Office of Alien Property Custodian
The Office of Alien Property Custodian was an office within the government of the United States during World War I and again during World War II, serving as a custodian to property that belonged to US enemies. The office was created in 1917 by Executive Order 2729-A under the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917 (TWEA) in order to "assume control and dispose of enemy-owned property in the United States and its possessions."
President Wilson with Mitchell Palmer, the first Alien Property Custodian
Alien Property Custodian sale ad
Alien Property Custodian sale of the plant of A. W. Faber Pencil Co., Newark, N.J.
Alexander Mitchell Palmer was an American attorney and politician who served as the 50th United States attorney general from 1919 to 1921. He is best known for overseeing the Palmer Raids during the Red Scare of 1919–20.
A. Mitchell Palmer
President Woodrow Wilson with Attorney General, Mitchell Palmer
"KEEPING WARM" Los Angeles Times November 22, 1919
Palmer on a flag-draped podium during his bid for the Democratic nomination