MACCOY, BRITTAIN, EVANS & LEWIS, Hon. ELBERT D. THOMAS, Washington, D. C. DEAR SENATOR THOMAS: In connection with the settlement of the Mexican claims I understand that there is a suggestion that the findings or appraisal of a single American Commissioner be accepted as final. I understand further that these appraisals which were made some years ago have never been made public and that the parties affected have not had an opportunity to learn the amount of the appraisal or to point out any errors that may have occurred therein. It seems to me only fair that some review should be provided in the case of appraisals by a single Commissioner if only for the reason that some mistakes or misunderstandings of the testimony would be almost certain to take place in connection with so many cases. I am writing, therefore, to request that you consider a limited right of review so that the interested parties may be made aware of the findings and allowed to point out any errors or mistakes which may have been made in such findings. I realize that these claims have dragged for many years and that it is your desire to settle them without any unnecessary delay but even at the cost of a little further delay it would seem only proper to give claimants the right to have the findings of a single Commissioner reviewed. Very sincerely yours, W. LOGAN MACCOY. The Honorable ELBERT D. THOMAS, Washington, D. C. SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, June 3, 1942. DEAR SENATOR THOMAS: Since addressing my recent letter to you concerning Senate bill 2528, having to do with the claims of American citizens against the Mexican Government, I have received a copy of the bill and carefully read it. I direct your attention particularly to section 10 (f), page 13 of said bill, as well as 10 (a), page 11 thereof. It would seem that under the provisions of these two paragraphs, the Commission now to be established shall have authority to adjudicate the unadjudicated special claims and to proceed to pay on such claims an amount required to put them on a parity with other special claims heretofore adjudicated. The act provides that payment of the required amount on these adjudicated special claims shall be made in sufficient amount to put them on a parity with the adjudicated claims, before any further payment is made on the claims which have already been adjudicated. The sum of $426,819.60 is made available for this payment, but there is no assurance that that sum will be adequate to pay the full amount due on these unadjudicated special claims and, if not, it would seem that the amount already finally awarded to the adjudicated special claims will have to be reduced proportionately and that any further payment on the already adjudicated claims may be deferred for some time to come, if the funds available for payment on the unadjudicated special claims are insufficient to put them on a parity. It is our belief that the unadjudicated special claims should stand on their own feet and be paid out of the lump sum of $40,000,000 provided for in the convention of November 19, 1941, after the awards had been reduced to 57 percent, as were the old special claims awards. The owners of the adjudicated special claims have been issued a final award in a definite amount, payable in a fixed amount each year, as Mexico pays under the former treaty, and many of these claimants have assigned their claims or have been building homes, to be paid for on the installment plan, based on the receipt by them of their yearly payments on their awards and, if these yearly payments are disturbed or temporarily delayed, a great hardship will be experienced by many of these claimants. I know how interested you are in protecting the welfare of these good people and feel sure that you will see to it that their interests are thoroughly protected under this proposed legislation. I am taking the liberty of suggesting that Mr. Lester H. Woolsey, of Washington, D. C., who also represents a number of the claimants, keep in touch with you and furnish me information he might have with respect to the effect this bill would have in its present form. Thanking you, I am, Very respectfully, ROMNEY & NELSON, By VERNON ROMNEY. LAREDO, TEX., June 2, 1942. Hon. Toм CONNALLY, Washington, D. C. DEAR SENATOR CONNALLY: Reference is had to Senate bill No. 2528, which we understand has as its purpose the postponement of further instalment payments as authorized through certain awards made by the Special Mexican Claims Commission, and further proposes the reduction of future payments of such awards. We also understand that the provisions of this bill arise out of the desire to provide that payments on unadjudicated special claims be brought up to a parity with the payments of those that have been receiving money during the past several years through the awards of such Mexican Claims Commission. As a claimant through a final award put forth in favor of this bank by the Special Mexican Claims Commission to an amount of approximately 57 percent of the original claim filed by this bank, we have received installment payments representing about five-eights of the final award due us from a fund which we understand was agreed upon by said Commission to be used for the payment of the claims approved by the said Commission. As we have no information as to the reason for this bill other than that stated in the first and second paragraphs hereof, and as we feel that all unadjudicated special claims should stand on their own merits and be denied or