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necessary to the national security or defense, the seizure, of any books of account, records, contracts, letters, memoranda, or other papers, in the custoday or control of such person; and the President may, in the manner hereinabove provided, take other and further measures not inconsistent herewith for the enforcement of this subdivision.

"(2) Any payment, conveyance, transfer, assignment, or delivery of property or interest therein, made to or for the account of the United States, or as otherwise directed, pursuant to this subdivision or any rule, regulation, instruction, or direction issued hereunder shall to the extent thereof be a full acquittance and discharge for all purposes of the obligation of the person making the same; and no person shall be held liable in any court for or in respect to anything done or omitted in good faith in connection with the administration of, or in pursuance of and in reliance on, this subdivision, or any rule, regulation, instruction, or direction issued hereunder.

"(3) As used in this subdivision the term 'United States' means the United States and any place subject to the jurisdiction thereof, including the Philippine Islands, and the several courts of first instance of the Commonwealth of the Philippine Islands shall have jurisdiction in all cases, civil or criminal, arising under this subdivision in the Philippine Islands and concurrent jurisdiction with the district courts of the United States of all cases, civil or criminal, arising upon the high seas: Provided, however, That the foregoing shall not be construed as a limitation upon the power of the President, which is hereby conferred, to prescribe from time to time, definitions, not inconsistent with the purposes of this subdivision, for any or all of the terms used in this subdivision."

SEC. 302. All acts, actions, regulations, rules, orders, and proclamations heretofore taken, promulgated, made, or issued by, or pursuant to the direction of, the President or the Secretary of the Treasury under the Trading With the Enemy Act of October 6, 1917 (40 Stat. 411), as amended, which would have been authorized if the provisions of this Act and the amendments made by it had been in effect, are hereby approved, ratified, and confirmed.

SEC. 303. Whenever, during the present war, the President shall deem that the public safety demands it, he may cause to be censored under such rules and regulations as he may from time to time establish, communications by mail, cable, radio, or other means of transmission passing between the United States and any foreign country he may from time to time specify, or which may be carried by any vessel or other means of transportation touching at any port, place, or Territory of the United States and bound to or from any foreign country. Any person who willfully evades or attempts to evade the submission of any such communication to such censorship or willfully uses or attempts to use any code or other device for the purpose of concealing from such censorship the intended meaning of such communication shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $10,000, or, if a natural person, imprisoned for not more than ten years, or both: and the officer, director, or agent of any corporation who knowingly participates in such violation shall be punished by a like fine, imprisonment, or both, and any property, funds, securities, papers, or other articles or documents, or any vessel, together with her tackle, apparel, furniture, and equipment, concerned in such violation shall be forfeited to the United States.

2. Senate Debate of December 16, 1941 (Excerpts)

87 Cong. Rec. 9837-38, 9842, 9845

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REENACTMENT OF OVERMAN AND TRADING WITH THE ENEMY ACTS

Mr. BARKLEY. Mr. President, I move that the Senate proceed to the consideration of Calendar No. 948, Senate bill 2129, to expedite the prosecution of the war effort. This is a bill from the Committee on the Judiciary which in substance provides a reenactment of certain provisions of the so-called Overman Act of 1917, and the Trading With the Enemy Act of 1917. I shall not make a statement about it at this time.

The VICE PRESIDENT. The question is on agreeing to the motion of the Senator from Kentucky.

The motion was agreed to; and the Senate proceeded to consider the bill (S. 2129) to expedite the prosecution of the war effort.

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REENACTMENT OF OVERMAN AND TRADING WITH THE ENEMY ACTS

The Senate resumed consideration of the bill (S. 2129) to expedite the prosecution of the war effort.

Mr. VANDENBERG. Mr. President, I am unwilling to have the Senate proceed to the consideration of a measure of this magnitude with only 10 or 12 Members on the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The PRESIDENT OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.

The legislative clerk called the roll, and the following Senators answered to their names:

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The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Doxey in the chair). Ninety Senators have answered to their names. A quorum is present. Senate bill 2129 is before the Senate and is open to amendment.

Mr. McNARY. Mr. President, I had assumed that the able Senator in charge of the bill would make a very thorough, frank, and open statement concerning the provisions of the bill, and particularly with reference to any amplification of what is known as the old Overman Act, passed in 1917, and whether the measure now under consideration exceeds the Overman Act in authority. I am sure the able Senator from Indiana can inform us in an enlightened way on this measure and its objectives.

Mr. VAN NUYS. Mr. President, I am very happy to comply with the suggestion of the Senator from Oregon, and to give a brief history of the bill. The bill was prepared in the Department of Justice; and at the request of the Department, I introduced it, and it was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. Yesterday the Attorney General, together with members of his staff, appeared before the full Committee on the Judiciary. There was a good attendance of the committee, and from 10:30 to 12:30 the bill was analyzed with care and study. Certain suggestions were made by members of the committee, and accepted by the Attorney General, more as to the matter of phraseology than as to the material terms of the bill. Late last evening the whole committee voted unanimously to approve the bill.

In a nutshell, the bill grants to the President of the United States the same war powers that were exercised by President Wilson during the last World War-and exercised by him with a great degree of

success.

Title I of the bill reenacts the measure mentioned by the Senator from Oregon, commonly known as the Overman Act, which was approved May 20, 1918.

