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Executive Orders Archive

Every President • 1789 to Present

Executive Order 2744 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 2744—Fixing Salary of, and Vesting Certain Power and Authority in, the Alien Property Custodian Appointed Under Trading with the Enemy Act

Monday, October 29, 1917
2 min read (489 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

This executive order, signed by President Woodrow Wilson on 1917-10-29, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Fixing Salary of, and Vesting Certain Power and Authority in, the Alien Property Custodian Appointed Under Trading with the Enemy Act." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

By virtue of the authority vested in me by "An act to define, regulate, and punish trading with the enemy" approved October 6, 1917, I hereby make and establish the following order: I hereby fix the salary of the Alien Property Custodian heretofore appointed at the sum of $5,000 per annum.
I hereby vest in the Alien Property Custodian the executive administration of the provisions of section 12 of the trading with the enemy act pertaining to the designation of a depositary, or depositaries, and requiring all such designated depositaries to execute and file bonds and prescribing the form, amount, and security thereof.
The following sums, or so much thereof as may be necessary, are hereby allotted out of the funds appropriated by the trading with the enemy act to the following named officers: To the Alien Property Custodian ............................

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants 🏛️ Financial Institutions & Monetary Authorities
Total Words
489
3,040 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
21
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.02
Framers' Alignment index
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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 2744, Woodrow Wilson (Oct 29, 1917). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-2744-fixing-salary-and-vesting-certain-power-and-authority-the-alien.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)