APRIL 1, 1948.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed. Mr. CRAVENS, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 3931] The Committee on the Judiciary to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 3931) for the relief of James W. Keith, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. The amendment is as follows: At the end of bill add: : Provided, That no part of the amount appropriated in this Act in excess of 10 per centum thereof shall be paid or delivered to or received by any agent or attorney on account of services rendered in connection with this claim, and the same shall be unlawful, any contract to the contrary notwithstanding. Any person violating the provisions of this Act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in any sum not exceeding $1,000. The purpose of the proposed legislation is to pay the sum of $337.89 to James W. Keith, of Newport News, Va., in full settlement of all claims against the United States for property damage sustained as a result of an accident involving an Army vehicle on highway 60, near Newport News, Va., on November 25, 1943. STATEMENT OF FACTS On the afternoon of November 25, 1943, Pvt. Freddie Irvin, Three Hundred and Third Quartermaster Company, Camp Patrick Henry, Va., took an Army 2%-ton truck from his company area without permission and drove it to Newport News, Va., on a personal mission of his own. At about 4:30 p. m. Private Irvin was driving the truck in a northerly direction on route No. 60, about 1 mile north of Newport News, Va., following an automobile owned and operated by James W. Keith. Mr. Keith was forced to bring his automobile to a halt because a vehicle in front of him had stalled on the highway. Private Irvin permitted his truck to crash into the rear of Mr. Keith's auto mobile, damaging it in the amount of $337.89. Mr. Keith was not personally injured in the accident. On December 4, 1943, Mr. Keith filed a claim in the amount of $337.89 for the damage caused to his automobile in this accident. On January 26, 1944, the claim was disapproved by an officer on the staff of the Commanding General, Third Service Command, Baltimore, Md., acting under appropriate delegated authority, on the ground that there was no statute avialable to the War Department under which said claim could be paid. The act of July 3, 1943 (57 Stat. 372; 31 U. S. C. 223b), was the only statute under which the claim could be considered, and it provides that a claim for property damage may not be approved thereunder unless such damage was "caused by military personnel or civilian employees of the War Department or of the Army while acting within the scope of their employment, or [was] otherwise incident to noncombat activities of the War Department or of the Army." The Secretary of the Army in his report dated October 1, 1947 states: There is no legal responsibility on the part of the United States to compensate Mr. Keith for the damage caused to his automobile in this accident. If, however, in the light of the foregoing facts, the Congress should deem it appropriate to grant relief in this case, the Department of the Army would have no objection to the enactment of this bill if it should be amended to contain the usual provision limiting attorneys' fees to an amount not exceeding 10 percent. Your committee agrees with the Department of the Army that there is no legal basis to settle this claim, however, there certainly is an equitable one. The Congress has from time to time enacted into law bills of this nature where the employee was not acting within the scope of his employment, but nevertheless he was in possession of an Army vehicle and some one in authority permitted him to obtain such vehicle. There was no negligence on the part of Mr. Keith and your committee is of the opinion that he should be reimbursed for the repairs on his automobile. Therefore, favorable recommendation is made on the claim. Hon. EARL C. MICHENER, Chairmann, Committee on the Judiciary, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, Washington, D. C., October 1, 1947. House of Representatives. DEAR MR. MICHENER: Reference is made to your letter, with which you enclosed a copy of H. R. 3931, Eightieth Congress, a bill for the relief of James W. Keith, and requesting a report on the merits of the bill. This bill would authorize and direct the Secretary of the Treasury "to pay, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the sum of $337.89 to Mr. James W. Keith, 212 Hurley Avenue, Hilton Village, Newport News, Va., in full settlement of all claims against the United States for property damage sustained as the result of an accident involving a United States Army vehicle which occurred on November 25, 1943." On the afternoon of November 25, 1943, Private Freddie Irvin, Three Hundred and Third Quartermaster Company, Camp Patrick Henry, Va., took an Army 22-ton truck from his company area without permission and drove it to Newport News, Va., on a personal mission of his own. At about 4:30 p. m. Private Irvin was driving the truck in a northerly direction on route No. 60, about 1 mile north of Newport News, Va., following an automobile owned and operated by James W. Keith, Mr. Keith was forced to bring his automobile to a halt because a vehicle in front of him had stalled in the highway. Private Irvin permitted his truck to crash into the rear of Mr. Keith's automobile, damaging it in the amount of $337.89. Mr. Keith was