and that she should be given the sum stated in the bill, to which she would have been entitled had she made timely claim. In view of the situation as set out above, the committee does not believe that favorable consideration of this claim would constitute a precedent for future claims. The committee therefore recommends favorable consideration of this bill, H. R. 898.

Attached hereto and made a part of this report is the letter from the Veterans' Administration submitted in connection with an identical bill in the 82d Congress (H. R. 7605) and an affidavit submitted on behalf of claimant.

Hon. EMANUEL CELLER,

VETERANS' ADMINISTRATION, Washington 25, D. C., October 1, 1952.

Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,

House of Representatives, Washington 25, D. C.

DEAR MR. CELLER: Further reference is made to your letter of August 14, 1952, requesting a report by the Veterans' Administration relative to H. R. 7605, 82d Congress, a bill for the relief of Mrs. Rose Kaczmarczyk, which provides as follows:

"That the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to pay, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to Mrs. Rose Kaczmarczyk, Bridgeport, Connecticut, the sum of $4,344. The payment of such sum shall be in full settlement of all claims of the said Mrs. Rose Kaczmarczyk (Veterans' Administration claim numbered XC-3640477) against the United States for the service-connected death compensation to which she would have been entitled, as the dependent mother of the deceased veteran William P. Kaczmarczyk, for the period beginning June 23, 1944 (the day following the date of the death of the said William P. Kaczmarczyk), and ending April 3, 1951, if claim for such compensation had been filed with the Veterans' Administration within one year after the death of the said William P. Kaczmarczyk. 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 records disclose that William Paul (Boleslaw) Kaczmarczyk (XC-3640477) served in the Army of the United States from June 4, 1942, until his death on June 22, 1944.

After receipt of notice from the 'Department of the Army of the death of the serviceman, the Veterans' Administration, on August 11, 1944, wrote the mother of the deceased, Mrs. Rose Kaczmarczyk, advising her that she had been named beneficiary of a contract of national service life insurance in the sum of $10,000 issued to her son, and enclosing a claim for settlement of that insurance. On August 25, 1944, the Veterans' Administration mailed another letter to Mrs. Kaczmarczyk, expressing regret over the death of her son and enclosing an application form for death compensation, which gave instructions for its completion and return of the Veterans' Administration. The completed claim for national service life insurance was returned on August 16, 1944, and Mrs. Kaczmarczyk was advised on October 18, 1944, that she was entitled to payments for life in the amount of $66.50 per month, beginning on June 22, 1944. However, there was no response to the letter pertaining to death compensation by the mother, or anyone in her behalf, until April 4, 1951, the date of receipt by the Veterans' Administration of an application by Mrs. Kaczmarczyk for death compensation. Enclosed with that application was the letter of August 25, 1944. In this connection, it is noted that the records of the Veterans' Administration fail to disclose any reason for Mrs. Kaczmarczyk's delay in filing such claim. On April 25, 1951, Mrs. Kaczmarczyk was awarded death compensation, at the monthly rate of $60, effective April 4, 1951, the date of filing claim with the Veterans' Administration. Payment of such compensation has continued to date.

Under existing laws and regulations there is no limitation on the time within which application may be made for compensation, but benefits are payable in cases of death arising out of World War II from the day following the date of the veteran's death if the claim is filed within 1 year after the death. If a claim is not filed within such period, death benefits are payable prospectively from the date of application. In view of the facts that the foregoing rules were then for application and Mrs. Kaczmarczyk's claim was not filed until April 4, 1951, which was more than 1 year after the veteran's death, the award of compensation was properly commenced on such date.