Mr. VANDENBERG. Mr. President, will the Senator yield for a question?

Mr. VAN NUYS. I yield

Mr. VANDENBERG. Before the Senator from Indiana leaves his statement that the bill is a general reenactment of the war powers given President Wilson, will the Senator indicate whether the bill in any respect goes beyond the war powers yielded to President Wilson?

Mr. VAN NUYS. It does so not in reference to the Overman Act, under title I; but when it comes to the Trading With the Enemy Act, in the provisions for seizure and freezing of alien property, it goes further, and not only freezes it, but seizes the property; possession of it vests in the United States, and the property is to be liquidated and disposed of under the rules and regulations of the Department. To that extent it exceeds the powers granted President Wilson.

Mr. McNARY. Let me ask one further question, with respect to section 401 on page 9. In one instance the authority proposed to be conferred by the bill appears to be limited to the present emergency, or any emergency declared by the President, which would extend it over the period of the war. The saving clause, as I construe it, is that this authority may be repealed or modified by a concurrent resolution which, of course, contemplates action by the House and Senate without reference to the President for his signature. The authority continues during the war, or during any emergency that may be declared by the President.

Mr. VAN NUYS. The original draft, which the committee modified was that:

Titles I and II of this act shall remain in force during the continuance of the present war and for 6 months after the termination of the war, or until such earlier time as may be proclaimed by the peace treaty.

The Senator from Texas [Mr. Connally] who is a member of the committee, called attention to the fact that the last peace treaty was a year or two after the actual termination of the war. So we struck out that language and inserted "until such earlier time as the Congress by concurrent resolution or the President may designate."

Mr. McNARY. The language to which I refer is found on page 4, under the heading "Title III-Trading with the enemy." The language is:

During the time of war or during any other period of national emergency declared by the President, the President may, through any agency that he may designate, or otherwise, and under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe

And so forth. I am wondering if that can be construed in the light of the provision which I read on page 9, by which the act could be modified or repealed by concurrent action of the House and Senate. Does that language apply to every provision of the bill?

Mr. VAN NUYS. It applies to titles I and II. Title I has its own limitation on page 2, line 16:

Provided further, That the authority by this title granted shall be exercised only in matters relating to the conduct of the present war.

Mr. McNARY. I rather think that the language to which I refer relates to titles I and II, which may be repealed by concurrent action. I probably would not have asked the question if I had had time to read the bill, but it has been on my desk only a short time today. Mr. VAN NUYS. The language to which the Senator refers relates to titles I and II.

Mr. McNARY. That is correct.

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Mr. VANDENBERG. Mr. President, may I ask the Senator from Indiana for one bit of further information?

Mr. VAN NUYS. Certainly.

Mr. VANDENBERG. Am I correct that the only censorship provision is in section 303 on page 8, and that such censorship as is there provided applies only to the transmission of communications between the United States and any foreign country, and that there is nothing in the bill which involves censorship of any form of internal communications or publications in the United States?

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Mr. VAN NUYS. The Senator from Michigan is entirely correct. That subject was threshed out in detail with the Attorney General, all members of the committee participating. There is in the bill not a word which would authorize the President to exercise censorship over newspapers or messages within the United States. The provision deals wholly with outgoing messages from America to foreign countries. Mr. VANDENBERG. Or incoming messages from foreign countries. Mr. VAN NUYS. It is very difficult to censor such messages. For instance, a newspaper might have a short-wave receiver.

Mr. VANDENBERG. Yes; but it carries the power to do so?
Mr. VAN NUYS. Yes; it carries the power.

Mr. VANDENBERG. Very well.

One final question, and I am done.

Has the Senator now stated to the Senate all the powers in this proposed legislation which exceed the powers granted to President Wilson under the Overman Act and the Trading With the Enemy Act?

Mr. VAN NUYS. I think so. I have not yet taken up title III. That is the amendment to the Trading With the Enemy Act. As I remember, it is an exact copy of the former statute, except that in some instances it goes a little further. For instance, in the case of the Alien Property Custodian's Office, or such agency as may take the place of the former Alien Property Custodian's Office, the Attorney General informed us that there are at least $7,000,000,000 of funds that have to be seized or frozen under present conditions. This measure gives authority to that agency, whether it be the Alien Property Custodian. or otherwise, not only to freeze these assets, but to seize them and dispose of them and liquidate them-something that has been contested in the powers of the Alien Property Custodian heretofore. So I will say to the Senator from Michigan that the bill is broader along that line. Outside of that, I know of no further extension of power than President Wilson had.

Mr. TAFT. Mr. President, will the Senator yield?

Mr. VAN NUYS. Yes.

Mr. TAFT. There was always a good deal of scandal and danger of scandal in connection with the office of the Alien Property Custodian, particularly because when a man came in and claimed property back there perhaps was nobody on the other side. I wonder if any such danger is guarded agains in this particular measure, or whether that is something to be dealt with after the war is over.

Mr. VAN NUYS. I think that is largely a matter of administration rather than of legislation. I may be mistaken about that, but I think so.

Mr. TAFT. If the time ever comes when there is an alien property custodian with power to give property back to anybody or pay him for it, it seems to me some better provision should be made than was made after the World War.

Mr. VAN NUYS. I will say to the Senator from Ohio that I think that is largely an administrative matter, and that the power here is ample to put in operation such administrative processes as will accomplish those results.

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