"GERMANY'S FRAUD"

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 24, 28 July 1939, Page 8

"GERMANY'S FRAUD"

£12,000,000 VERDICT

WARTIME EXPLOSIONS

(From "The Post's" Representative.)

NEW'YORK, July 4,

The German Government was found guilty o£ sabotage, and of fraud and collusion in its defence against charges of being responsible for the munitions explosions in 1016 and 1917 at Black Tom railway terminal, in Jersey City, ■ and the munitions factory at Kings-1 land, in the same State, In the first case, 250 trucks, carrying munitions for the Allies, blew up. The two blasts caused damage estimated at 37 million dollars. The final decision, handed down by.United States Supreme Court Justice Roberts, acting as umpire of the German-American Mixed Claims Commission, is believed to be the first case in the history of international arbitration, in which a major Power has been adjudged guilty of fraud. In his ruling, Mr. Justice Roberts concurred in the opinion, and upheld the decision of the American Commissioner, Mr. Christopher Garnett, that riot only the fraudulent practices alleged by the American agent but also the of the German Government in both explosions had boen established clearly by the evidence before the Commission. This, Mr. Garnett, held, and the umpire agreed, justified the revocation and reversal of former decisions, favourable to Germany, to which the Commission had been misled by false and fraudulent testimony presented to it, and a ruling in favour of the American claimants. The decision, is ignored by the German Government, which withdrew Us Commissioner in March last, on the eve of adjudication, and did not appoint a successor. The German claim, that the Commission, in the circumstances, was incompetent to make decisions, and its charge that the umpire had shown bias and grave irregularity in his conduct of the cases, was set aside. The total amount of the award exceeds 55 million dollars, to meet which vthere are in/the United States Treasury between 25 and 35 million dollars in cash, and the balance in German bonds, now in default. On the day of the decision, the shares of Canadian Car and Foundry Co., Montreal, operators of the Kingsland plant, advanced three dollars each.

In 1922, the Mixed Claims Commission was set up. In 1924, the German agent offered 18 million dollars 1o settle the claims, but attached conditions, which the United States would not accept. In 1930, the Commission held that German sabotage had not been proved. In 1932, an American petition for rehearing was denied. In the following year, a new American petition was filed, on the ground if alleged fraudulent evidence by Germany. In 1936, a compromise settlement was reached, Germany agreeing to pay 40 millions. -This was disavowed by the German Government. In June, 1936, the Commission reopened the case, and set aside the verdict for Germany. The latest sitting commenced in January of this year.