was knocked completely across the intersection into a tree, completely wrecking the automobile and injuring all of the passengers therein.

Further deponent saith not.

GENEVA LACY, Deponent. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 12th day of January A. D. 1946.

My commission expires August 25, 1946.

STATE OF MICHIGAN,

IRENE C. BERGER, Notary Public, Wayne County, Mich.

AFFIDAVIT OF THOMAS LACY

County of Wayne, ss:

Thomas Lacy, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That on June 28, 1942, I was standing with my wife, Geneva Lacy, and a friend, Andrew Turner, on Gallagher Street, near Jacob Street, in the city of Hamtramck, Mich.; that I saw a Plymouth sedan going about 15 miles per hour north on Gallagher; that Gallagher is a through street, plainly marked, and all vehicles approaching it are required to stop before crossing it; that a number of Army trucks were going east on Jacob Street at the same time; that one of these trucks fell considerably behind the others and was going at a very fast rate of speed in order to catch up-my estimate of the speed is that it was about 60 miles per hour; that there was no policemen nor any other person nor any device to stop traffic on Gallagher, nor to indicate to anyone driving on Gallagher that it was not safe for him to cross the intersection at Jacob; that had I been in the place of the driver of the Plymouth sedan, I would have done exactly as he did; that the truck did not stop for the through street and hit the Plymouth sedan with such force that it was knocked completely across the intersection into a tree, completely wrecking the automobile and injuring all of the passengers therein.

Further deponent saith not.

THOMAS LACY, Deponent.

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 12th day of January A. D. 1946.

My commission expires August 25, 1946.

STATE OF MICHIGAN,

IRENE C. BERGER, Notary Public, Wayne County, Mich.

AFFIDAVIT OF ANDREW TURNER

County of Wayne, ss:

Andrew Turner, being duly sworn, deposes and says That on June 28, 1942, I Was standing with my friends, Thomas Lacy and Geneve Lacy, on Gallagher Street, near Jacob Street, in the city of Hamtramck, Mich.; that I say a Plymouth sedan going about 15 miles per hour north on Gallahger; that Gallagher is a through street, plainly marked, and all vehicles approaching it are required to stop before crossing it; that a number of Army trucks were going east on Jacob Street at the same time; that one of these trucks fell considerably behind the others and was going at a very fast rate of speed in order to catch up-my estimate of the speed is that it was about 60 miles per hour; that there was no policeman, nor any other person, nor any device, to stop traffic on Gallagher, nor to indicate to anyone driving on Gallagher that it was not safe for him to cross the intersection at Jacob; that had I been in the place of the driver of the Plymouth sedan, I would have done exactly as he did; that the truck did not stop for the through street and hit the Plymouth sedan with such force that it was knocked completely across the intersection into a tree, completely wrecking the automobile and injuring all of the passengers therein.

Further deponent saith not.

ANDREW TURNER, Deponent.

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 12th day of January A. D. 1946.

My commission expires August 35, 1946.

IRENE C. BERGER, Notary Public, Wayne County, Mich.

STATE OF MICHIGAN,

AFFIDAVIT OF FELIX CENDROWSKI

County of Wayne, ss:

Felix Cendrowski, being duly sworn, deposes and says: That on June 28, 1942, I was standing on my porch at 3154 Jacob Street, near Gallagher Street, in the city of Hamtramck, Mich.; that I saw a Plymouth sedan driven by Edward Gray going about 15 miles per hour north on Gallagher; that Gallagher is a through street; that a number of Army trucks were traveling east on Jacob Street at about the same time; that after some of these had passed through the intersection, the Plymouth sedan proceeded to cross; That as it got into the intersection, another Army truck ran into it with great force, knocking it across the intersection and into a tree on the corner; that the passenger automobile was completely demolished and all of the passengers therein severely injured; that the truck was going at least 30 to 40 miles per hour, and that the maximum lawful speed at that place is only 25 miles per hour; that there was no policeman nor any one else to notify vehicles driving on Gallagher that they would not have the right to rely on the facts that they were driving on a through street and that all vehicles approaching it would stop for the through street; that I feel that the driver of the Plymouth acted as any ordinarily careful driver would have, and that had I been in his place I too probably would have proceeded across the intersection just as he did, figuring that all traffic from the side streets would stop for the through street.

Further deponent saith not.

FELIX CENDROWSKI, Deponent.

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 19th day of January A. D. 1946.

My commission expires August 25, 1946

STATE OF MICHIGAN,

County of Wayne, ss:

IRENE C. BERGER, Notary Public, Wayne County, Mich.

