The object of the proposed legislation is to relieve the accounts of disbursing officers for certain payments which have been disallowed by the Comptroller General and to clarify the act of March 26, 1934 (48 Stat. 466), with respect to certain payments to Gen. John J. Pershing while on duty in Europe as chairman of the American Battle Monuments Commission so as to insure that the benefits of that act will be extended to him in the future should it be necessary for him again to go abroad in the performance of his duties. The act of September 3, 1919 (41 Stat. 283) revived the office of General of the Armies of the United States, and Gen. John J. Pershing was appointed to that office as a reward for his especially distinguished service during the World War. The act of March 4, 1923 (42 Stat. 1509) provided "* * * for the creation of an American Battle Monuments Commission to erect suitable memorials commemorating the services of the American soldier in Europe." Among the members of this Commission the President appointed General Pershing who had retired from active duty as General of the Armies of the United States on September 13, 1924. He was elected chairman of the Commission. The act of March 26, 1934 (48 Stat. 466), provided in part: act * * That there are authorized to be appropriated annually such sums as may be necessary to enable the President, in his discretion, and under such regulations as he may prescribe and notwithstanding the provisions of any other * * to meet losses sustained by officers of the United States while in service in foreign countries, due to the appreciation of foreign currencies in their relation to the American dollar * * *. Provided, That such action as the President may take shall be binding upon all executive officers of the Government. * * * Provided further, That allowances and expenditures pursuant to this act shall not be subject to income taxes * * * " By Executive Order No. 6657-A, as amended, the President directed"(b) By virtue of and pursuant to the authority vested in me by the act of March 26, 1934 (ch. 87, 48 Stat. 466), I hereby prescribe the following regulations which shall apply to all officers of the United States in service in foreign countries. * "DEFINITION "The words in the act 'while in service of foreign countries,' for the purpose of these regulations, shall be understood to mean (a) while employed in or on assignment or detail to a post of duty in a foreign country * * *"" [Italics supplied.] For several years General Pershing's duties as chairman of the American Battle Monuments Commission were such as to require his presence in Europe for long periods of time, though he received no remuneration for the services rendered in addition to his pay as a retired officer of the Army. To his international fame as commanding general of the American Expeditionary Forces in France and to his personal activity and wise supervision are due the successful completion of the program, provided by the Congress, for permanently marking and caring for, in a proper manner, our battlefields and cemeteries in France. These duties have been a great drain on his personal finances. Upon enactment of the act of March 26, 1934, heretofore referred to, and the promulgation of Executive Order No. 6657-A, pursuant thereto, it was the view of the War Department that since General Pershing was in fact actively engaged in the discharge of his duties as Chairman of the American Battle Monuments Commission, he was clearly entitled to the benefit of this legislation, and payments were made accordingly. Late in the year 1936 this view was held by the Comptroller General to be erroneous on the ground that the status of General Pershing while on duty with the Commission in Europe was not other than that of a retired officer residing abroad, and accordingly all payments made to him for exchange losses were disallowed. The records of the War Department show that these disallowances amount to $19,490.06, all of which represents payments for exchange losses made to him while he was on duty with the Commission in Europe during the periods June to December 1934, June to November 1935, and from July to October 1936. Specifically, the legislation herein proposed has been drafted in its present form so as to validate payments for exchange losses heretofore made to General Pershing while on duty in Europe as Chairman of the American Battle Monuments Commission, to authorize like payments for duty heretofore performed during periods for which he was not paid exchange losses due to the ruling of the Comptroller General referred to above, and to authorize such payments for any similar duty he may perform in the future. However, it may be stated that the War Department considers that any future payments will be small in view of the substantial completion of the work of the Commission in Europe. It is the view of the War Department that this officer should not be penalized while in the performance of a patriotic duty, and favorable consideration is therefore recommended of the legislation herein proposed. This proposed legislation was submitted to the Bureau of the Budget which advises that there would be no objection to its submission to the Congress. Sincerely yours, HARRY H. WOODRING, Secretary of War. APRIL 5, 1938.