not personally injured in the accident. On December 4, 1943, Mr. Keith filed a claim in the amount of $337.89 for the damage caused to his automobile in this accident. On January 26, 1944, the claim was disapproved by an officer on the staff of the Commanding General, Third Service Command, Baltimore, Md., acting under appropriate delegated authority, on the ground that there was no statute available to the War Department under which said claim could be paid. The Act of July 3, 1943 (57 Stat. 372; 31 U. S. C. 223b), was the only statute under which the claim could be considered, and it provides that a claim for property damage may not be approved thereunder unless such damage was "caused by military personnel or civilian employees of the War Department or of the Army while acting within the scope of their employment, or [was] otherwise incident to noncombat activities of the War Department or of the Army." Private Irvin took the Army truck involved in this accident without permission and was using it on a personal mission of his own at the time the accident occurred. He clearly was not acting within the scope of his employment as a soldier when this collision occurred, nor did the collision result from noncombat activity of the Army within the meaning of the act of July 3, 1943, supra. Mr. Keith appealed to the Secretary of War from the decision disapproving his claim, and on June 15, 1944, the Secretary of War sustained the previous action of disapproval and denied the appeal therefrom. This claim is not cognizable under the provisions of the Federal Tort Claims Act of August 2, 1946 (60 Stat. 842; 28 U. S. C. 921) for the reasons that: (1) The accident out of which the claim arose occurred prior to January 1, 1945; and (2) the soldier responsible for the damage was not acting within the scope of his office or employment at the time the accident occurred. The only method, therefore, by which the claimant may recover is through the enactment of a private relief bill for his benefit such as H. R. 3931. There is no legal responsibility on the part of the United States to compensate Mr. Keith for the damage caused to his automobile in this accident. If, however, in the light of the foregoing facts, the Congress should deem it appropriate to grant relief in this case, the Department of the Army would have no objection to the enactment of this bill if it should be amended to contain the usual provision limiting attorneys' fees to an amount not exceeding 10 percent. The Bureau of the Budget advises that there is no objection to the submission of this report. Sincerely yours, KENNETH C. ROYALL, Secretary of the Army. Below is our estimate to repair your S-1 De Soto cabriolet. Quantity part No.-parts necessary and estimate of labor 2 fog lights. Install fog lights.. 1 right tail light and support. Labor cost, $3.00 Raise rear body and straighten frame Repair right rear body panel.. Refinish right rear body panel. Straighten rear body.. Refinish rear body. 1 rear wheel.... 1 600x16 tire 1 600x16 tube_ Install rear wheel___. Refinish wheel.. 1. 50 1.00 12. 00 2. 50 3. 00 30.00 4. 50 150. 00 Straighten left front fender_. Refinish left front fender__ Total.... Total parts and labor, $337.89. Parts cost, estimate $24.00 4. 60 .20 NOTE. The above is an estimate based on our inspection and does not cover any additional parts or labor which may be required after the work has been opened up. Occasionally after the work has started worn parts are discovered which are not evident on the first inspection. Because of this the above prices are not guaranteed. By CARTER, O APRIL 1, 1948.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed Mr. JENNINGS, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 4518] The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 4518) for the relief of Gerald S. Furman, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. The amendment is as follows: At the end of bill add: : Provided, That no part of the amount appropriated in this Act in excess of 10 per centum thereof shall be paid or delivered to or received by any agent or attorney on account of services rendered in connection with this claim, and the same shall be unlawful, any contract to the contrary notwithstanding. Any person violating the provisions of this Act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in any sum not exceeding $1,000. The purpose of the proposed legislation is to pay the sum of $97.23 to Gerald S. Furman, of Plainfield, N. J., in full settlement of all claims against the United States for expenses incurred in reporting to the St. Louis Medical Department procurement district, St. Louis, Mo., as a consultant of the War Department, on October 26, 1942. STATEMENT OF FACTS In 1942 Mr. Gerald S. Furman was employed as the sales director in the New York office of Merck & Co., one of the leading American pharmaceutical manufacturers. It was considered that Mr. Furman had outstanding knowledge concerning the production of, and the problems incident to, the production of sulfonamides. In October 1942 the St. Louis Medical Department procurement district, St. Louis, Mo., urgently requested the Surgeon General of the Army to secure the immediate appointment of Mr. Furman as an expert consultant, under the provisions of section 8 of the Military Appropriation Act, 1943 (56 Stat. 631), so that he might serve as purchasing and contracting officer of the procurement district in charge of the |