H. R. 7605 proposes to pay Mrs. Kaczmarczyk the sum of $4,344 which the bill states represents "the service-connected death compensation to which she would have been entitled, as the dependent mother of the deceased veteran William P. Kaczmarczyk, for the period beginning June 23, 1944 (the day following the date of the death of the said William P. Kaczmarczyk), and ending April 3, 1951 if claim for such compensation had been filed with the Veterans' Administration within 1 year after the death of the said William P. Kaczmarczyk." The sum of $4,344 equals the total amount of monthly payments of death compensation to which an eligible parent would have been entitled during the period June 23, 1944, through April 3, 1951. It may be noted however that to have been eligible for death compensation during the stated period, Mrs. Kaczmarczyk, in addition to filing a timely claim, would also have had to establish the fact that she was the dependent mother of the veteran. In this connection, the only information pertaining to her dependency in the records of the Veterans' Administration is that submitted in her claim of April 4, 1951, from which information it is not possible to ascertain whether she was dependent during the period referred to in the bill.

The circumstances of this case have been carefully considered. No reason is apparent why it should be singled out for special legislative treatment by authorizing payment of death compensation from an earlier date than is permitted by general law. To grant legislative relief in this case would be discriminatory against others in the same or similar circumstances, and might form a precedent for similar relief in other cases.

The Veterans' Administration does not believe that private bills of this nature should receive favorable consideration.

Advice has been received from the Bureau of the Budget that there would be no objection to the submission of this report to the committee.

Sincerely yours,

STATE OF CONNECTICUT,

County of Fairfield, ss:

BRIDGEPORT, Conn.

First being duly sworn, Mrs. Rose Duda, sister of the above-named deceased veteran, makes the following statement in behalf of her mother, Mrs. Rose Kaczmarczyk, 1373 Pembroke Street, Bridgeport, Conn., in connection with the adjudication of a death compensation (claim number shown above):

"That:

"My mother (Mrs. Rose Kaczmzrczyk) cannot read or write the English language and in her behalf it is necessary that I submit this affidavit:

"That she received a letter from the Veterans' Administration, Washington, D. C., postmarked August 25, 1944, and at the time she received this letter she was home alone at her home and not knowing how to read English and the fact that she was ill with a heart condition, being under the care of Dr. Zsiga; being upset over the fact that her son William had been killed in service and her fourth son being drafted the following month, she just put the letter away, forgetting all about it until one day, I, Mrs. Rose Duda (daughter) went to spend the day with mother and she asked me to look over her personal belongings to see what to save and what to throw away and I was looking through the various papers,

I came across this sealed letter (envelope of which is attached hereto). My mother opened the letter, that day being in the month of March or the early part of April 1951:

"That I read the letter and explained it to her in our language, she then became all upset about it and asked me what to do about it; that I told her I would go to the Veterans' Administration office in Bridgeport with her and to see what they could do for her:

That we went to the Bridgeport office of the Veterans' Administration and spoke to one of the officials and gave him the letter and explained the circumstances that caused the delay in filing the claim:

"That he simply took the letter and advised us he would send out a new form, effective on April 4, 1951."

Mrs. ROSE DUDA.

Appeared personally before me and swears to the truth of the above statement, this 17th day of February 1953 in the city of Bridgeport, Conn.

83D CONGRESS 2d Session

SENATE

{

REPORT No. 1442

HELGA ROSSMANN AND HER CHILD

MAY 27 (legislative day, MAY 13), 1954.-Ordered to be printed

Mr. WILEY (for Mr. LANGER), from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H: R. 1465]

The Committee on the Judiciary, to which was referred the bill (H. R. 1465) for the relief of Helga Rossmann and her child, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of the bill is to waive the excluding provision of existing law relating to the conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude in behalf of the fiance of a United States citizen member of our Armed Forces. The bill also enables the fiance and her child to enter the United States in order that the fiance may marry her citizen fiance and thereafter reside in the United States.

STATEMENT OF FACT

The beneficiaries of the bill are a 25-year-old native and citizen of Germany and her 3-year-old child. The fiance of the mother and father of the child is a United States citizen and a member of the United States Air Force. He was unable to marry his fiance while stationed in Germany with the Air Force because his fiance was ineligible to receive a visa on the ground that she had been convicted of a minor crime involving moral turpitude, to wit, stealing a small amount of firewood in 1948. The sponsor of the bill is now stationed in the United States and is desirous of marrying his fiance and establishing his family in this country.

Congressman Charles R. Howell, the author of the bill, submitted to the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives the