PREFACE. Any lawyer dealing with questions involving enemy property in America has found considerable difficulty in getting together the material on which to base his advice to clients or action in court. His first step will be to look up the Trading with the Enemy Act. Unless he has been in close touch with legislation, it will be doubtful whether he has all the amendments at hand. His second step will be to look up cases interpreting that Act. He has no encyclopedia to which to turn. He will turn to the Federal Reporter from 1917 on, looking for the title," WAR." He will do the same with the United States Supreme Court cases and likewise with those in New York and other states. His work will be laborious, and even though done carefully, will always leave him in doubt as to whether he has covered the decided cases, and his doubt will be well founded because many of the most important cases do not appear in the current reports. A digest of these cases appears in this volume. Except where the citation appears after the case, it has been noted as unreported. If he is interested in the future disposition of enemy property and the question of claims before the Mixed Claims Commission, he will turn to the Treaty between the United States and Germany. This Treaty in turn incorporates various provisions of the Versailles Treaty, so he will be referred to that. This is a very voluminous and technical document and hours and probably days of work will be spent digging out of the Versailles Treaty parts which are applicable to enemy property in the United States. If his advice is asked as to future legislation, he will find that a large number of bills have been introduced in Congress. The question of the propriety of any bill depends upon the intention of Congress in passing the law, expressions of State Department officials and others on the subject, the traditions and history of the United States in reference to alien property, and to international law in general. The difficulties arising from such a situation have led to the compilation of this book. The word "compilation" is used advisedly. The attempt has been made to gather together material; not to present a point of view. The situation is made. clearer when it is said that the compiler, who has been at work on the subject for a considerable time, is even now doubtful as to whether his work is complete. There have no doubt been many unreported cases which have not been available and to which the writer's attention has not been called, so while no claim is made that this book fully covers the subject, yet it is hoped that it will greatly lessen the labors of those who now and in the future concern themselves with this difficult subject. |