The draft bill would authorize the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission to process five types of claims of U.S. nationals for losses and injuries arising from military action in the European and Pacific theaters during or immediately prior to World War II. Claims arising in the European theater would be compensated from the net proceeds of enemy assets vested under the Trading With the Enemy Act. The bill would authorize an appropriation of $10 million to apply to certain unsatisfied claims arising in the Pacific theater.

Awards based on disability or death would be paid in full. All others would be paid by uniform installments, from time to time, of not to exceed in the aggregate $10,000. Where an award, or the balance due on an award, is less than any current installment, the award or balance due thereon would be paid in full. Payments in excess of $10,000, on account of awards in excess of that amount would be ratably proportioned under the bill.

The bill creates two accounts in the existing War Claims Fund, in the U.S. Treasury, designated, respectively, the "German Claims Account" and the "Japanese Claims Account." It requires that the European theater claims be paid from the German account and the Pacific theater claims from the Japanese account. Funds for deposit in one account may not be diverted to the other. Briefly, the categories of claims that would be authorized under the bill are as follows:

1. Physical damage to or physical loss or destruction of property in the countries or areas named, occurring as a result of military action therein or of special measures directed against such property because of the enemy or alleged enemy character of the owner.

2. Damage to or the loss or destruction of ships or ship cargoes as a result of military action.

3. Net losses of maritime insurance underwriters incurred in the settlement of claims of insured losses on American-owned ships (not cargoes) lost, damaged, or destroyed by military action during World War II.

4. Death, injury, and disability claims by American civilian passengers (not crew members) aboard torpedoed passenger ships in the period beginning September 1, 1939, and ending December 11, 1941 (date of American declaration of war).

5. Losses resulting from the removal of industrial or capital equipment in Germany for reparation purposes, owned by Americans on May 8, 1945 (termination of hostilities in Europe).

The draft bill conforms to current policy recommendation for consideration of the problem of settlement of American war claims. In a letter dated July 3, 1958, from the Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Relations, Hon. William B. Macomber, Jr., to the chairman of the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House of Representatives, Hon. Oren Harris, it was stated: "Passage of such a claims bill would provide relief to the many American claimants who have now been waiting for 13 years, while comparable claims in most other areas have been settled."

The draft bill includes, among other things, an amendment to section 39 of the Trading With the Enemy Act concerning transfers by the Attorney General of net proceeds of liquidated enemy assets to the Treasury. The bill also includes particulars as to areas and countries where losses occurred, types of property involved, eligibility of claimants, and provisions concerning the effect of transfers or assignments, claims of stockholders and the like. A maximum of 20 months would be allowed in which to file claims and completion of the program would be required within 5 years.

Its

In many respects this bill is similar to proposed legislation heretofore transmitted dealing with American war claims except for the inclusion of claims from the Pacific theater and certain differences in its financial provisions. claims provisions follow the pattern of H.R. 6888, for example, which was transmitted in draft form on April 3, 1957. It also resembles H.R. 6730 and S. 2227 in the 84th Congress submitted June 6, 1955. In the letter of transmittal dated April 3, 1957, the historical background of the problem of enemy assets and American war claims was dealt with at some length. Among other things, it was pointed out that the United States had vested substantially all German and Japanese assets known to be in the United States as of December 7, 1941, and that under the provisions of the Paris reparation agreement and the treaty of peace with Japan, the United States was authorized to hold the assets in lieu of reparation and to dispose of them as she saw fit.

It has thus far been the policy of the United States to use these assets for the benefit of her nationals who suffered injuries, hardships, or losses as a result

of the war. A substantial portion of the proceeds were used, accordingly, to discharge the claims of Americans who were held as prisoners of war. Among the most pressing civilian claims were those which arose in the Philippines, Guam, Wake, and Midway, where Americans, many of them engaged in military or defense activities, were encouraged to remain in these areas. For these reasons, and because of the importance of rehabilitating the Philippines, claims in these areas received first attention.

