been handicapped in its rating for lack of funds to properly equip and modernize the plant. It is a provisionally accredited school for West Point Military Academy. Your committee believes the sum of $10,000 as offered by the Columbia Military Academy is beyond question a full and fair price for the interest of the United States Government in said property-that is, the rights herein defined—and that said offer should be accepted and upon payment of said sum of $10,000 that the Secretary of War should be directed to convey all interest and rights of the Government in said property to the Columbia Military Academy, a body corporate. We may add this same bill passed the House in the Seventieth Congress, but reached the Senate too late for passage. The Secretary of War does not favor passage of this bill, without assigning specific reasons: Hon. W. FRANK JAMES, Chairman Committee on Military Affairs, House of Representatives. DEAR MR. JAMES: I am pleased to comply with your request of June 21, 1929, for a report on H. R. 2156, a bill authorizing the sale of all the interest and rights of the United States of America in the Columbia Arsenal property, situated in the ninth civil district of Maury County, Tenn., and providing that the net fund be deposited in the military post construction fund, and for the repeal of Public Law No. 542 (H. R. 12479), Seventieth Congress. The applicable provisions of existing law on this subject are the act of Congress approved April 23, 1904 (33 Stat. 296), pursuant to which the reservation is now held by the Columbia Military Academy, and the act of Congress approved May 26, 1928 (Public No. 542, 70th Cong.), which authorized the Secretary of War to dispose of the reservation at its appraised value. The proposed legislation is similar to H. R. 16214, Seventieth Congress, upon which report was made on January 30, 1929. As stated therein the appraisal of the property provided for in the act of May 26, 1928, was made by the National Real Estate Board, Nashville, Tenn., and certified to June 16, 1928. The value was appraised at $30,214.69, which represented the fair market value of the land without regard to the buildings thereon. The effect of the present bill if enacted into law would be to permit the Secretary of War to accept $10,000 for this reservation instead of the appraised value. I do not favor the passage of the bill. If any additional information from the War Department is desired, I shall be pleased to furnish it. Should hearings be held upon the proposed legislation, suitable witnesses will be designated to appear. Sincerely yours, JAMES W. GOOD, Secretary of War. JUNE 18 (calendar day, JUNE 23), 1930.-Ordered to be printed Mr. BORAH, from the Committee on Foreign Relations, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. J. Res. 322] The Committee on Foreign Relations, having had under consideration House Joint Resolution 322, authorizing payment of the claim of the Norwegian Government for interest upon money advanced by it in connection with the protection of American interests in Russia, reports the same without amendment and recommends that it do pass. The facts concerning this claim are set forth in House Report No. 1668, which is attached hereto and made a part of this report. [House Report No. 1668, Seventy-first Congress, second session] The Committee on Foreign Affairs, to which was referred House Joint Resolution 322, authorizing payment of the claim of the Norwegian Government for interest upon money advanced by it in connection with the protection of American interests in Russia, having had the same under consideration, reports thereon with the recommendation that the resolution do pass without amendment. A similar resolution passed the House in the Seventieth Congress but in the closing days of the session failed to receive action in the Senate. The committee subjoins as a part of this report a letter from the President of the United States and letters from the Hon. Wilbur J. Carr, Acting Secretary of State, as follows: To the Congress of the United States: I transmit herewith a report from the Secretary of State in relation to a claim presented by the Government of Norway for the payment of interest on certain sums advanced by it for this Government in connection with its representation of American interests in Moscow, and I recommend that an appropriation be authorized to effect a settlement of this claim in accordance with the recommendation of the Secretary of State. THE WHITE HOUSE, March 12, 1930. HERBERT HOOVER. The PRESIDENT: DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Washington, March 10, 1930. I have the honor to bring to your attention the request made by the Norwegian Government for the payment of interest on certain sums advanced by it for this Government in connection with its representation of American interests in Moscow. The facts of the case may be briefly stated as follows: In September, 1918, the Government of the United States requested the Norwegian Government to take charge of the protection of American interests in Moscow, stating that it would reimburse the Norwegian Government for the expenses incurred in carrying out this request. The Norwegian Government accordingly authorized its vice consul at Moscow to assume protection of American interests at that place. Various expenses were incurred by the vice consul in connection with his protection of American interests, and the Norwegian Government, by December 8, 1920, had paid him the sum of 65,162.97 kroner, representing the amount of the expenses incurred by him. with interest to the date of payment. The Norwegian Government thereupon requested reimbursement by this Government of the sum of 65,162.97 kroner with interest to the date of such reimbursement. Due, in part, to the difficulty experienced by this Government in obtaining proper documentary evidence of the expenditures incurred