HOWARD R. M. BROWNE SEPTEMBER 3, 1940.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed Mr. HART, from the Committee on War Claims, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 7784] The Committee on War Claims, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 7784) for the relief of Howard R. M. Browne, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. The purpose of this bill is to reimburse the claimant in the sum of $137 in full settlement for baggage and property lost in France while he was serving as a first lieutenant in the American Expeditionary Forces in 1918. It will be noted by the report of the War Department, hereto appended and made a part of this report, that the War Department will interpose no objection to the enactment of this legislation. Hon. REUBEN T. WOOD, WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, January 31, 1940. House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. DEAR MR. WOOD: Careful consideration has been given to the bill H. R. 7784, Seventy-sixth Congress, third session, for the relief of Howard R. M. Browne, which you transmitted to the War Department under date of January 15, 1940, with request for information and the views of the Department relative thereto. The purpose of the proposed legislation is to pay to Howard R. M. Browne, of Kansas City, Kans., the sum of $137 in full settlement for baggage and property lost at La Nue, France, on or about June 14, 1918, while serving as a first lieutenant Three Hundred and Seventieth Infantry, American Expeditionary Forces. During the World War, in June 1918, Howard R. M. Browne was serving as a first lieutenant, with Company C, Three Hundred and Seventy-second Infantry. When the company was ordered from La Nue, France, where it was temporarily stationed, to Camp Kopp, Lieutenant Browne, together with the other company officers, was ordered to place his personal bedding roll on the company baggage wagon for transportation. The bedding roll, which is alleged to have contained an overcoat, a uniform, three blankets, and other articles, of a total value of $137. was placed on the wagon. When the wagon arrived at its destination, all the company officers, except Lieutenant Browne, obtained their bedding rolls. It appears that before the wagon was moved from La Nue, the supply officer ordered a great amount of baggage to be taken from the wagon, as the wagon was overloaded, and that this excess baggage was supposed to be picked up later. The records of the War Department indicate that Lieutenant Browne reported his loss of baggage to the Lost Baggage Service, A. P. No. 713, on January 21, 1919, and again on November 10, 1919, to the Lost Baggage Branch, Hoboken, N. J. Lieutenant Browne states that he filed a claim for the lost baggage with the regimental adjutant in January 1919, while serving with the Three Hundred and Seventieth Infantry, at Brest, France, but no record of such claim can be found in the War Department. In November 1938 Mr. Browne submitted a formal claim to the General Accounting Office for the lost baggage. The General Accounting Office forwarded the claim to the War Department for appropriate action. Upon review in the War Department, the claim was disapproved, since such a claim was barred under the express terms of the act of March 4, 1921 (41 Stat. 1436-1437), which provides that no claim arising under the act shall be considered unless made within 2 years from the time it accrues, except when a claim accrues in time of war, or when war intervenes within 2 years after its accrual, such claim may be presented within 2 years after peace is established. It might be stated in this connection that under decision of the Comptroller General of the United States (B-1518, February 27, 1939) reports of claimants of loss of baggage and inquiries and letters attempting to prove the same do not constitute claims for such lost baggage within the meaning of the language of the act above cited prescribing a time limitation for presentation of such claims. Under the circumstances appearing in this case and since it appears that Mr. Browne lost certain baggage while serving in France for which he has not been reimbursed, the War Department will interpose no objection to the enactment of the proposed legislation. Sincerely yours, HARRY H. WOODRING, Secretary of War. о VELIE MOTORS CORPORATION SEPTEMBER 3, 1940.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed Mr. HART, from the Committee on War Claims, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 6489] The Committee on War Claims, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 6489) to confer jurisdiction upon the Court of Claims to hear, determine, and render judgment upon the claim of the Velie Motors Corporation, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. The purpose of this bill is solely jurisdictional. It has been in several previous Congresses, having been reported favorably by this committee two or three times, has passed the House once and the Senate twice, but the committee files do not reveal whether the bill ever reached the White House. Your committee now, as did the prior committees having this bill under consideration, and still is of the opinion that the claimant is at least entitled to have a day in court. A clear and factual exposition of the bill is contained in the statement of Representative Anton J. Johnson of