From time to time compensation on various other categories of war claims has been provided. Compensation for war damage claims or losses arising in Japan were provided for in the treaty of peace with Japan. Recovery on claims arising in Italy or territories ceded by Italy was provided in the treaty of peace with that country. Compensation to American claimants was provided in the treaties of peace with Bulgaria, Hungary, and Rumania.

The three Balkan countries, however, did not live up to their treaty obligations and for that reason the 84th Congress enacted Public Law 285 authorizing the Commission to process claims of American nationals against these governments and to use their vested assets in the United States, and those of their corporate nationals, to apply toward payment. Italy paid to the United States an additional sum of $5 million to compensate to the claims against her not included in the Italian peace treaty. The Commission is now processing them under the authority of Public Law 285.

In our judgment the settlement of the claims which would be authorized under the bill should not be delayed any longer. With the passing of time the difficulties of establishing titles, successions, and valuations keep on mounting to increase administrative costs attending claims processing.

For these reasons the Commission urges early and favorable action on the proposed bill.

Accompanying the draft bill is a section-by-section analysis of its provisions. Advice has been received from the Bureau of the Budget that the enactment of the proposed legislation would be in accord with the program of the President. Sincerely yours,

WHITNEY GILLILLAND, Chairman.

Hon. JAMES O. EASTLAND,

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE,

OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL,

Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,

U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., June 16, 1959.

DEAR SENATOR: This is in response to your request for the views of the Department of Justice on a bill (S. 2005) to amend the War Claims Act of 1948, as amended, to provide compensation for certain World War II losses.

This bill embodies the proposed program of the administration for the compensation of American citizens who have certain categories of unsatisfied claims for loss or damage caused by Germany and Japan prior to and during the period of U.S. participation in World War II. The bill was submitted in draft form to the Vice President under cover of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission's letter of January 7, 1959.

For the reasons stated in the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission's letter the the Vice President, the Department of Justice urges the enactment of S. 2005.

The Bureau of the Budget has advised that there is no objection to the submission of this report.

Sincerely,

LAWRENCE E. WALSH
Deputy Attorney General.

[S. 2012, 86th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To amend the Trading With the Enemy Act to provide for the divesting of certain interests in estates and trust, and for other purposes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Trading With the Enemy Act, as

amended (50 U.S.C., app. 1 and the following) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new section:

"SEC. 40. (a) Except as provided by subsection (b), there is hereby divested any unliquidated interest (including any increase thereof) in the estate of any decedent who at the time of his death was a citizen or national of the United States, or in any trust the corpus of which is composed of assets provided by any individual who at the time of the creation of such trust was a citizen or national of the United States, which has been vested under this Act after December 17, 1941, and has not been reduced to possession by any officer of the United States or any department or agency thereof.

"(b) Nothing contained in this section shall divest or require the divestment of any portion of any such interest the beneficial owner of which is a natural person who has been convicted personally and by name by a court of competent jurisdiction of murder, ill treatment, or deportation for slave labor of prisoners of war, political opponents, hostages, or civilian population in occupied territories, or of murder or ill treatment of military or naval persons, or of plunder or wanton destruction without justified military necessity.

"(c) At the earliest practicable time after the effective date of this Act, the Attorney General shall transmit to the lawful owner or custodian of any interest divested by this section written notice of such divestment."

JUNE 17, 1959.

Hon. JAMES O. EASTLAND,

Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,

U. S. Senate, Washington, D.C.

DEAR SENATOR: This is in response to your request for the views of the Department of Justice on a bill (S. 2012) to amend the Trading With the Enemy Act to provide for the divesting of certain interests in estates and trust, and for other purposes.

Included among the various types of property and interests in property vested under the provisions of the Trading With the Enemy Act as a consequence of World War II were the interests of enemy nationals in decedents' estates and trust estates in this country. In some cases vested interests of this nature remain "unliquidated." In other words, pursuant to the provisions of the wills or trust instruments in these cases, part or all of the vested interests have not yet been distributed to the Attorney General. S. 2012 would divest-i.e., return-such undistributed interests in the estates of decedents who were citizens or nationals of the United States at the time of death and in trusts created by individuals who at the time were citizens or nationals of the United States. Former enemy nationals convicted of war crimes would not be entitled to divestment. The estimated value of the interests which would be divested by this bill is $17 million.

