Executive Order 5968—Transfer of the Duties, Powers, and Functions of the Alien Property Custodian to the Department of Justice

Whereas sections 401 and 403 of Title IV of Part II of the act approved June 30, 1932, provide—

"Sec. 401. In order to further reduce expenditures and increase efficiency in government it is declared to be the policy of Congress—

"(a) To group, coordinate, and consolidate executive and administrative agencies of the Government, as nearly as may be, according to major purpose;

"(6) To reduce the number of such agencies by consolidating those having similar functions under a single head;

"(c) To eliminate overlapping and duplication of effort; and

"(d) To segregate regulatory agencies and functions from those of an administrative and executive character.

* * * * * * *

"Sec. 403. For the purpose of carrying out the policy of Congress as declared in section 401 of this title, the President is authorized by Executive order—

"(1) To transfer the whole or any part of any independent executive agency, and/or the functions thereof, to the jurisdiction and control of an executive department or another independent executive agency;

"(2) To transfer the whole or any part of any executive agency, and/or the functions thereof, from the jurisdiction and control of one executive department to the jurisdiction and control of another executive department; or

"(3) To consolidate or redistribute the functions vested in any executive department or in the executive agencies included in any executive department; and

"(4) To designate and fix the name and functions of any consolidated activity or executive agency and the title, powers, and duties of its executive head."

Now, Therefore, by virtue of the authority so vested in me, I hereby order that the activities, powers, and duties of the Alien Property Custodian be transferred to the Department of Justice. All personnel, books, records, and papers pertaining to the work herein transferred; all public property, including office equipment, appertaining thereto; and the unexpended balances of the appropriations or allotments or other funds thereof, as of the date this order becomes effective, are transferred to the administrative jurisdiction of the Department of Justice.

All power and authority conferred by law, both supervisory and appellate, upon the Alien Property Custodian shall immediately be fully conferred upon and vested in the Attorney General when the transfer herein ordered is effected.

This order shall take effect upon the sixty-first calendar day after its transmission to Congress unless otherwise determined in accordance with the provisions of section 407 of the act cited above.

HERBERT HOOVER

The White House,
December 9, 1932.