Inasmuch as Mr. Schlederer satisfactorily performed his duties as postmaster and earned the money which he was'paid, it is believed H. R. 3310 is meritorious. Accordingly, this Department favors the enactment of this measure. The Bureau of the Budget has not advised as to the relationship of this report to the program of the President. Sincerely yours, THE ACTING DIRECTOR, J. M. DONALDSON, Acting Postmaster General. Washington, July 16, 1946. COMPTROLLER GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES, Bureau of the Budget. MY DEAR MR. APPLEBY: I have your letter of July 9, 1946, transmitting a a copy of a proposed report of the Post Office Department to the chairman, Committee on Claims, House of Representatives, on the bill H. R. 6622, Seventyninth Congress, second session, entitled "A bill for the relief of Max Schlederer," and requesting an expression of my views relative thereto The said bill provides as follows "That Max Schlederer Arlight. Calit., is relieved of all liability to refund to the United States amounts paid to him for services as postmaster at the Concepcion California) post office. during the period when he was not eligible to receive compensation from funds appropriated for the Post Office Department because the combined amount of his salary as postmaster and his salary as an employee of the United States Coast Guard at the Point Concepcion Light Station exceeded the sum of $2.000 per annum Any amounts heretofore credited to him or refunded to the United States by him on account of such unauthorized payment to him shall be repaid to him out of any money available for the payment of postmasters salaries In the audit and settlement of the accounts of any disbursing officer of the United States the payment of such amounts for services as postmaster shall be considered to have been authorized.' The proposed report by the Post Office Department is as follows. "During the tisca vears 1942. 1943 1944. and for 1 month in the tiscal year 1945. Max Sch ederer served as postmaster at the Concepcion, Calif. post office. It was subsequently disclosed that during the same period of time he served as a lighthouse keepe in the Coast Guard service In a letter dated January 30, 1945, B-46418, the Comptroller General of the United States ruled that the money paid to Mr. Schlederer as postmaster constituted salary within the meaning of the law. Accordingly as the combined salaries received by him as postmaster and as lighthouse keeper exceeded $2,000, this constituted a violation of section 6 of the act of May 10, 1916. as amended (5 U. S. C.. 1940 ed.. sec. 58), which specifically prohibits one person receiving more than one salary when the combined amount of said salaries exceeds the sum of $2,000 per annum. "On the basis of this. the sum of $1,779.17 was disallowed by the General Accounting Office because of this violation of the dual compensation act. Prior to July 1, 1945, postmasters at fourth-class offices were not on a regular salary basis but received compensation on the basis of the face value of stamps canceled at each office Prior to the receipt of the Comptroller General's decision dated January 30, 1945, it was not understood that this compensation constituted salary within the meaning of the act of May 10, 1916. Mr. Schlederer performed his duties as postmaster satisfactorily and actually earned the money which he was In view of this. it is my opinion that H. R. 6622 should be given favorable consideration.' Daid The facts pertaining to this matter and the reasons for raising a charge against Max Schlederer in the amount of compensation received by him as postmaster at Concepcion, Calif., are set forth in office decision of January 30, 1945, B-46418. to the Postmaster General a copy of which is enclosed herewith. facts here would be needless repetition. To restate the as While the subject report contains the statement that the remuneration paid to fourth-class postmasters was not understood by the Department to constitute salary within the meaning of the dual compensation act of May 10, 191, amended, 39 Sta 120. 582, that specific question was considered by this office a number of years prior to the appointment of Mr. Schlederer. For instance, in decision of August 1931 11 Comp Gen 41 the opposite conclusion was reached. Also see decision of May 11 1932 (11 Comp Gen 426). In view of the factual circumstances an the statutory provisions involved, this office had no alternative but to raise a charge against Mr. Schlederer in the sum of $1,779.17. The bill here involved is in derogation of the specific statutory prohibition regarding dual employment of Government employees. Furthermore, the granting of relief to Mr. Schlederer would be singling out his case for preferential treatment over others similarly situated who have not been granted relief. For those reasons favorable consideration of the bill is not recommended. As requested, the enclosure forwarded with your letter is returned herewith. Respectfully, FRANK L. YATES, Acting Comptroller General of the United States. KATHERINE H. CLAGETT August 9, 1949.