approved and paid as the case may be independently and not entangle and complicate in any manner the awards heretofore approved by the said Commission, we desire to protest against the passage of this bill, and trust that you will find it consistent with your conclusions after you have given thought to the bill's provisions, to energetically oppose the passage of same. With very best wishes, we are, UNION NATIONAL BANK, By ED. S. RUSSELL, President. NEW YORK, June 27, 1942. The Honorable ELBERT D. THOMAS, United States Senate. MY DEAR SENATOR: In connection with S. 2528, a bill to provide for the settlement of claims of the Government of the United States on behalf of American nationals against the Government of Mexico comprehended within the terms of agreements concluded by the United States and Mexico, which is now before the Committee on Foreign Relations, I am taking the liberty of appealing to you in a hardcase the handling of which by the American Agency and the former General Claims Commission has resulted in severe hardship to the claimant. I refer to the case of Macedonio J. Garcia, the opinion in which appears on pages 146-149 of Opinions of Commissioners under the convention concluded September 8, 1923, between the United States and Mexico February 4, 1926, to July 23, 1927. The claimant in this case is represented by Mr. Jesse I. Miller, 820-824 Woodward Bldg., Washington, D. C., who is now in the service of the Government at the School of Military Government recently established at the University of Virginia. I have been associated with Mr. Miller in a number of matters, and he has requested me to look after the case of Mr. Garcia. I became connected with the American Agency as one of its counsel just prior to the time the Garcia case was argued in 1926, and while I had nothing to do with the preparation or presentation of the case, I do know that it was hastily included in a list of cases to be argued at a time when the Agency was under tremendous pressure from the Commission to proceed with the argument of cases. This was done despite the fact that at that time the marshalling of the evidence in the case was far from complete, and the further fact that the nature of the case itself rendered its presentation at that time most untimely. The case involved an obligation on the part of the Mexican Government in the amount of $161,000 which was payable "when the federal public hacienda is found to be in a favorable situation for making this reimbursement." In its opinion the Commission, after noting the shortcomings in the evidence, the marshalling of which, as I have stated, was incomplete, stated: Finally, it is important to note that, while in the Memorial there is an allegation of liability for an overdue obligation evidenced by the receipt of May 31, 1920, the receipt recites that the sum of $161,000 should be paid when the Federal Public Treasury is found to be in a favorable situation for making reimbursement. It has not been shown to the Commission that, it being assumed that the receipt evidences an obligation binding on the Mexican Government, it rests with the claimant to fix the time of payment according to his views of the condition of the Public Treasury. And we do not consider that it would be within the province of the Commission to make any determination with reference to that point." The injustice to the claimant resulting from this unfortunate procedure is readily apparent. As set forth in the opinion, it was then impossible to establish a condition in the absence of which liability could not be imposed upon Mexico. Had the case not been tried, and were it now included within the claims comprehended by the lump sum settlement, that condition would not now enter into the consideration of the case and the claimant would be entitled to an award. S. 2528 makes no provision to cover a hardship such as is presented in this case. Section 3 (a), which makes final and binding decisions rendered by the General Claims Commission, rules it out altogether. To do justice to the claimant in this case, the bill should contain a provision giving the commission to be established jurisdiction to hear and determine any case which in justice and equity should be heard, even though the case may have been decided by the former General Claims Commission. Unless this is done, the claimant will remain the victim of the hasty and illadvised action of the Agency which, in its attempt to satisfy a commission waiting to hear cases, picked an unprepared case the presentation of which at that time even under the most favorable conditions of complete preparation would have been fatal to the claimant because the condition precedent to liability could not then be established. Very truly yours, STANLEY H. UDY. BURT I. WELD & SON, Slayton, Minn., June 9, 1942. Re S. F. 2528-Mexican Claims. Hon. HENRIK SHIPSTEAD, United States Senator, Washington, D. C. DEAR MR. SHIPSTEAD: The writer is one of the several pooled claimants with those of M. C. Dyer in the forty million dollar Mexican Claims allowance. There is, as you know, a provision in section 10 (f), which, in the writer's opinion, is very unfair to the claimants under the award as made 3 or 4 years ago. There is a large amount unpaid of this award and in a recent settlement there was, as the writer understands it, allocated $426,819.60 for special claims which was not provided in the first settlement, with a stipulation therein that this amount is to be paid out of the unpaid $1,500,000 balance of the first award, thus