83D CONGRESS 2d Session } SENATE REPORT No. 1569 RALPH S. PEARMAN AND OTHERS JUNE 9 (legislative day, MAY 13), 1954.-Ordered to be printed Mr. LANGER, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 4919] The Committee on the Judiciary, to which was referred the bill (H. R. 4919) for the relief of Ralph S. Pearman and others, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon, with an amendment, and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass. of AMENDMENT On page 4, line 8, strike the following: "in excess of 10 per centum any claim". PURPOSE The purpose of the proposed legislation is to compensate 43 members of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps for the loss of certain personal property belonging to them as a result of a fire which partially destroyed the building in which the ROTC students were housed. STATEMENT In April and May 1952 a number of ROTC students were directed to proceed to the Fort Devens ROTC summer camp at Fort Devens, Mass., for 6 weeks of student training beginning on June 21, 1952. During their stay at Fort Devens the students were assigned quarters in buildings on the base, one of which was partially destroyed by fire on June 22, 1952, at about 7:50 a. m. The students whose names are listed in the instant bill sustained the loss of certain personal property as a result of the fire, which consisted principally of wearing apparel which they were authorized to keep in their quarters and which was considered reasonable and proper for them to have had in their possession. Forty-three of the ROTC students who lost personal property in this fire filed claims with the Department of the Army for damages on account of the loss of their property, but they cannot be reimbursed administratively under the present law, since the Military Personnel Claims Act of 1945 (59 Stat. 225) limits recovery thereunder to military personnel and civilian employees of the Military Establishment, and the claimants would not qualify in either of these categories. The claimants are likewise unable to receive judicial relief under the Federal Tort Claims Act (60 Stat. 843), inasmuch as there is no evidence establishing that the fire was caused by any negligence or wrongful act or omission of an employee of the Government, a condition precedent to the approval of a claim under that statute. The only method therefore by which the claimants may be afforded relief is through the medium of private legislation such as this. The Department of the Army in its report on this bill recommends enactment of the legislation. The position of the Department is that the loss did not result from the negligence or fault of any of the students, and under such circumstances the students would have been paid had they qualified as members of the armed services or civilian employees thereof. The Department also points out that a similar bill for the relief of certain ROTC students who lost personal property in a fire that occurred at Langley Air Force Base, Va., was enacted by the 82d Congress (Private Law 74). The Department of the Army also points out in its report that an Army claims officer reviewed the losses sustained by these claimants and determined the claims to be in the correct amount. The total cost to the Government of this bill, if enacted, will be $8,105.16. In view of the previous legislation cited by the report of the Department of the Army, and in view of the fact that the losses sustained by these individuals were not caused by any fault or negligence on their part, the committee believes that these students are entitled to reimbursement for their losses, and consequently the committee recommends favorable consideration of this legislation. Attached to this report and made a part thereof is the report of the Department of the Army referred to earlier. Hon. JOSEPH W. MARTIN, Jr., DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY, Washington 25, D. C., April 23, 1953: Speaker of the House of Representatives, Washington, D. C: DEAR MR. SPEAKER: There is enclosed herewith a draft of a proposed bill for the relief of sundry members of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps, which it is recommended be enacted into law. This proposed legislation is submitted by the Department of the Army in accordance with procedures prescribed by the Secretary of Defense. The purpose of the proposed legislation is to compensate 43 members of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps on account of the destruction by fire of certain personal property belonging to them. By competent orders, issued in April and May 1952, a number of ROTC students were directed to proceed to the Fort Devens ROTC Summer Camp, Fort Devens, Mass., for a 6-week student training, beginning on June 21, 1952: Upon reporting at Fort Devens some of the students were assigned quarters in Building T-2850 on the base. On July 22, 1952, at about 7:50 a. m., a fire of undetermined origin partially destroyed that building, and the students whose names are listed in the attached proposed bill sustained the loss of certain personal property belonging to them, consisting principally of wearing apparel, which they were authorized to keep in their quarters and which was considered reasonable, useful, necessary, and proper for them to have had in their possession. Forty-three of these ROTC students who lost personal property in this fire filed claims with the Department of the Army for damages on account of the loss of their property. An Army claims officer, after an appraisal of the losses sustained by these 43 students, found that the losses in question were in the respective amounts set forth in the enclosed draft of bill. The claims asserted by the students who sustained losses of personal property in this fire cannot be approved and paid under the Military Personnel Claims Act of 1945 (59 Stat. 225; 31 U. S. C. 222c), as amended, for the reason that said statute limits recovery thereunder to military personnel and civilian employees of the Military Establishment. The claims, therefore, were necessarily disapproved for the reason that the claimants were neither members of the Armed Forces of the United States nor civilian employees of the Military Establishment. These claims are not cognizable under the Federal Tort Claims Act (60 Stat. 843; 28 U. S. C. 921), as revised and codified by the act of June 25, 1948 (62 Stat. 983; 28 U. S. C. 2672), and as amended by the act of April 25, 1949 (63 Stat. 62), because the evidence fails to show that the fire giving rise to the damages complained of was caused by any negligent or wrongful act or omission of an employee of the Government, a condition precedent to the approval of a claim under that statute. There is no other statute under which said claims may be paid. The only method, therefore, by which these claimants may be compensated for the losses sustained by them in the fire of July 22, 1952, is through the enactment by the Congress of a special relief bill for their benefit. These claims are meritorious, and in equity and justice they should be paid. The losses in question did not result from any fault or negligence on the part of the students sustaining such losses. If the ROTC students who sustained losses in this fire had been members of the Armed Forces of the United States, or civilian employees thereof, their claims could have been approved and paid under the Military Personnel Claims Act of 1945, supra. The Department of the Army, therefore, recommends that the attached proposed bill be enacted into law. The total cost of this bill, if enacted, will be $8,105.16. A similar bill for the relief of certain ROTC students who lost personal property in a fire that occurred at the Langley Air Force Base, Va., was enacted by the 82d Congress (S. 1227, 82d Cong., an act for the relief of sundry former students of the Air Reserve Officers' Training Corps, approved May 25, 1951, Private Law 74, 82d Cong.). The Bureau of the Budget advises that there is no objection to the submission of the proposed legislation for the consideration of the Congress. Sincerely yours, ROBERT T. STEVENS, Secretary of the Army. JUNE 9 (legislative day, MAY 13), 1954.-Ordered to be printed Mr. LANGER, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 5025] The Committee on the Judiciary, to which was referred the bill (H. R. 5025), for the relief of Paul G. Kendall, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon, with an amendment, and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass. AMENDMENTS On page 2, line 5, strike the words "in excess of 10 per". PURPOSE The purpose of the proposed legislation is to pay to Col. Paul G. Kendall, of Washington, D. C., the sum of $6,930.72 in full settlement of all claims against the United States for the damages sustained by him on account of damage to and destruction of his household goods and personal effects while the same were in the custody of the United States Army and being shipped from London, England, to Washington, D. C., during the summer of 1952. STATEMENT The claimant in this case is a Regular Army colonel, with over 32 years of service. During a number of these years he has been assigned as a military attaché in various foreign countries. On April 3, 1952, while serving as a member of the American military advisory group to the United Kingdom, he received orders transferring him from London to Headquarters, Military District of Washington, Washington, D. C., effective in July 1952. The orders in question directed that the claimant proceed from London to his new duty station on July 3, 1952, and report for duty at such new station on July 12, 1952. The said orders further provided that his household goods and unaccompanied baggage would be packed, crated, and shipped to Washington, D. C., by the Army at Government expense. |