Illinois, who introduced the bill in the current Congress. His statement, together with the report made in the Seventy-fifth Congress, is hereto appended and made a part of this report. STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF H. R. 6489 BY REPRESENTATIVE ANTON J. JOHNSON OF ILLINOIS The purpose of this bill is to confer jurisdiction upon the Court of Claims to hear, determine, and render judgment upon the claim of the Velie Motors Corporation for reimbursement for net losses sustained by such corporation on account of the additional requirements imposed by the Government with respect to the crating of gun carts manufactured pursuant to a certain war contract which requirements were not contemplated by such contract. Briefly outlined, the facts of the case are as follows: In October 1917 negotiations were entered into between the Government and the Velie Motors Corporation which finally culminated October 25, 1917, in a contract under the terms of which the Velie Motors Corporation was to manufacture 10,000 machine-gun carts. The formal contract stated that "deliveries of the articles, suitably packed, boxed, and marked according to the instructions of the contracting officer, shall be made to the contracting officer f. o. b. cars at Moline, Ill." The contract further provided that the goods were to be shipped to any point in the United States. It was the understanding of the Velie Motors Corporation and the officer in charge that for domestic shipment all that was necessary in the way of packing was to brace and block the carts in freight cars; 600 of the carts were thus packed and shipped. Subsequently, instructions were received from the War Department stating that the goods should be crated for foreign as well as domestic shipment and specifications for the crates were enclosed. The Velie Motors Corporation ascertained that the additional cost of such crating for foreign shipment would be $4.23 per cart and made claim for the additional cost of 9,454 carts. Such claim was made under a clause in the contract which provided that if changes were made in the drawings and specifications forming a part of the contract and "if such changes involve a substantial increase in the cost of manufacture of the articles, a fair addition shall be made to the purchase price; After some correspondence, the Velie Motors Corporation agreed with the Ordnance Department to accept $4 per cart as additional compensation. In accordance with this statement à certificate was issued on June 19 to the Velie Motors Corporation showing that it was entitled to the additional compensation mentioned. Before this certificate was presented for collection, the War Department (apparently after a review of the case by higher officers who were, of course, unfamiliar with the precise situation), advised the corporation that the certificate was revoked. Subsequently, the claim was presented to the War Claims Board. This effort culminated in a letter of February 7, 1922, from the War Department in which the claim was denied. About this time, the corporation became involved in financial difficulties and the entire time of Mr. Velie, the president and principal stockholder, was devoted to the internal affairs of the corporation. Later, in 1923, Mr. Velie was forced by his bankers to relinquish control, and this was placed in the hands of the representative of the bankers. Mr. Velie did not regain control of the corporation until 1928. During the period of the bankers' control, Mr. Velie repeatedly requested that the gun-cart claim be pressed. However, nothing was done. Upon Mr. Velie's return to control in 1928, he resumed his efforts to secure a settlement of the claim, but it was then too late to properly prosecute the matter. Since that time and subsequent to Mr. Velie's death in 1929, the corporation has made every effort to secure a proper hearing. The proposed bill is simply jurisdictional and gives the corporation the right to a fair judicial hearing before the Court of Claims. If upon suit judgment is rendered for the company it will amount to approximately $38,000. This money will be distributed to the stockholders of the corporation as it is now in the process of gradual and orderly liquidation. This bill has been favorably reported by the Committee on War Claims on four different occasions, has passed the House once, and the Senate twice. [H. Rept. No. 305, 74th Cong., 1st sess.] The Committee on War Claims, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 2706) to confer jurisdiction upon the Court of Claims to hear, determine, and render judgment upon the claim of the Velie Motors Corporation, having considered the same, report thereon with a recommendation that it do pass. The facts in this case are fully set forth in House Report No. 912, of the Seventythird Congress, second session, which is appended hereto and made a part hereof. [H. Rept. No. 912, 73d Cong., 2d sess.] The Committee on War Claims, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 6349) to confer jurisdiction upon the Court of Claims to hear, determine, and render judgment upon the claim of the Velie Motors Corporation, having considered the same, report thereon with a recommendation that it do pass. The facts in this case are fully set forth in House Report No. 2071, of the Seventy-second Congress, second session, which is appended hereto and made a part hereof. |