Survivor’s Notebook #8
Hoarding, Confiscation and National Emergency
First of all, let me state that I am not a lawyer or a Constitutional scholar. This article is an ordinary citizen’s opinions
and observations only. It pertains to the United States only, however National Emergencies are far more common
place in third world countries. Actually, a lot can be learned by studying what has happened in other places and the
effects of governmental actions upon the people. It’s beyond the scope of this article, but is worth doing some
reading up on. We are entering a time of economic trouble and we have been there before and so have other
nations and we can learn from those experiences.
How bad will it get and what will happen? Nobody really can or will answer that question, but one thing is sure, it is
going to be pretty bad and it is probably not going to get better very soon. There is optimistic talk on various financial
TV shows, but also there is now open talk about the possibility of an actual depression which a year ago seemed an
absurd assertion. Some experts say if we enter into a depression things will be much better this time than the Great
Depression of the 1930s because we have learned to handle these things more effectively and we have much better
technologies now. On the other hand some experts point to the very thin supply system on which we are so
dependant for food, fuel, medicine, etc and the lack of family farms, practical skills and religious commitment and say,
it will be much, much worse. It will mean societal collapse they say. In any case it pays to be prepared for the worst
case scenario as much as we can be. There are some surprising caveats you need to consider however and those
pertain to governmental actions taken to cure the emergency.
http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/1941/410527a.html
After the stock market crash of 1929 and the beginning of the Great Depression, Congress passed laws giving the
President broad powers to deal with the crisis. A State of National Emergency was declared and one of the things
President Roosevelt did was to confiscate privately held gold coins, bullion and certificates. There was a hefty
penalty for noncompliance including a $10,000 fine (whole lot of money back then) and 10 years in prison.
http://www.the-privateer.com/1933-gold-confiscation.html
It was illegal to ‘hoard food’ since the times of WW1 and what some people considered prudent, sensible precautions
were sometimes determined to be “hoarding” by government authorities. Here is a an sensational story of a Navy
doctor and his wife prosecuted for the crime of hoarding by Herbert Hoover then the Food Administrator later the
President.
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?
_r=3&res=940CEEDD1238EE32A25753C3A9639C946996D6CF&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
What has happened before can happen again, or should I say WILL happen again. As the old saying goes “history
repeats itself”; and we never seem to learn. So not only will we have to worry about looters and thieves taking our
preparedness stores away, we also have to be concerned that the government will legally plunder them. Of course I
am not advising anyone to hide anything from the government, but it does make sense to be a bit stealthy in your
preparation efforts so that looters, thieves and government officials will not be coming to your door first when their
inadequate supplies get near empty.
Charity is an option however. Having extra goods on hand for the unprepared in your community would promote
good will and friendly neighbors. If things are really tough a community will have to pull together and provide what
they can to survive. You may have food, but others may have skills or access to water or medicine that you will need.
If you have enough on hand for charity and barter among your neighbors, it will lessen the need for the heavy hand
of government to grab what is needed. This may not work in every neighborhood; if there are a majority of people
willing to take only and not give, then all bets are off. In that case, Get Out of Dodge… Fast! It is a no win scenario
there and it can only get worse as people become predators if they are not predators already.
I think it’s highly likely that the next President will find it necessary to declare a state of National Emergency either to
deal with a financial disaster or increased terrorist attacks, or both. There are already in place many statutes giving
the President extraordinary powers in times of emergency and these powers are activated by declaration by the
President. Those powers include confiscation of materials, regulation and commandeering of transportation and
industry, and control of import and export activities, control of the banking system, just to name a few.
The President can of course mobilize the National Guard to deal with domestic turmoil. Congress can authorize the
conscription of citizens to serve in the armed forces, and who knows what other powers a cooperative Congress
might give a President. A governor or local executive can also declare a state of emergency within his jurisdiction
which also provides sweeping powers to deal with emergency situations.
Going beyond a State of Emergency is a declaration of Martial Law wherein the President as Commander in Chief
governs through the military command structure and civilian authority is suspended. The Writ of Habeas Corpus can
be suspended allowing the government to arrest citizens without judicial supervision. Congress can declare martial
law, or the President can declare it with the consent of Congress, or Congress may do nothing or be unable to act to
oppose it. It is conceivable that a President could declare Martial Law and be opposed by Congress, leaving the
issue up to the Supreme Court to decide. Martial Law has been declared in the USA on several occasions also to
limited areas where trouble arose. I won’t go into all those incidences, just suffice it to say it can be done and has
been done before.
© Copyright 2008 Tim Thomas – all rights reserved.
