80TH CONGRESS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session { REPORT No. 1572 EXEMPTING CIVILIAN MEMBERS OF THE PERMANENT JOINT BOARD ON DEFENSE, UNITED STATES-CANADA, FROM CERTAIN STATUTORY RESTRICTIONS ON OUTSIDE ACTIVITIES MARCH 17, 1948.-Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed Mr. REED of Illinois, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 5708] The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 5708) to exempt civilian members of the permanent Joint Board on Defense, United States-Canada, from certain statutory restrictions on outside activities, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. STATEMENT The bill is specifically designed to permit the reappointment of Mr. Dean G. Acheson as a civilian member and chairman of the United States section of the permanent Joint Board on Defense, United States-Canada, free from certain existing statutory restrictions found in the Criminal Code and the Contract Settlement Act of 1944. Since the employment is without compensation and entails approximately 2 weeks' work annually, and since the circumstances of the employment are such as to negate the likelihood of situations contemplated by the statutory restrictions, the committee sees no reasonable objection to the bill. The President of the United States has personally requested the passage of such legislation in the following letter: Hon. JOSEPH W. MARTIN, Jr., THE WHITE HOUSE, Washington, March 2, 1948. Speaker of the House of Representatives. DEAR MR. SPEAKER: I recommend that the Congress enact legislation to exempt the civilian member of the permanent Joint Board on Defense, United States-Canada, from certain statutory restrictions on the prosecution of claims against the United States by Government employees. On October 7, 1947, I appointed Mr. Dean Acheson as civilian member and chairman of the United States section of the Board to fill the vacancy caused by the death of former Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia, who was appointed to the position by President Roosevelt in 1940. The premanent Joint Board on Defense, United States-Canada, was established by President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Mackenzie King on August 18, 1940, to "consider in the broad sense the defense of the north half of the Western Hemisphere." The Board is wholly an advisory body which makes recommendations to the two Governments concerning measures that should be taken for the joint security of Canada and the United States against attack from abroad. Practically all its recommendations, many of them of fundamental significance, have been adopted. Membership of the United States section of the Board since 1940 has been composed of a civilian chairman; a representative of the Department of State who acts as secretary; and representatives of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. The civilian member and chairman serves without compensation and at the pleasure of the President; his position is not a statutory one and is not subject to Senate confirmation. His service requires about 2 weeks' work a year. It was recently brought to Mr. Acheson's attention, and he promptly brought it to mine, that this advisory, uncompensated service might fall within the provisions of certain statutes (specifically secs. 109 or 113 of the Criminal Code or sec. 19 (e) of the Contract Settlement Act of 1944) restricting the activities of officers or employees of the United States in cases in which the Government might be involved. Following his resignation as Under Secretary of State on June 30, 1947, Mr. Acheson returned to the practice of law. I believe the Congress will agree that his service on the Board is far indeed from those situations where the Congress feared there might be divided loyalty or the use of "inside" information for private purposes. Nevertheless, in view of the possible technical bearing of the statutes in question, Mr. Acheson has quite properly submitted to me, and I have accepted, his resignation as civilian member and Chairman of the Permanent Joint Board on Defense. The civilian member and chairman of the United States section of the Board represents me but also in a much larger sense the broad civilian interest in joint United States-Canadian defense plans. I know that the Congress will agree with me that we should find for this position a man of outstanding character, qualifications, and national reputation. I also venture to hope that the Congress will agree with me that Mr. Acheson fulfills these requirements, and will therefore understand my desire to reappoint him to the position of civilian member and chairman. However, the problem which arises is broader than the appointment of any particular individual and will continue to be a serious impediment in the filling of this position. I therefore earnestly hope that the Congress will enact appropriate legislation which will exempt the position from the above-mentioned statutory restrictions. I enclose a draft of a proposed bill which would achieve this end. Very sincerely yours, HARRY S. Truman. O 80TH CONGRESS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session LOUISE PETERS LEWIS { REPORT No. 1573 MARCH 18, 1948.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed Mr. FEIGHAN, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 403] The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 403) for the relief of Louise Peters Lewis, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill do pass. The amendments are as follows: Page 1, line 4, after the word "pay," strike out "out of the German special deposit account in the Treasury of the United States, created by section 4 (a) of the Settlement of War Claims Act of 1928, as amended", and insert in lieu thereof: out of any funds or property of the Government of Germany or of nationals of Germany in the possession or under the control of the Government of the United States or which may hereafter come into the possession or under the control of the United States. Page 2, line 1, after the word "pre" insert "First". STATEMENT OF FACTS Mrs. Louise Peters Lewis, now a woman of 83, an American citizen born in Baltimore, Md., while in Germany just prior to the First World War was induced to invest her lifetime savings, $10,000, in 6-percent bonds of the then Imperial German Government. When war threatened, after her return to her home in East Lynn, Mass., being totally ignorant of financial and investment transactions and nervous about her income, she tore off the coupons from these bonds and sent them to the German bank from which she had purchased them. She has never received back a dollar of her principal or interest, now totaling in excess of $30,000. She has no other property or estate. Under the Trading With the Enemy Act, as amended, and various war measures of the Government of the United States during the Second World War, there have been vested in the United States Government money, property, and assets of the enemy Government of Germany and its nationals, in an amount many times exceeding the amount of Mrs. Lewis' loss. These moneys, properties, and assets are at the sole disposition of the Congress. No claims of American citizens or nationals attach thereto and no part thereof represents money raised by taxation or property of American origin. After its organization in 1922, Mrs. Lewis, without counsel, presented