The position of the administration with regard to the return of vested enemy assets and the related matter of the satisfaction of the war damage claims of U.S. nationals is reflected in the State Department's letter to you dated July 3, 1958, a copy of which is attached. In that letter the Department of State referred to a draft bill to be submitted to Congress by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission. This proposed legislation was recently introduced as S. 2005 and is pending before your committee. S. 2005 would provide compensation to U.S. nationals out of vested assets for certain categories of war claims against Germany. It is urged that priority be given to the enactment of S. 2005 and, in accordance with the letter of July 3, 1958, that consideration of any return legislation be deferred pending the enactment and completion of the war claims program.

For the reasons stated above this Department is unable to recommend the enactment of S. 2012.

The Bureau of the Budget has advised that there is no objection to the submission of this report.

Sincerely,

LAWRENCE E. WALSH,
Deputy Attorney General.

[S. 2093, 86th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To amend section 5 of the War Claims Act of 1948 to provide detention and other benefits thereunder to certain Guamanians killed or captured by the Japanese at Wake Island

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section 5 of the War Claims Act of 1948, is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection: "(h) In the case of any Guamanian killed or captured by the Imperial Japanese Government on or after December 7, 1941, at Wake Island, benefits shall be granted under subsections (a) through (f) of this section in the same manner and to the same extent as apply in the case of civilian American citizens so killed or captured. Claims for benefits under subsections (a) through (e) of this section must be filed within six months after the date of enactment of this subsection, and the time limitation applicable to any individual by subsection (f) shall not begin to run until the date of enactment of this subsection, with respect to any individual who is entitled to such benefits solely by reason of this subsection. The preceding sentence shall not be construed to affect the right of any individual to receive such benefits with respect to any period prior to the date of enactment of this subsection."

JUNE 17, 1959.

Hon. JAMES O. EASTLAND,

Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,
U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.

DEAR SENATOR: This is in response to your request for the views of the Department of Justice on a bill (S. 2093) to amend section 5 of the War Claims Act of 1948 to provide detention and other benefits thereunder to certain Guamanians killed or captured by the Japanese at Wake Island.

Section 5 (a) through (e) of the War Claims Act of 1948 as amended (50 U.S.C. App. 2004 (a)-(e)) provides for the payment of detention benefits in cases of civilian American citizens who were captured by or hid from the Japanese forces on Midway, Guam, Wake Island, the Philippine Islands or other U.S. Territories during World War II. Section 5(f) provides for the payment of additional benefits in cases of such persons who suffered disability, injury, or death resulting from injury.

S. 2093 would amend section 5 of the War Claims Act of 1948 to grant the benefits of subsections (a) through (f) "in case of an Guamanian killed or captured by the Imperial Japanese Government on or after December 7, 1941, at Wake Island."

Whether the bill should be enacted involves questions of policy concerning which the Department of Justice prefers to make no recommendation.

The Bureau of the Budget has advised that there is no objection to the submission of this report.

Sincerely,

LAWRENCE E. WALSH,
Deputy Attorney General.

[S. 2354, 86th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To amend the Trading With the Enemy Act, as amended

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the last sentence of subsection (a) of section 39 of the Trading With the Enemy Act, as amended (62 Stat. 1246; 50 U.S.C. App. 39), is amended to read as follows: "Nothing in this section shall be construed to repeal or otherwise affect the operation of section 32, 40, or 41 of this Act or of the Philippine Property Act of 1946."

SEC. 2. The Trading With the Enemy Act, as amended, is further amended by adding the following sections:

SEC. 40. (a) As used in this section the word 'copyrights' includes copyrights, claims of copyrights, rights to copyrights, and rights to copyright renewals.

