this bill, if it would become law, would be infringement of the freedom of religion from another angle as related to the teachings of many of our groups, such as the Society of Friends, the Church of the Brethren, the Mennonites, Jehovah's Witnesses, and others. As indicated above it would be an infringement too upon the teachings of our denomination. Since religion knows no nationality lines we believe the intent of this bill is uncalled for particularly in days when we hope to build peace in the world. The Presbyterian Church, U. S. A., consists of approximately 9,000 churches and over 2,000,000 members. Very truly yours, DIVISION OF SOCIAL EDUCATION AND ACTION, By FERN M. COLBORN, Legislative Representative. O 80TH CONGRESS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session { REPORT No. 1576 IMPERIAL PALACE, DRAMATIC ORDER KNIGHTS OF KHORASSAN MARCH 18, 1948.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed Mr. O'HARA, from the Committee on the District of Columbia, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany S. 468] The Committee on the District of Columbia to which was referred the bill (S. 468) to amend the act entitled "An act to incorporate the Imperial Palace, Dramatic Order Knights of Khorassan," to increase the amount of property which the corporation may hold from $100,000 to $5,000,000, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. The purpose of this bill is to permit an increase in the limitation. contained in section 2 of the charter granted by an act of Congress February 25, 1909, from $100,000 to an amount adequate to cover the increase in the membership and consequent increase in the financial activities of the order. Portions of a letter dated June 12, 1947, from Mr. Carl R. Mitchell, imperial secretary of the Imperial Palace, Dramatic Order Knights of Khorassan, states as follows: * * The officers and members of the Imperial Palace, Dramatic Order Knights of Khorassan, are earnestly desirous of the passage of Senate bill No. 468. The Imperial Palace is the governing body of the Dramatic Order Knights of Khorassan which operates on the lodge system, being composed of subordinate bodies known as temples located throughout every State of the United States and most of the Provinces of Canada. It was organized in 1896 and has operated continuously since that time. Its membership consists exclusively of members of the order of Knights of Pythias and as an organization is an auxiliary of that order, D. O. K. K., in relation to the order Knights of Pythias, compares closely with the Mystic Shrine in its relation to the Masonic Order and to the Order Alhambra in its relation to the Knights of Columbus. No change of any kind in the aims, purposes, activities, or methods of operation of the Dramatic Order Knights of Khorassan is contemplated or desired by reason of the request of the amendment to the Federal charter. The fraternal purposes of the Dramatic Order Knights of Khorassan are fostered and promoted through the temples which, at their ceremonial sessions, endeavor to exemplify the motto of the order, "Lift Up the Fallen,” in a dramatic and ostentatious manner. H. Repts., 80-2, vol. 2- -55 The Imperial Palace meets biennially, during which there are contests of drill teams, drum corps and bands, parades, and other public activities. A feature this year will be the final contest in a series of elimination contests in public speaking by high-school students on the subject Juvenile Delinquency-Its Cause and Its Cure. The four finalists will compete for substantial scholarships provided by the Supreme Lodge, Knights of Pythias, with the traveling expense of the finalists to the convention city being paid by the Imperial Palace Foundation. The benevolent purposes of the D. O. K. K. are fostered and promoted through the Imperial Palace Foundation, which is a trust fund having been endowed by the Imperial Palace with an original endowment of $50,000 in 1925 and which has been administered by five trustee-managers who are elected for 10-year terms from time to time by the Imperial Palace at its biennial sessions, and which fund receives an annual contribution of 50 cents from each member of the order. This fund has now reached a total in excess of $350,000 and is increasing steadily, for the reason that these contributions go into the corpus of the trust and its benefactions are financed from the earnings. The Imperial Palace, D. O. K. K., in setting up this trust, has waived and released any and all claims to the trust funds, retaining only the supervisory authority to require the trustee-managers to administer the funds for the specific benefactions set forth in the trust, namely, to support the aged and helpless members of the D. O. K. K., their wives, widows, and orphans; provide a revolving fund for the support and technical education of young men and women, by loaning them money for college and technical education, whose funds are wholly or partially inadequate for that purpose, and for educational, benevolent, and philanthropic purposes generally. To this date 483 students have been assisted through this fund. The Bureau of Internal Revenue, under date of June 28, 1944, has declared this foundation exempt under section 101 of the Internal Revenue Code, coming, as it does, under the classification of a charitable organization. Both the Imperial Palace and the Imperial Palace Foundation have made substantial contributions in times of public disaster, the most recent being at the time of the disaster at Texas City, Tex., in April of this year. The funds of the Imperial Palace now amount to approximately $160,000 and the Imperial Palace Foundation in excess of $350,000. These funds are invested largely in United States savings bonds and United States Treasury bonds. The need is accordingly obvious, for an increase in the amount of the property the Imperial Palace, Dramatic Order Knights of Khorassan, may hold under its charter and we respectfully urge favorable action upon the pending Senate bill No. 468 either in the sum of $5,000,000, as provided in the bill, or a lower figure which we believe should not be less than $2,000,000. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW In compliance with paragraph 2a of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill, as introduced, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is printed in italics, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman): [SEC. 2. That the said corporation shall have power to take and hold real and personal estate not exceeding in value one hundred thousand dollars, which shall not be divided among the members of the corporation, but shall descend to their successors for the promotion of the fraternal and benevolent purposes of said corporation.] SEC. 2. That the said corporation shall have power to take and hold real and personal estate not exceeding in value five million dollars, which shall not be divided among the members of the corporation, but shall descend to their successors for the promotion of the fraternal and benevolent purposes of said corporation. о 80TH CONGRESS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session { REPORT No. 1577 PROVIDING THAT COMPENSATION OF MEMBERS OF THE ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL BOARD OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SHALL BE FIXED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CLASSIFICATION ACT OF 1923, AS AMENDED MARCH 18, 1948.