her claim to the Mixed Claims Commission, United States and Germany, and was lulled into confidence by the American agency of that Commission that the evidence presented by her was sufficient for her to receive an award. Had this proved to be the fact, she would have received full compenstion for her loss, including interest, 10 years ago, out of the "German special deposit account" established by the Settlement of the War Claims Act, which account is now exhausted as the result of action taken by this Congress. Mrs. Lewis received no award from the Mixed Claims Commission of the United States and Germany and, must prior to its dissolution in June 1941, her claim was dismissed upon the technical ground that the detachment of the coupons was her own act and not due to any exceptional war measures of the German Government and that, with the bond coupons detached, she had not made good proof of her claim on these German bonds. As the record before this committee shows, if she had had counsel or any previous notice of the contemplated action of the Commission, she could have supplied this technical defect in her proof, if such it was. That the granting of relief is within the undisputed power of the Congress is established on precedent by Private Law No. 509, approved by the President on July 14, 1940, and reference is made to the exhaustive report thereon by the Foreign Relations Committee of the United States Senate, No. 3100 of the Seventy-sixth Congress, third session. Therefore, your committee recommends favorable consideration to the bill as amended. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Hon. EARL C. MICHENER, Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives. MY DEAR MR. MICHENER: I refer again to your letter of March 20, 1947, in which you request, in connection with the consideration of H. R. 403, a bill for the relief of Louise Peters Lewis, a statement of the facts with reference to the claim of Mrs. Peters which was presented to and dismissed by the Mixed Claims Commission, United States and Germany, established pursuant to an agreement between the two countries of August 10, 1922, to adjudicate claims of American citizens against Germany. You also request an expression of the views of this Department concerning the merits of the bill. Ünder date of May 28, 1940, an identical bill, H. R. 9933 (76th Cong., 3d sess.), was introduced by the Honorable Lawrence J. Connery, in connection with the consideration of which a full report on the status of the claim of Mrs. Lewis was submitted to the Committee on War Claims, House of Representatives, under date of September 30, 1940, by the acting American agent before the Mixed Claims Commission, United States and Germany. For the reasons set out in that report, a copy of which is enclosed herewith, this Department does not consider that it could appropriately recommend favorable consideration of H. R. 403. It may be noted that article VI of the above mentioned agreement of August 10, 1922, provides that the decisions of the Commission shall be accepted as final and binding upon the two Governments. The Department has been informed by the Bureau of the Budget that there is no objection to the submission of this report. Sincerely yours, DURWARD V. SANDIFER, (Enclosure: Report submitted to Committee on War Claims, September 30, SEPTEMBER 30, 1940. 1940.) Hon. REUBEN T. WOOD, Chairman, Committee on War Claims, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR MR. WOOD: This will acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 26th instant in which you request that a report be made to your committee with relation to H. R. 9933, Seventy-sixth Congress-a bill for the relief of Louise Peters Lewis. There was enclosed with your letter a copy of the bill in question that proposes to authorize an appropriation of $10,000 out of the German special deposit account, set up pursuant to the provisions of the Settlement of War Claims Act of 1928 (45 Stat. 254, 260), to compensate Louise Peters Lewis for loss said to have been sustained by her on account of the depreciation in value of certain prewar German securities owned by her. A claim on behalf of Mrs. Lewis involving certain prewar German securities to the face value of RM48,000 was received by the agency in January 1923. Considerable correspondence was had with Mrs. Lewis in an endeavor to obtain the data desirable to submit the matter to the Commission. Such data, however, was not received, and on January 5, 1926, the agency notified claimant that unless the evidence was forthcoming it would be necessary for the agency to submit the claim to the Commission for dismissal. The evidence not being furnished, the claim was accordingly, on July 19, 1926, submitted along with two other claims to the Commission "for dismissal under rule XIII for want of sufficient evidence to justify their prosecution." The claim was thereupon, under date of November 8, 1926, dismissed by the Commission (docket No. 7172, list No. 5242). Claimant was duly notified of this action by the Commission in agency's letter of November 24, 1926. Following this dismissal, claimant wrote the agency on December 28, 1926, and January 18, 1927, protesting against the action of the Commission and also furnishing certain evidence that had been theretofore requested. The agency wrote claimant on January 26, 1927, suggesting that should certain further evidence be furnished the claim would again be presented to the Commission in order that it might be considered on its merits. After considerable further correspondence was had, the agency on October 17, 1929, filed a motion with the Commission submitting the evidence finally furnished and asking that the order of November 8, 1926, dismissing the claim under rule XIII be vacated as "The American agency has, since the date of the order dismissing the claim, received evidence from the claimant in support of the claim, which, in the opinion of the American agent, is sufficient to entitle the claimant to have the claim considered by the Commission upon its merits. The claimant also has furnished the American agent with a satisfactory explanation of the reasons why this evidence was not furnished at an earlier date." The claim was then considered on its merits by the Commission and under date of January 10, 1930, the Commission dismissed, without opinion, the motion asking that the claim be reopened. Since the dismissal of this claim, the agency has had a great deal of correspondence in relation to the claim both with Mrs. Lewis and with several Members of the Congress in an endeavor to have the claim again considered by the Commission. As evidenced by the data filed by Mrs. Lewis in support of this claim, it appears that the German securities involved to the face value of RM48,000 were in this country in the possession of claimant since some time before August 10, 1914. They were apparently deposited by claimant with various American banks as collateral for loans made to her by these banks; the first loan in the amount of $1,000 being made by the First National Bank of Boston on August 10, 1914, which loan was paid June 18, 1917 (ex. 30). The securities were then apparently used to secure a new loan to claimant made June 18, 1917, by a New York bank for $3,000 (ex. 10). This loan was apparently eventually paid off on June 10, 1921 (ex, 9), and the securities presumably returned to claimant. |