"(b) All copyrights vested in the Alien Property Custodian or the Attorney General under the provisions of this Act subsequent to December 17, 1941, which

have not been returned or otherwise disposed of under this Act, except copyrights vested by vesting orders 128 (7 Fed. Reg. 7578), 13111 (14 Fed. Reg. 1730), 14349 (15 Fed. Reg. 1575), 17366 (16 Fed. Reg. 2483) and 17952 (16 Fed. Reg. 6162) and copyrights vested with respect to the motion picture listed last in exhibit A of vesting order 11803, as amended (13 Fed. Reg. 5167; 15 Fed. Reg 1626), are hereby divested as a matter of grace, effective the ninety-first day after the date of enactment of this section, and the persons entitled thereto shall on that day succeed to the rights, privileges, and obligations arising out of such copyrights, subject, however, to

"(1) the rights of licensees under licenses issued by the Alien Property Custodian or the Attorney General in respect of such copyrights; and

"(2) the rights of assignees under assignments by the Alien Property Custodian or the Attorney General of interests in such licenses.

The rights and interests remaining in the Attorney General under licenses issued by him or by the Alien Property Custodian in respect of copyrights divested hereunder are herby transferred, effective the day of divestment, to the persons entitled to such copyrights: Provided, That all unpaid royalties or other income accrued in favor of the Attorney General under such licenses prior to the day of divestment shall be paid by the licensees to the Attorney General.

"(c) All rights or interests vested in the Alien Property Custodian or the Attorney General under the provisions of this Act subsequent to December 17, 1941, arising out of prevesting contracts entered into with respect to copyrights, except

"(1) royalties or other income received by or accrued in favor of the Alien Property Custodian or the Attorney General under such contracts; '(2) rights or interests which have been returned or otherwise disposed of under this Act; and

66

"(3) rights or interests vested by vesting orders 128 (7 Fed. Reg. 7578, 13111 (14 Fed. Reg. 1730), 14349 (15 Fed. Reg. 1575) and 17366 (16 Fed. Reg. 2483),

are hereby divested as a matter of grace, effective the ninety-first day after the date of enactment of this section, and the persons entitled to such rights or interests shall succeed thereto, subject to the right of the Attorney General to collect and receive all unpaid royalties or other income accrued in his favor under such prevesting contracts prior to the day of divestment.

"(d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to transfer to a person entitled to a copyright divested hereunder the right of the Attorney General to sue for the infringement of such copyright during the period between (1) the vesting thereof or the vesting of rights and interests in a contract entered into with respect thereto, and (2) the day of divestment. The right to sue for infringement shall remain in the Attorney General.

"SEC. 41. (a) As used in this section the word 'trademarks' includes trademarks, trade names, and the goodwill of the business to which a trademark or trade name is appurtenant.

"(b) Trademarks vested in the Alien Property Custodian or the Attorney General under the provisions of this Act subsequent to December 17, 1941, which have not been returned or otherwise disposed of under this Act, except trademarks vested by vesting orders 284, as amended (7 Fed. Reg. 9754; 9 Fed. Reg. 1038), 2354 (8 Fed. Reg. 14635), 5592 (11 Fed. Reg. 1675), and 18805 (17 Fed. Reg. 4364), are hereby divested as a matter of grace, effective the ninety-first day after the date of enactment of this section, and the persons entitled to such trademarks shall on that day succeed to the rights, privileges, and obligations arising therefrom, subject, however, to the rights of licensees under licenses issued by the Alien Property Custodian or the Attorney General in respect of such trademarks. The rights and interests remaining in the Attorney General under licenses issued by him or by the Alien Property Custodian in respect of trademarks divested hereunder are hereby transferred, effective the day of divestment, to the persons entitled to such trademarks: Provided, That all unpaid royalties or other income accrued in favor of the Attorney General under such licenses prior to the day of divestment shall be paid by the licensees to the Attorney General.

"(c) All rights or interests vested in the Alien Property Custodian or the Attorney General under the provisions of this Act subsequent to December 17, 1941, arising out of prevesting contracts entered into with respect to trademarks, except