1953 сърца CONTENTS BILLS GRANTING BENEFITS TO VETERANS OF THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR AND THEIR DEPENDENTS TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 1953 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS, Washington, D. C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 10 a. m., in room 356, Old House Office Building, Hon. Russell V. Mack (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Mr. MACK. The subcommittee will come to order. We are meeting this morning to consider a group of bills which relate exclusively to veterans or their dependents of the SpanishAmerican War. We are glad to have with us the Honorable Edward S. Matthias, a judge of the Ohio State Supreme Court, who will speak for the United Spanish War Veterans. He will be followed by Mr. Adin Downer, a representative of the Veterans of Foreign Wars. Mr. Jack Kyle wishes to be heard on the Moro Province bills. Mr. Guy H. Birdsall of the Veterans' Administration will conclude the hearing by presenting testimony for the Veterans' Administration. We will also have Capt. Franz O. Willenbucher, United States Navy, retired, vice president, Retired Officers Association, on H. R. 2573. If there is no objection, I will insert at this point a brief descriptin of the bills under consideration, as well as the text of the bills and the reports which have been received thereon from the Veterans' Administration. (The material referred to is as follows:) [H. J. Res. 207, 83d Cong., 1st sess.] JOINT RESOLUTION Providing for the extension of the period of pensionable service in the case of of Navy veterans of the war with Spain Whereas General Orders Numbered 130 (August 29, 1898, War Department) granted to members of the Army in the war with Spain certain mustering-out leaves of absence and furloughs which have been consistently recognized by the Congress as constituting pensionable service; and Whereas members of the Navy in the war with Spain were not granted corresponding leaves of absence or furloughs recognizable as constituting pensionable service; and Whereas the effect of such General Orders has been to make available to Army veterans of the war with Spain certain pension rights which are not available to Navy veterans with comparable service: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) for the purposes of all laws and regulations administered by the Veterans' Administration, the period of active service of each person who served in the temporary forces of the United States Navy during the war with Spain, and who was honorably discharged from the Navy while General Orders Numbered 130 (August 29, 1898, War Department) was in effect, shall be held and considered to be extended by a period of time equal in length to the combined length of the leaves of absence or 907 furloughs granted by such General Orders to a member of the Army who performed comparable service during such war. (b) The Administrator of Veterans' Affairs shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. [H. R. 4490, 83d Cong., 1st sess.] A BILL To place individuals who served in the temporary forces of the United States Navy during the Spanish-American War in the same status as those individuals who served in the Army during that war and who were given furloughs or leaves upon being mustered out of the service Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, for the purposes of all laws conferring rights, privileges, or benefits upon individuals honorably discharged from the United States military or naval service, in the case of any individual who was a member of the temporary forces of the United States Navy during the Spanish-American War and who was honorably discharged therefrom during the period beginning August 29, 1898, and ending January 12, 1899, the period of active service of such individual shall be held and considered to be increased by thirty days if such individual served creditably within the limits of the United States while he was a member of such forces; except that if such individual served creditably beyond the limits of the United States at any time while he was a member of such forces, the period of active service of such individual shall be held and considered to be increased by sixty days. [No. 51] COMMITTEE ON VETERANS' AFFAIRS, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Hon. EDITH NOURSE ROGERS, VETERANS' ADMINISTRATION, Washington 25, D. C., April 23, 1953. Chairman, Committee on Veterans' Affairs, House of Representatives, Washington 25, D. C. DEAR MRS. ROGERS: Reference is made to your request for a report by the Veterans' Administration on House Joint Resolution 207, 83d Congress, joint resolution providing for the extension of the period of pensionable service in the case of Navy veterans of the war with Spain. The joint resolution provides that for the purposes of all laws and regulations administered by the Veterans' Administration, the period of active service of each person who served in the temporary forces of the United States Navy during the war with Spain and was honorably discharged while General Orders No. 130 of the War Department, dated August 29, 1898, was in effect, shall be held and considered to be extended by a period of time equal in length to the combined length of the leaves of absence or furloughs granted by such General Orders to a member of the Army who performed comparable service during such war. House Joint Resolution 207, 83d Congress, is identical with House Joint Resolution 193, 82d Congress, on which the Veterans' Administration submitted a report to the committee under date of July 16, 1951 (Committee Print No. 154). General Orders No. 130, of the War Department, dated August 29, 1898, to which this proposed resolution refers, provided, in part, as follows: "1. Except the officers and men required by paragraph 5 for the necessary guard details, etc., leaves