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. McREYNOLDS, from the Committee on Foreign Affairs, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. J. Res. 636] The Committee on Foreign Affairs, to whom was referred the resolution (H. J. Res. 636) to authorize an appropriation for the expenses of participation by the United States in the Fourth International Conference on Private Air Law, having considered the same, submit the following report thereon with the recommendation that it do pass. The facts in support of this proposed legislation are fully set forth in a message from the President, dated March 28, 1938, and in a report to the President from the Secretary of State, dated March 18, 1938, both of which are made a part of this report, and are as follows: To the Congress of the United States: THE WHITE HOUSE, March 28, 1938. I commend to the favorable consideration of the Congress the enclosed report from the Secretary of State to the end that legislation may be enacted authorizing an appropriation of the sum of $15,500, or so much thereof as may be necessary, for the expenses of participation by the United States in the Fourth International Conference on Private Air Law, to be held at Brussels, Belgium, in September 1938. FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT. The PRESIDENT: DEPARTMENT OF STATE, Thirty-three countries, including the United States, are represented on the International Technical Committee of Aerial Legal Experts, a permanent committee of experts who are engaged in the preparation of draft international conventions on various subjects of international private air law. United States participation in this Committee is authorized by Public Resolution 118, approved February 14, 1931 (46 Stat. 1162), as amended by Public Act 254, approved August 7, 1935 (49 Stat. 540). When this Committee has completed its studies of various topics which are to be made the subjects of preliminary draft interna tional conventions and has given its approval to such preliminary drafts, the drafts are referred for final adoption and signature to periodic international conferences on private air law, to which the various governments send officially accredited delegates. Such conferences were held in 1925, 1929, and 1933. Information has now been received indicating that the Fourth International Conference on Private Air Law will be held in Brussels, Belgium, in 1938. In considering the desirability of participation by the United States in the forthcoming conference, it is believed that a review of American participation in the work of the International Technical Committee of Aerial Legal Experts is desirable. The American section of this Committee is composed of four members, appointed with the approval of the President. In order that the basis of the studies made by the members of the American section might be broadened to include a consideration of the views of organizations in the United States concerned with the subject of aviation, an advisory committee was formed, to which the American section may refer pending draft conventions and reports thereon for an expression of views. This advisory committee is composed of representa tives of the following bodies: National Association of State Aviation Officials. National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. Independent Aviation Operators of the United States. National Lawyers Guild. National Aeronautic Association. The Maritime Law Association of the United States. American Society of International Law. Board of Aviation Underwriters. Institute of Aeronautical Sciences. Private Fliers' Association, Inc. Air Transport Association of America. Active participation by the American experts in the work of the International Technical Committee of Aerial Legal Experts has made it possible for the United States to have an adequate voice in the preparation of the preliminary draft conventions on international private air law, and for the American experts on the committee to present a fair cross section of the opinions of interested persons and organizations in this country on such conventions, which, it is believed, will vitally affect aircraft engaged in international air navigation. The First International Conference on Private Air Law was held at Paris in October 1925. The delegates to this conference provided for the creation of the International Technical Committee of Aerial Legal Experts and drafted a convention for the unification of certain rules relating to international transportation by air, which was submitted to the newly created Committee. The convention was adopted in final form and signed on October 12, 1929, at the Second International Conference on Private Air Law, which was held at Warsaw. The United States adhered to this convention on July 31, 1934, and it was proclaimed by the President of the United States on October 29, 1934. Prior to 1933, it was the practice of this Government to send unofficial observers to the periodic diplomatic conferences on private air law, but with the appointment of the American members on the International Technical Committee of Aerial Legal Experts and the increasing importance of the questions considered at these conferences, it was decided to request the Congress for an appropriation to cover expenses of participation in the Third International Conference on Private Air Law, which was held at Rome in 1933. A recommendation was made to the Congress by message of the President dated January 21, 1933, and a favorable report on House Joint Resolution No. 568, authorizing an appropriation for this purpose, was made by the Foreign Affairs Committee on January 31, 1933. The Congress adjourned without having acted on the resolution. However, realizing the importance of this conference from the point of view of American aviation, arrangements were made immediately prior to the meeting to have the United States represented by two officials