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed Mr. BYRNE of New York, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 4165] The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 4165) for the relief of Katherine H. Clagett, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. The purpose of the proposed legislation is to pay Katherine H. Clagett, of Harwood, Md., the sum of $675. Payment of such sum. shall be in full settlement of all claims against the United States arising out of services rendered by her to the George Washington Bicentennial Commission, between June 30, 1940, and November 15, 1940, both dates inclusive, in connection with the compilation of the definitive writings of George Washington. STATEMENT OF FACTS The George Washington Bicentennial Commission was created by the act of December 2, 1924 (originally named "United States Commission for the Celebration of the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Birth of George Washington"). By the act of February 21, 1930, the name of the Commission was shortened and the Commission, in addition to its other duties, was given the authority to prepare a "definitive edition" of all of George Washington's essential writings, public and private (excluding the diaries). This act was amended, with respect to parts not here pertinent, by the act of March 10, 1932, and the act of June 23, 1934. Mrs. Clagett was secretary to the late Dr. John C. Fitzpatrick, editor of the definitive edition of the Writings of George Washington. During the time of the preparation of this final work of the Commission, Mrs. Clagett was paid for her services up and including June 30, 1940, when the appropriation expired. However, at that time 13 volumes were needed to complete the work; 11 volumes of text and 2 for the index and, although the main work on these volumes was finished by the editor, they were completed by Mrs. Clagett, with additional letters added, and turned over to the Government Printing Office on November 15, 1940. In the meantime, there was the closing out of the office, which required return of all reference books, manuscripts, keys, etc., to the Manuscript Division. which was done on the last day of Mrs. Clagett's work. Mrs. Clagett stated to the subcommittee that the reasons for the delay in having the bill introduced to pay her for these services was that she expected payments to be made to her from an administrative standpoint, but there being no appropriation to take care of this work. after the appropriation had expired June 30, 1940, she hadn't requested the legislation. A letter from St. George L. Sioussat, dated August 1, 1949, reads: To Whom It May Concern. I am glad to state that during the period when I was Chief of the Division of Manuscripts in the Library of Congress, Mrs. Katherine H. Clagett was working in the Division, rendering assistance to Dr. John C. Fitzpatrick in the preparation of the bicentennial edition of the Writings of George Washington, and continued that assistance after Dr. Fitzpatrick's death. It was my understanding that this work was done for the Commission of which Representative Sol Bloom was chairman. I was impressed with Mrs. Clagett's diligence and interest. She was not, however, in the employ of the Library of Congress, according to my knowledge, and was in no way employed by me. Therefore, I cannot speak officially or from any supervisory standpoint. Merely as a friend, I take pleasure in supporting her claim so far as I am able to do so. In a letter from C. P. Powell, a member of the Library of Congress staff, addressed to Walter Lee, of the House Judiciary Committee, are the following. statements: I understand that Mrs. Katherine H. Clagett has applied for compensation due her for work done for the George Washington Bicentennial Commission. For several years prior to 1940, Mrs. Clagett was assigned work on the papers of George Washington in the Division of Manuscripts in the Library of Congress. During that time, and since, I have been on the staff of the Division of Manuscripts. Many, many times we were privileged to exchange information about the Washington manuscripts. I invariably found Mrs. Clagett sincere, earnest, and unusually cooperative. If some one is needed to testify personally on behalf of Mrs. Clagett, I shall do so gladly In a letter from Dr. Fitzpatrick to Mrs. Clagett, thanking her for the work she had done, he suggested that she remain on the job until the two of them should decide to vacate the space they occupied in the Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress. Therefore, after careful consideration and due to the fact that there is no other recourse for Mrs. Clagett, your committee is of the unanimous opinion that the claim is meritorious and, therefore, recommends favorable consideration to the bill THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE SERVICE, FEDERAL LAW SECTION, To: House Committee on the Judiciary. H. R. 4165, Eighty-first Congress, upon which we have been asked