of absence for 60 days and furloughs for the same period will be granted all officers and enlisted men of organizations which have served beyond the limits of the United States, and 30 days to officers and men of organizations which have not served beyond the limits of the United States when such organizations are ordered to be mustered out of service. "2. Such leaves of absence and furloughs will be granted by the commanding officers after organizations have arrived at State rendezvous, all to take effect on one date for 30 days or 60 days, as the case may be, and all officers and men must without fail report at the rendezvous on the 30th or 60th day thereafter. Any officer or man failing to so report will be considered and reported as a deserter, unless prevented from doing so by sickness, which must be satisfactorily explained by the certificate of a reputable physician and the fact noted on the rolls." The operation of this general order was terminated, in effect, by the act of January 12, 1899 (30 Stat. 784), which provided in part: "That in lieu of granting leaves of absence and furloughs to officers and enlisted men belonging to companies and regiments of United States Volunteers prior to muster out of the service, all officers and enlisted men belonging to volunteer organizations hereafter mustered out of the service who have served honestly and faithfully beyond the limits of the United States shall be paid 2 months' extra pay on muster out and discharge from the service, and all officers and enlisted men belonging to organizations hereafter mustered out of the service who have served honestly and faithfully within the limits of the United States shall be paid 1 month's extra pay on muster out and discharge from the service from any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated: ***." Subsequent to the passage of this act, with respect to which instructions were issued by War Department General Orders No. 13, January 17, 1899, extra pay was given to qualified Army personnel in lieu of furloughs and leaves of absence previously allowed under the above-referred to General Orders No. 130. Similar provisions with regard to extra pay for naval personnel were provided by the act of March 3, 1899 (30 Stat. 1214), which provided in part: "The officers and enlisted men comprising the temporary force of the Navy during the war with Spain who served creditably beyond the limits of the United States, and who have been or may hereafter be discharged, shall be paid two months' extra pay; and all such officers and enlisted men of the Navy who have so served within the limits of the United States, and who have been or may hereafter be discharged, shall be paid one month's extra pay." It would seem from the wording of General Orders No. 130, and the general military situation at the time of its issuance, that the furloughs and leaves of absence authorized thereunder were granted for the convenience of the Government, inasmuch as the Army was not prepared to formally muster out the members of the organizations involved. Although the men were not engaged in the performance of any military duties while on furlough, they were required to hold themselves in readiness to report to a designated rendezvous at the expiration of such furlough or sooner, if ordered to do so. Actual discharge certificates were not prepared and the men were required to report back to their organizations under penalty of court martial. While the furlough and leave of absence time comprehended by General Orders No. 130 was specifically included as active service for the purpose of the service pensions provided by the acts of May 1, 1926 (Public 166, 69th Cong.), June 2, 1930 (Public 299, 71st Cong.), and May 24, 1938 (Public 541, 75th Cong.), there has been no general recognition or application of such periods as creditable active Army service "for the purposes of all laws and regulations administered by the Veterans' Administration," as is proposed for the mentioned Navy veterans in House Joint Resolution 207. If provision should be made at this time, as proposed by the subject resolution, for granting similar extensions of service time for all Navy personnel who were honorably discharged during the time General Orders No. 130 was in effect, regardless of the length or character of the service rendered, the actual effect would be to allow gratuitous periods of service for individuals who were not under naval control at the time in question for the purpose of qualifying them for benefits under laws and regulations administered by the Veterans' Administration. The status of such persons who were unconditionally discharged from service is distinguishable from that of the persons granted furloughs or leaves of absence pursuant to General Orders No. 130. Such an extension of service credit to these naval veterans would create an injustice with respect to veterans of the Army who were separated from service subsequent to January 17, 1899, the effective date of the act heretofore referred to which discontinued the granting of furloughs and leaves of absence for military personnel. Generally, veterans of the war with Spain, the Philippine Insurrection, and the China Relief Expedition, who are entitled to benefits predicated upon a minimum of 70 days' service, occupy a more favorable position in regard to service pensions than do veterans of either World War I or World War II whose entitlement to pension is conditioned upon 90 days' service. It is conceivable under the proposed resolution that a veteran having as little as 10 days' naval service and the widow or child or children of a veteran having as little as 30 days' service could qualify for service pension based on the constructive service increment provided by the resolution. It should be noted, however, that the bill would require an honorable discharge as a condition of entitlement to any benefit there |