by the vice consul, reimbursement was not made until July 13, 1925, when the Comptroller General of the United States allowed the Norwegian Government the sum of 65,162.97 kroner, the amount paid by it to the vice consul, but disallowed the claim for nterest. The Norwegian Government, in acknowledging the receipt of the sum allowed by the Comptroller General, requested that interest also be paid. Because of the fact that reimbursement was not made until nearly five years after the funds had been advanced by the Norwegian Government it is the view of this department that this Government should pursue a generous course in recognizing the assistance rendered it by a friendly foreign g vernment in a time of emergency. The interest claimed amounts to approximately $5,000, and I have the honor to recommend that the Congress be requested to authorize the approp:iation of this sum in payment of the Norwegian Government's claim, as an act of grace, and without reference to the question of the legal liability of the United States. A summary of the essential facts regarding the case being embodied in this communication it is deemed unnecessary to accompany it with copies of the correspondence in the case. All, or any part, of that correspondence will, of course, be furnished should you or the Congress so desire. It should be added that this claim was brought to the attention of the Sixtyninth Congress in a message from the President dated April 23, 1926, printed in House Document No. 343, Sixty-ninth Congress, first session, and that House Joint Resolution No. 246, Sixty-ninth Congress, for the payment of this claim was introduced n May 25, 1926, and was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs. N action was taken by the committee on this resolution. House Joint Resolution No. 154, providing for the payment of this claim, was passed by the Hous on Ap il 4, 19 8, and was referred on that date to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the S nate. However, it failed of passage in that body. The matter has again been brought to the attention of the department by the Norwegian minister at this Capital, who stated that he would be very much obliged to be able to inform his Government that the claim would again be taken up at the present session of Congress. Re pectfully submitted. WILBUR J. CARR, Acting Secretary of State. DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Hon. STEPHEN G. PORTER, Chairman Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives. MY DEAR MR. PORTER: When I appeared before the Committee on Foreign Affairs recently in connection with House Joint Resolution 271, authorizing payment of the claim of the Norwegian Government for interest upon money advanced by it in connection with the protection of American interests in Russia, the committee requested me to submit (1) a statement showing the method of computing the interest claimed by the Norwegian Government, (2) the amount of interest on unpaid interest which had accrued since the date of the payment of the principal to the Norwegian Government, and (3) an amendment to the resolution setting forth the essential facts concerning the payment of interest. In regard to the first point, the rate of interest claimed is 61⁄2 per cent and not 6 per cent as stated in the pending resolution. The amount advanced by the Norwegian Government upon which interest is claimed was 65,162.97 kroner, which had a value of $11,507.78 in United States gold at the time of the payment by the United States of the principal on July 13, 1925. At the rate of 61⁄2 per cent the interest amounts of 22,460.37 kroner from February 24, 1920, to July 13, 1925, the date of the payment of the principal. This sum in United States currency at the rate of exchange prevailing July 13, 1925 (1 kroner equals 0.1766) was equal to $3,966.50, or, at the mint rate of exchange, which is only 0.0013 above the current rate as of to-day (1 kroner equals 0.268), would equal $6,019.37. As to the second point, the interest upon the foregoing sum, 22,460.37 kroner (interest from July 13, 1925, to July 13, 1930), at 61⁄2 per cent is 7,299.75 kroner which, at the rate of exchange prevailing on July 13, 1925 (1 kroner equals 0.1766), is equal to $1,289.13, or, at the mint rate of exchange (1 kroner equals 0.268), would equal $1,956.33. The total amount of interest, therefore, amounts to 29,760.12 kroner, which is equal to $5,255.63 is computed at the rate of exchange prevailing July 13, 1925, when the principal was paid to Norway, or $7,975.70 if computed at the mint rate of exchange. In either case, therefore, the amount of $5,000 stated in the report of the department, contained in House Document No. 317, is incorrect, and should be $5,255.63 or $7,975.70, according to the rate of exchange employed. It would seem that inasmuch as the interest claimed is upon an amount in kroner and in order to purchase at present the number of kroner necessary to pay to the Norwegian Government in kroner the amount of the interest, the sum required would be $7,975.70. Therefore, the appropriation should apparently not be for $5,000, as erroneously stated in the report of the Department of State, but should be for the sum of $7,975.70, or, in order to allow for interest beyond July 13, 1930, if an appropriation should be delayed beyond that time, approximately $8,500. As to the third point, I am inclosing a redraft of the joint resolution which I believe sets out the points which the committee desired to have covered. I am also inclosing a statement showing in still further detail the manner in which the department has arrived at the figures herein before stated. Hoping that the foregoing will satisfy the requirements of the committee, I am, Yours sincerely, WILBUR J. CARR. Norwegian claim for interest Amount advanced by Norwegian Government on Feb. 24, 1920.. Total advanced by Norwegian Government... Total.. O |