Hoarding, Confiscation and National Emergency
First of all, let me state that I am not a lawyer or a Constitutional scholar. This article is an ordinary citizen’s opinions
and observations only. It pertains to the United States only, however National Emergencies are far more common
place in third world countries. Actually, a lot can be learned by studying what has happened in other places and the
effects of governmental actions upon the people. It’s beyond the scope of this article, but is worth doing some
reading up on. We are entering a time of economic trouble and we have been there before and so have other
nations and we can learn from those experiences.
How bad will it get and what will happen? Nobody really can or will answer that question, but one thing is sure, it is
going to be pretty bad and it is probably not going to get better very soon. There is optimistic talk on various financial
TV shows, but also there is now open talk about the possibility of an actual depression which a year ago seemed an
absurd assertion. Some experts say if we enter into a depression things will be much better this time than the Great
Depression of the 1930s because we have learned to handle these things more effectively and we have much better
technologies now. On the other hand some experts point to the very thin supply system on which we are so
dependant for food, fuel, medicine, etc and the lack of family farms, practical skills and religious commitment and say,
it will be much, much worse. It will mean societal collapse they say. In any case it pays to be prepared for the worst
case scenario as much as we can be. There are some surprising caveats you need to consider however and those
pertain to governmental actions taken to cure the emergency.
http://www.ibiblio.org/pha/policy/1941/410527a.html
After the stock market crash of 1929 and the beginning of the Great Depression, Congress passed laws giving the
President broad powers to deal with the crisis. A State of National Emergency was declared and one of the things
President Roosevelt did was to confiscate privately held gold coins, bullion and certificates. There was a hefty
penalty for noncompliance including a $10,000 fine (whole lot of money back then) and 10 years in prison.
http://www.the-privateer.com/1933-gold-confiscation.html
It was illegal to ‘hoard food’ since the times of WW1 and what some people considered prudent, sensible precautions
were sometimes determined to be “hoarding” by government authorities. Here is a an sensational story of a Navy
doctor and his wife prosecuted for the crime of hoarding by Herbert Hoover then the Food Administrator later the
President.
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?
_r=3&res=940CEEDD1238EE32A25753C3A9639C946996D6CF&oref=slogin&oref=slogin
What has happened before can happen again, or should I say WILL happen again. As the old saying goes “history
repeats itself”; and we never seem to learn. So not only will we have to worry about looters and thieves taking our
preparedness stores away, we also have to be concerned that the government will legally plunder them. Of course I
am not advising anyone to hide anything from the government, but it does make sense to be a bit stealthy in your
preparation efforts so that looters, thieves and government officials will not be coming to your door first when their
inadequate supplies get near empty.
Charity is an option however. Having extra goods on hand for the unprepared in your community would promote
good will and friendly neighbors. If things are really tough a community will have to pull together and provide what
they can to survive. You may have food, but others may have skills or access to water or medicine that you will need.
If you have enough on hand for charity and barter among your neighbors, it will lessen the need for the heavy hand
of government to grab what is needed. This may not work in every neighborhood; if there are a majority of people
willing to take only and not give, then all bets are off. In that case, Get Out of Dodge… Fast! It is a no win scenario
there and it can only get worse as people become predators if they are not predators already.
I think it’s highly likely that the next President will find it necessary to declare a state of National Emergency either to
deal with a financial disaster or increased terrorist attacks, or both. There are already in place many statutes giving
the President extraordinary powers in times of emergency and these powers are activated by declaration by the
President. Those powers include confiscation of materials, regulation and commandeering of transportation and
industry, and control of import and export activities, control of the banking system, just to name a few.
The President can of course mobilize the National Guard to deal with domestic turmoil. Congress can authorize the
conscription of citizens to serve in the armed forces, and who knows what other powers a cooperative Congress
might give a President. A governor or local executive can also declare a state of emergency within his jurisdiction
which also provides sweeping powers to deal with emergency situations.
Going beyond a State of Emergency is a declaration of Martial Law wherein the President as Commander in Chief
governs through the military command structure and civilian authority is suspended. The Writ of Habeas Corpus can
be suspended allowing the government to arrest citizens without judicial supervision. Congress can declare martial
law, or the President can declare it with the consent of Congress, or Congress may do nothing or be unable to act to
oppose it. It is conceivable that a President could declare Martial Law and be opposed by Congress, leaving the
issue up to the Supreme Court to decide. Martial Law has been declared in the USA on several occasions also to
limited areas where trouble arose. I won’t go into all those incidences, just suffice it to say it can be done and has
been done before.
© Copyright 2008 Tim Thomas – all rights reserved.
