Affairs or his legal office, and decisions of the Board of Veterans' Appeals interpreting laws involving benefits administered by the Veterans' Administration shall become precedent decisions binding on all adjudication agencies of the Veterans' Administration.

SEC. 513. The Board of Veterans' Appeals may, on special application in that behalf, grant a compassionate pension or allowance in any case which it considers to be specially meritorious, because of length and character of service, but in which the Veterans' Administration or on appeal, the Board of Veterans' Appeals has decided that the applicant is not entitled to an award within the strict limits of this Act. The amount of any compassionate pension or allowance so granted by the Board of Veterans' Appeals shall be such sum as the Board shall fix, not exceeding the amount to which the applicant would have been entitled if his right to payment within the strict limits of this Act had been granted. SEC. 514. Applications for review on appeal to the Chairman shall be filed (excepting in those claims involving simultaneously contested claims) within one year from the date of mailing of notice of the result of initial review or determination or from July 1, 1933, whichever is the later date. Application for review must be filed with activity which entered the denial. If no application for review on appeal is filed in accordance with this Act within the time limit specified, the action taken on initial review or determination shall become final and the claim will not thereafter be reopened or allowed, except where subsequent to such disallowance new and material evidence in the form of official reports from the proper service department is secured the Chairman may authorize the reopening of the claim and review of the former decision. If application for review on appeal is entered within the time limit specified by regulations, a reasonable time thereafter will be allowed, if requested, for the perfection of the appeal and the presentation of additional evidence before final determination or decision is made. For the purpose of this paragraph, application for review on appeal, filed with the activity which entered the denial, which is postmarked prior to the expiration of the one-year period will be accepted as having been filed within the time limit.

SEC. 515. Exclusive jurisdiction for the review of emergency officers' retirement claims covered by this Act shall be vested in such persons as shall be designated by the chairman.

SEC. 516. Application for review on appeal may be made in writing by the claimant, his legal guardian, or such accredited representative or authorized agent, as shall be selected by him. Not more than one recognized organization or authorized agent will be recognized at any one time in the prosecution of a claim.

SEC. 517. Application for review on appeal may be made by the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs and by such officials of the Veterans' Administration as may be designated by the Administrator at any time within the time limit involved by this Act. An application for review on appeal entered by a designated official of the Veterans' Administration shall not operate to deprive the claimant of the right of review on appeal as provided in this Act.

SEC. 518. In each application for review on appeal the name and service of the veteran on account of whose service the claim is based must be stated, together with the number of the claim and the date of the action from which the appeal is taken. The application must clearly identify the benefit sought.

SEC. 519. Each application for review on appeal shall contain specific assignment of the alleged mistake of fact or error of law in the adjudication of said claim, and any application for review on appeal insufficient in this respect may be dismissed.

SEC. 520. All cases received pursuant to application for review on appeal shall be considered and decided in regular order according to their places upon the docket, unless in extreme need of the claimant a case may be advanced on motion for earlier consideration and determination. Every such motion shall set forth succintly the grounds upon which it is based. No such motion will be granted except in cases involving interpretation of law of general application affecting other claims, or for other sufficient cause shown.

SEC. 521. In simultaneously contested claims where one is allowed and one rejected, the time allowed for the filing of an application for review on appeal shall be sixty days from the date of mailing notice of the original action to the claimant to whom the action is adverse. In such cases the activity concerned shall promptly notify all parties in interest of the original action taken, expressly inviting attention to the fact that an application for review on appeal will not be entertained unless filed withinthe period of sixty days herein prescribed. Such notices shall be forwarded to the parties in interest to the last known address of record.

SEC. 522. Upon the filing of an application for review on appeal in simultaneously contested claims, all parties other than the applicant for review on appeal whose interests may be adversely affected by the decision, shall be notified of the substance thereof and allowed thirty days from date of mailing of such notice within which to file brief or argument in answer thereto before the record is forwarded on application for review on appeal. The notice herein referred to shall be forwarded to the last known address of record of the parties whose interest may be adversely affected, and such action shall constitute sufficient evidence of notice. SEC. 523. An application for review on appeal shall not be entertained unless it is in conformity with the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 524. The chairman, Board of Veterans' Appeals, is hereby authorized to deny a claim for yearly renewable term or Government life insurance in cases appealed under the provisions of this title and a denial as provided in this section shall constitute a disagreement for the purposes of section 19, World War Veterans' Act, 1924, as amended (sec. 445, title 38, U. S. C.): Provided, That this section shall not be construed to alter or amend section 19, World War Veterans' Act, 1924, as amended, except to authorize denial of a claim for insurance by the chairman, Board of Veterans' Appeals, to effect a disagreement as provided in section 19, World War Veterans' Act, 1924, as amended: Provided further, That the Board of Veterans' Appeals shall have no jusrisdiction in any insurance case where a decision of a court as provided in section 19, World War Veterans' Act, 1924, as amended, has been rendered in such case on the same issue.

