which on the contrary was intended to cover all such cases.

In these circumstances I beg to suggest that the attention of the Committee of the Senate should be called to my present note, in order