to comment, is a private claim bill in the usual form for the relief of one Katherine H. Clagett. The bill calls for the payment of $675 "in full settlement of all claims of the said Katherine H. Clagett against the United States arising out of services rendered by her to the George Washington Bicentennial Commission, between June 30, 1940. and November 15, 1940, both dates inclusive, in connection with the compilation of the definitive writings of George Washington." The George Washington Bicentennial Commission was created by the act of December 2, 1924, (43 Stat. 671) (originally named "United States Commission for the Celebration of the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Birth of George Washington"). By the act of February 21, 1930, (46 Stat. 71), the name of the Commission was shortened and the Commission, in addition to its other duties, was given the authority to prepare a "definitive edition" of all of George Washington's essential writings, public and private (excluding the diaries). This act was amended, with respect to parts not here pertinent, by the act of March 10, 1932, (47 Stat. 63), and the act of June 23, 1934, (48 Stat. 1210). With respect to the claim of Miss (or Mrs.) Clagett, it should be noted that the act of October 9, 1940 (54 Stat. 1036), appropriated $2,700 to be paid to her "in full, complete, and final compensation of any and all claims arising out of services rendered to the George Washington Bicentennial Commission prior to June 30, 1940." The present bill seeks to pay her $675 more for services rendered between June 30, 1940, and November 15, 1940. The statute originally creating the Commission provided that it "shall expire within 2 years after the expiration of the celebration, December 31, 1932." Except as hereinafter indicated, we have been unable to find any statutory authority extending the life of the Commission or its activities beyond this date, either in an appropriation measure or otherwise, unless such an extension is implied in the enactments providing for preparation of a definitive edition of Washington's writings. In this respect, however, it might be noted that the deficiency appropriation act of August 12, 1935 (49 Stat. 573), appropriated certain sums "to be available only for completing the printing and binding at the Government Printing Office of the remaining volumes of the definitive edition of the writings of George Washington as authorized by Public Resolution No. 6, Seventy-fourth Congress, approved March 4, 1935 * * * to remain available until December 31, 1936." The earlier resolution referred to (49 Stat. 38) provided in section 2 thereof: "The former Director of the George Washington Bicentennial Commission, without receiving any compensation therefor, shall (a) complete the preparation of the manuscript for, and provide for the printing and binding of, the remaining unpublished volumes of such writings; (b) distribute that portion of the undistributed sets of such writings required by law to be distributed by the Commission; (c) dispose, in such manner as in his judgment will best serve the purposes for which the George Washington Bicentennial Commission was created, of such other educational material possessed by the Commission as is not required by law to be distributed in a definite way; (d) employ assistants (not to exceed five in number) in the same manner as the Commission was authorized to procure personnel; and (e) incur obligations for such miscellaneous expenses as may be necessary and/or incident to the administration of this joint resolution, and for the printing and binding authorized by section 1." Section 5 of the resolution further provided that "The authority granted under this joint resolution shall expire upon completion of the duties authorized hereby, and in no event later than December 31, 1936." By the act of June 23, 1936, (49 Stat. 1896), this date was extended to December 31, 1937. From all of this it would seem that some inquiry might be in order as to the exact authorization, if any, for the rendition of services for this Commission after June 30, 1940, presumably after the expiration of its official life and of the activities further authorized by the joint resolution of the Seventy-fourth Congress, approved March 4, 1935, as amended. ROBERT S. OGLEBAY, HARWOOD, MD., August 4, 1949. I, Katherine H. Clagett, do hereby testify under oath that I was appointed as secretary to the late Dr. John C. Fitzpatrick, editor of the definitive edition of the writings of George Washington. This work was done by the George Washington Bicentennial Commission and I was paid for my services up to and including June 30, 1940. However, at that time 13 volumes were needed to complete the work; 11 volumes of text and 2 for the index and although the main work on these volume was finished by the editor, they were completed by me, with additional letters added, and turned over to the Government Printing Office on November 15, 1940. In the meantime there was the closing out of the office which required |