from agencies of this Government who were stationed in Europe at that time, and a third delegate, one of the then American members of the International Technical Committee of Aerial Legal Experts. It is evident from information received by the Department that the delegation was seriously handicapped because of not having adequate time to prepare for the conference. Two conventions were signed: (1) Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to the Precautionary Attachment of Aircraft, and (2) Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to Damage Caused by Aircraft to Third Parties on the Surface. It is now contemplated that at the Fourth International Conference on Private Air Law the following topics on which the International Technical Committee of Aerial Legal Experts has made recommendations will be finally acted upon: (1) Proposed international convention for the unification of certain rules relating to assistance and salvage of aircraft or by aircraft at sea; (2) proposed convention for the unification of certain rules relating to aerial collisions; and (3) aviation insurance under the convention for the unification of certain rules relating to damage caused by aircraft to persons and property on the surface, signed at Rome in 1933. Owing to the greatly increased importance of international air transportation and the fact that the questions on the agenda for the forthcoming conference at Brussels will be of greater scope and affect more interests in this country than the agenda of the Third International Conference on Private Air Law, held at Rome in 1933, it is considered necessary that more adequate provision be made for representation by the United States at the Brussels Conference. The proposed convention relating to assistance and salvage of aircraft or by aircraft contains detailed provisions setting forth the conditions under which indemnities are to be paid for the saving of lives and remuneration is to be made for the saving of property. This proposed convention is of special importance for the reason that it affects not only aircraft but seagoing ships as well. Under the terms of the proposed convention any person exercising the functions of commanding officer of an aircraft is, subject to certain exceptions, bound to render assistance to any person who is at sea in danger of being lost. The obligation to render such assistance applies not only to aircraft in distress but to ships as well. In like manner every ship captain is bound to render assistance to any person who is at sea in danger of being lost on an aircraft or as a consequence of damage to an aircraft. It is apparent, therefore, that this proposed convention is of special importance not only to the general public but to air-transport operators, maritime interests, insurers, and the personnel of aircraft and ships as well. An example of the type of problem arising under the proposed convention is the question as to whether large ocean steamships are to be obligated to incur the expense of deviating from their course in order to endeavor to render assistance to aircraft reported to be in distress at sea. The proposed convention on aerial collisions contains detailed provisions setting forth the rules of liability to be applied in the event of collisions between aircraft and includes provisions setting forth the various degrees of liability of the aircraft operator in the event of collisions due to (1) exclusive negligence of one of the aircraft; (2) concurrent negligence; or (3) a fortuitous event of force majeure, or cases where there is no proof of negligence against any aircraft. The proposed convention relates not only to injuries to persons and property on aircraft that have collided but to damage caused on the surface as a result of an aerial collision. Conditions under which suit may be brought for damages are set forth in the proposed convention, which also provides that the operator of the aircraft may, under certain conditions, claim a limitation of his liability. Although the two conventions adopted at Rome in 1933 during the Third International Conference on Private Air Law were signed on behalf of a number of countries, including the United States, they have been ratified by only a few of the signatory powers. They have not been ratified by the United States or by Great Britain, France, and a number of the other signatory powers. It appears from information received by the Department that there has been a tendency on the part of a number of the signatory powers to delay a decision on the question of ratification of these conventions, particularly the one relating to damage caused on the surface by aircraft, because of the lack of a general agreement on the question of aviation insurance. In any event, it is the view of this Department that this insurance question should be settled before there is a final determination of the position of this Government with respect to the work of the Third International Conference on Private Air Law held at Rome in 1933. The Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules Relating to Damages Caused by Aircraft to Third Parties on the Surface, signed at Rome in 1933, prohibits aircraft of any contracting party from navigating in territory of another contracting party without being insured against damages to persons and property on the surface that may be caused by the falling of aircraft or of objects from the aircraft while in flight, or without, in lieu of insurance, establishing a cash deposit or bank guaranty to satisfy the payment of claims. The convention establishes H. Repts., 75-3, vol. 2--15 |