Parallel reference table of draft of veterans' pension bill

[Donald Hobart, national commander, American Veterans' Association]

Parallel reference table of draft of veterans' pension bill-Continued

Parallel reference table of draft of veterans' pension bill-Continued

The CHAIRMAN. Are you through, Judge?
Mr. SAUTHOFF. Yes, Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN. You said, a while ago, something about the influence that was brought to bear on these appeals boards; what influence did you mean?

Mr. HOBART. I had in mind one particular instance, sir, which affected me personally, which is illustrative. At the outset, I want to say to you that they vary widely with the individuals and in different places; it is not present in some, and very definitely present in others. Shortly after I reported for duty with the Board of Veterans' Appeals, a general meeting was called of the Board

The CHAIRMAN. What year was that?

Mr. HOBART. In the fall of 1933. The purpose of that meeting was for us to meet the representatives of all of the veterans' organizations. They were all present. It is a matter of written record as to the attitude of one of those representatives, who was acting on the orders of the then commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. He made, in effect, this statement: That he welcomed the Board of Veterans' Appeals, with the exception of one member, myself; and that, on behalf of his national commander, he requested that no claims of members of his organization be passed to me for determination. That is illustrative of what I mean.

The CHAIRMAN. Let me ask you another question before you leave the stand: You spoke of being willing to take care of the Gold Star Mothers and fathers. Now, would you apply that to the fathers and mothers of those who died of presumptive service-connected disabilities?

Mr. HOBART. Reasonable presumption; yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. What we think is reasonable is what Congress voted.

Mr. HOBART. I must disagree with the reasonableness of the 6-yearpresumption, however.

The CHAIRMAN. You spoke of the Canadian system. Of course, we have a more or less disjointed compensation system in this country, because we have a disjointed country. Canada never had any internal strife or civil war, and therefore they have been able to move along in a national way with their compensation or pension policies. We have not. So that is one thing that has brought us to what you call "hodgepodge system" here, that may take a long time to iron out. If there are no other questions

Mrs. ROGERS. I have one or two more, Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN. All right; proceed, Mrs. Rogers.

Mrs. ROGERS. How do the Canadians locate their disabled?

Mr. HOBART. I do not quite follow that.

Mrs. ROGERS. How does the Canadian Government locate its disabled veterans?

Mr. HOBART. I do not understand the term "locate."

Mrs. ROGERS. Do they find out whether they are getting the compensation they need, whether they are applying for compensation, or not?

Mr. HOBART. Well, every veteran, of course, is well known at the head office in Ottawa. The Canandian Legion is doing an excellent job in that connection. They maintain very cooperative relations with the Pension Commission.

Mrs. ROGERS. That corresponds to our American Legion?

Mr. HOBART. Yes; it is a branch of the British Empire Service League.

Mrs. ROGERS. Are they hospitalized, non-service-connected disabled?

Mr. HOBART. Non-service-connected?
Mrs. ROGERS. Yes.

Mr. HOBART. No; they are not.

Mrs. ROGERS. I know they were agitating that some years ago. Mr. HOBART. It had been agitated, but up to last year, they were not doing it.

Mrs. ROGERS. Who takes care of them?

Mr. HOBART. Well, Canada has, of course, a social-security act, and I understand that now it has been suggested that the veterans have a 10-year age differential of social security running in their favor. That suggestion has been made, but I doubt if it has been acted on. Mrs. ROGERS. Do you not have the feeling that the rating schedule is too low in many instances?

Mr. HOBART. Our rating schedules? No; I think not. I think they are reasonably satisfactory, except for the amputation cases and blind cases; I think they should be getting increased benefits, without any injustice.

Mrs. ROGERS. It seems to me, in the ulcer cases, it is very low.