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. MILLER of Nebraska, from the Committee on the District of Columbia, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 4649] The Committee on the District of Columbia, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 4649) to provide that compensation of members of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board of the District of Columbia shall be fixed in accordance with the Classification Act of 1923, as amended, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. The purpose of this bill is to direct that positions of members of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board be classified under the Classification Act of 1923, as amended, and, when such classifications take effect, repeal that part of section 4 of the act of January 24, 1934, which places a statutory limit on the salaries of such positions. The Commissioners of the District of Columbia, under date of November 28, 1947, offered the following information in connection with this legislation which they had prepared: The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board of the District of Columbia was created by the act of Congress approved January 24, 1934 (48 Stat. 321), and consists of three members appointed by the District Commissioners. This Board, acting on its independent judgment, is charged with the duty of administering and enforcing a comprehensive statute and regulations for the control of every phase of the alcoholic-beverage industry in the District, including responsibility for issuing denying, suspending, and revoking licenses to engage in that industry. The only review of the Board's actions in reference to licenses provided by statute is that when a license is revoked or suspended for a greater period than 30 days there is an appeal to the District Cominissioners. Otherwise their action is subject to review only in the courts. As of June 30, 1947, there were in effect 2,302 licenses of various classes. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 1917, there were 189 cases involving violations of law where there was formal hearing and action by the Board. Many more decisions were made by the Board involving the conduct of licensees, or on applications for, or transfers of, licenses, without formal hearing, but which were handled by conference or correspondence. During the fiscal year ended June 30, 1947, there were 393 transfers of licenses handled. The transfer of licenses involved the same procedure and study by the Beard as new applications, and many times these transfers or applications were protested, necessitating additional formal hearings before the Board. During such fiscal year, the District of Columbia realized the following revenues as a result of operations by licensees of the alcoholic beverage industry: Taxes on beverages_ License fees___. Total___ $2, 143, 677. 50 265, 009. 86 785, 868. 66 3, 194, 556. 02 Section 4 of the act of January 24, 1934, provides that the salary of each member of the Board shall be $5,000 per annum. By operation of the Federal Employees Pay Act of 1946, this rate is now $6,384 per annum. That figure, under present law, is the maximum which a member of the Board is eligible to receive, regardless of his length of service. Under the Classification Act of 1923, as amended and supplemented, provision is made for periodic increases. The approval of the United States Civil Service Commission is required before any classification under that act may become effective. The Commissioners believe that the positions of members of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board should be classified under the Classification Act, so that if the duties which the positions require to be performed warrant a rate of pay higher than the present fixed maximum, that action may be taken, and also so that long periods of service may be rewarded by periodic increases in compensation. The proposed bill, if enacted, would direct that the positions of members of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board be classified under the Classification Act of 1923, as amended, and, when such classifications take effect, repeal that part of section 4 of the act of January 24, 1934, which places a statutory limit on the salaries of such positions. A letter from the United States Civil Service Commission, approving this proposal, is made a part of this report. Hon. EVERETT M. DIRKSEN, UNITED STATES CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION, Chairman, Committee on the District of Columbia, House of Representatives. DEAR MR. DIRKSEN: Reference is made to your letter of December 9, 1947, enclosing a copy of H. R. 4649, a bill to provide that compensation of members of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board of the District of Columbia shall be fixed in accordance with the Classification Act of 1923, as amended. The proposed legislation is designed to place the positions of the members of the Board under the provisions of the Classification Act of 1923, as amended, in lieu of having them receive a statutory salary. Under section 4 of the act of January 24, 1934 (48 U. S. Stat. L., p. 321), the salaries of the members of the Board were fixed at $5,000 per annum. Under the Federal Employees Pay Act of 1945, these salaries were increased to $5,600 per annum, and under the Federal Employees Pay Act of 1946 they were further increased to $6,384 per annum. Section 2 of the proposed legislation is designed to insure the payment of the salaries of the members of the Board in the interim period between the date of the passage of the bill and the date on which the positions are allocated. The effect of the proposed legislation will be to place these positions in a grade with a salary range of five or seven rates of pay depending on the allocation approved. The allocation of the positions will be determined by their duties and responsibilities in the same manner and under the same procedures followed in classifying other positions subject to the Classification Act of 1923, as amended. The incumbents will also be subject to the provisions of the uniform salary advancement plan originally provided for by the act of August 1, 1941 (55 U. S. Stat. L., p. 614), as amended by section 402, title IV, of the act of June 30, 1945 (59 Stat. L., p. 299). |