ENEMY DEBTS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2976, 13 January 1917, Page 2

ENEMY DEBTS

HOW BRITISH FIRMS FARE BADLY, I, Messrs. Rome and Tilman, of Liverpool, recently have raised a question of great , interest to firms whicn havo cross-ac- '• counts with enemy debtors and creditors. The firm at the 1 outbreak, of war owed ,£94 odd to an enemy banking house, the Bohmische Union Bank. They, like many other British firms, hare large amounts owing to themselves by euemy, debtors, which they are faintly hoping to receive after the war, if at all. 1 are now being ordered, at tho instance or Messrs. Komg Brothers, a creditor of tho Bohmische Union Bank, to hand over this >£94 to the Public Trustee into the account of the Bohmische Union Bank, in, - order that tho Public Trustee may pay. ' it away with other moneys to Messrs Konig- Brothers, who are a firm. of high i financial standing. In the .Official--Indes J 0 f Persons Naturalised, Fnedrich Adolpfc Konig appears as having been natunihsed on August 25, 1906, nnd llftns Henry Koni" on September 25, 1902. Both had been United States citizens. According - to tho Banking Almanac: for 1915 their " bank' was established in 1599. Adolf ' Schilling holds their procuration. (Tills • name appears in tho official index as that of a person resident in London and naturalised from German nationality on . March IS, 1907.) Another ontry in the Baukers' Almanac is: "Corresponding firm, IConig Brothers and Co., New. York," which consists of "F. A. Konig, ' H H. Konig, and A, Wollensen. Holdor. 1 of Procuration, F. Broymeier." Messrs. Konig Bros., says the Daily* Mail," aro perfectly within their rights in taking measures to forco Messrs. Homo ' and Tilman to surrender the only su- ' edi'ity they hold for ultimate eet-ofD 1 against debts duo from enemy concorns, Messrs. Konig Brothers' solicitors will apply for an order vesting tho £94 in the Public Trustee,' who will hand it over to Messrs. Konig Brothers. But Messrs. Roiiie and Tilman point out that if-tlia practico followed by Messrs. Konig Brothers is adopted by a number of other, firms tho British firms will all.-have surrendered tho cash tliey aro holding against enemy bad debts before tho end of tho war. And when tho time comos for the final adjustment of all accounts, it will bo.found that the funds available for payment of cross-accounts have ,an ready been largely distributed. If this notion by Messrs. Konig Brothers had not boon taken tho Public Trustee would not havo used tho moneys in his hands for tho payment of creditors -of tha Bohmische Union Bank. ■ Messrs. Romo and Tilman, in a letter to tho Public Trustee,-point-out how badly British creditors fare under the existing law. "Thus," they say> for example. "a British firm owes to AustroHungariau firms various amounts aggregating, say, ,Clo,floo, and is owed •byvarious othor Austro-Hungarian funis an equal amount, aggregating ,£IO,OOO. Hitherto they have considered their- position as relatively satisfactory and unlikely to result in loss. If they arc to-day compelled to pay out tho JJIO.CKK) and to wait until after tl,\e war for-their moneys, which they may or may not be ablo to collect, the protection which EngUsh creditors thought thay were receiving under the Enemy Trading Act is illusory." The whole question has been submitted to members of the House of Commons with a view to a discussion or the prospects of British creditors genernlly- . ' "- '*