Edward Gray, Sr., being first duly sworn, deposes and says that he files this affidavit in support of his claim against the United States of America as the result of a collision that occurred on June 28, 1942, at the corner of Jacob and Gallagher Avenues, in the city of Hamtramck, Mich.;

That prior hereto, affidavits and other supporting data were submitted to the United States Government in support of this deponent's claim and the within affidavit is being presented as additional data;

That your deponent, on the day in question, at or about the hour of 1:20 o'clock in the afternoon, was proceeding in a Plymouth sedan in a northerly direction on Gallagher Avenue at the intersection thereof and Jacob Avenue, being public highways in the city of Hamtramck, Mich.; that Gallagher Avenue is a through street, and motor vehicles proceeding on Jacob Avenue must come to a complete stop before crossing Gallagher Avenue; that a large sign indicating that fact was present on the day in question at the southwest corner of Jacob and Gallagher Avenues, in plain view of motor vehicles proceeding in an easterly direction on Jacob Avenue;

That at said time and place a GMC Army Truck, Register No. USA W 443133. and driven by a member of the United States Army, one Joseph Jandon, was proceeding in an easterly direction on Jacob Avenue and, at an excessive and unlawful rate of speed. did cross Gallagher Avenue without coming to a stop, and without any signal or warning, and smashed into the left side of your deponent's automobile completely demolishing it, causing severe injuries to your deponent and other occupants of his motor vehicle;

Further deponent saith not.

EDWARD GRAY, ST.

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 17th day of October 1945.

EVA GARELIK, Notary Public, Wayne County, Mich.

My commission expires November 2, 1945.

O

CONFERRING JURISDICTION UPON THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK TO HEAR, DETERMINE, AND RENDER JUDGMENT UPON THE CLAIM OF MIGUEL A. VIERA

JULY 7, 1949.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed

Mr. KEATING, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 1474)

The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 1474) to confer jurisdiction upon the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York to hear, determine, and render judgment upon the claim of Miguel A. Viera, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments and recommends that the bill do pass

The amendments are as follows:

Line 3, strike out all after the enacting clause, and insert in lieu thereof:

That jurisdiction is hereby conferred upon the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York to hear, determine, and render judgment upon the claim of Miguel A. Viera, for damages sustained as the result of an accident involving a United States Army truck at Leghorn, Italy, on January 11, 1946.

SEC. 2. Suit upon such claim-may be instituted at any time within one year after the enactment of this Act, notwithstanding the lapse of time or any statute of limitations. Proceedings for the determination of such claim, appeal therefrom, and payment of any judgment thereon, shall be in the same manner as in the cases over which such court has jurisdiction under the provisions of paragraph twentieth of section 24 of the Judicial Code, as amended.

Amend title so as to read:

A bill to confer jurisdiction upon the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York to hear, determine, and render judgment upon the claim of Miguel A. Viera.

The purpose of the proposed legislation is to merely confer jurisdiction upon the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan to hear, determine, and render judgment upon the claim of Miguel A. Viera.

Mr. Viera was examined by an Army medical officer on October 30, 1947. The report of that examination is as follows:

"Examination: No apparent deformities of either lower extremity. No pelvis

tilt.

"Measurements of legs: Length-equal; thigh measurements show 1⁄4-inch atrophy on the right; calf measurements-equal; hips-normal. Full range of motion; knees and ankles-full range of motion. No crepitation; reflexesphysiological; sensory-physiological.

"X-ray of left femur demonstrates an old fracture at the junction of middle and lower third healed in excellent alinement and excellent anatomical restoration. It is felt that there is bony union in the medial half of the fracture site. In the lateral half the fracture site is still visible and it is possible that complete bony union has not taken place.

"Impression: Fracture, simple, healed, left femur, junction middle and lower one-third. No deformity or disability found."

At the time of the accident Mr. Viera was 28 years of age, unmarried, and was employed as a messman in the ship's galley, earning $137.50 per month. It appears that he was paid to the end of his ship's voyage, which was February 6, 1946. While he claims that he did not return to work until September 23, 1946, the records indicate that he had fully recovered from the injuries sustained in the accident by May 28, 1946, and that his subsequent hospitalization and convalescence was due to the gall bladder condition which had no relationship whatsoever to the accident.

Inasmuch as there is no evidence that the vehicle which caused the injury of Mr. Viera was a vehicle of the United States Army, and as the only available evidence tends to show that it belonged to the British Army, there is no justifiable basis for the granting of an award to the claimant on account of the injury sustained by him in this accident. Under the circumstances the Department of the Army feels obliged to recommend that this bill be not favorably considered. The Bureau of the Budget advises that there is no objection to the submission of this report.

Sincerely yours,

STATE OF NEW YORK,

County of New York, ss:

KENNETH C. ROYALL, Secretary of the Army.

Carlos Rivera, being duly sworn, deposes and says:

That I am a merchant seaman, and was involved in an accident in which both Miguel Viera and myself were injured in Leghorn, Italy I do not remember the exact date, but I believe it was sometime around January 11, 1946.

I was walking with said Miguel Viera along a street near the water front when suddenly, out of the darkness, a truck bore down on us. We were both on the sidewalk, prior the accident. As it came upon us, I noticed several white stars on the truck, and also noticed that the driver was on the left side of the truck. I can therefore state that the truck was a United States Army truck. I make this statement in view of the claim of the Secretary of the Army that we were struck by a British truck.

We were the only ones present at the time, and because of the injuries which we sustained, were unable to take the number of the truck, nor any other details. Viera was knocked unconscious, but I remained conscious all the time. A crowd collected thereafter, including several military police, but as far as I know none of them saw the accident, and cannot make any statement as to whether the truck was British or United States.