reducing the unpaid balance to the claimants of the first award. It is my request that you offer a strong protest against section 10 (f) of the present bill. There are several other stockholders whose interests are pooled, as well as the writer's, with that of the late M. C. Dyer, formerly of Madelia, Min. Mr. Dyer is now deceased and his widow, Ruth A. Dyer, the beneficiary, has been counting on her proportionate share of the original award and needs it. I trust you will use every honorable effort to see that this section 10 (f) is eliminated and killed. Thanking you in advance, I am Sincerely, BURT I. WELD Senator Toм CONNALLY, Washington, D. C. SAN ANTONIO, TEX., June 1, 1942. MY DEAR SENATOR: I desire to protest against the passage of Senate bill No. 2528 in the form it has been prepared and introduced in the Senate by Senator Barkley. As I understand this bill it proposes to make the claimants who have been awarded specific sums against the Mexican Government by the Special Claims Commission, headed by Lieutenant Governor Witt, shall wait until all other claimants have been paid on a parity with the ones who have been paid, and also to reduce the payments of awards that have been made to these claimants who have been receiving their money for the past 4 years. And that they will have to take their chances of getting their money out of this last lump sum settlement of $40,000,000. I think the bill should be amended so as to permit these people who have had their claims adjudicated and have received four payments on them, be paid as they come due. There are three more annual payments due these Special Mexican Claimants that have had their claims awarded and adjudicated to them. I represented about 40 of these people in southwest Texas and I would appreciate it if you would give their rights to receive their payments as awarded to them due consideration, which I feel you will do. Awaiting your reply, I am Yours very truly, EXHIBIT J T. M. WEST. [H. Doc. No. 722, 77th Cong., 2d sess.] To the Congress of the United States: I transmit herewith a report by the Secretary of State, recommending the enactment of legislation to provide for the settlement of claims of American nationals against the Government of Mexico comprehended within the terms of agreements concluded by the United States and Mexico. I commend to the favorable consideration of the Congress the recommendation of the Secretary of State in which I concur. I have the honor to submit for transmission to the Congress, in case you approve, the following report and recommendations in relation to the settlement of claims of American nationals against the Government of Mexico comprehended within the terms of agreements concluded by the United States and Mexico. The convention between the two countries which was signed on November 19, 1941, and which recently became effective, provides that the Government of Mexico shall pay this Government, in installments, the sum of $40,000,000 as the balance due this Government in settlement of certain claims of American nationals against the Government of Mexico and claims of Mexican nationals against this Government to which reference is made in article I of the convention. Installments, totaling $6,000,000, have already been paid by the Government of Mexico. It is considered advisable that legislation be enacted providing for the distribution of the funds already paid, and hereafter to be paid, by the Government of Mexico among the American nationals whose claims may be regarded as meritorious. Some of the claims covered by article I of the convention arose between 1868 and 1927 and were filed with the General Claims Commission, United States and 75427-42- -14 Mexico, established pursuant to the convention signed September 8, 1923, and were adjudicated by that Commission; certain other claims filed with that Commission were the subject of agreed appraisals made by Commissioners designated by the Governments of the United States and Mexico, respectively, pursuant to the General Claims Protocol signed April 24, 1934; and the balance of the claims filed with the Commission were examined and appraised by the Commissioner designated by the United States pursuant to the above-mentioned protocol. The convention signed November 19, 1941, also covers agrarian claims of American nationals which arose between August 30, 1927, and July 31, 1939, and which were filed with the Agrarian Claims Commission, United States and Mexico, established pursuant to an agreement between the two Governments effected by an exchange of notes signed November 9 and 12, 1938, respectively. The Commissioner designated by this Government pursuant to that agreement has practically completed the examination and appraisal of this group of claims. It is recommended that, subject to certain deductions and allocations, the funds thus far received from the Government of Mexico, and the funds hereafter received from that Government, be distributed on an appropriate pro rata basis among the American nationals whose claims have been determined to be meritorious by the above-mentioned General Claims Commission or by the respective Commissioners designated by this Government pursuant to the General Claims Protocol of 1934 and the Agrarian Claims Agreement of 1938. It is also recommended that a Commissioner to be designated by the President be authorized to adjudicate certain other claims of American nationals covered by article I of the convention signed November 19, 1941, which have not been adjudicated or appraised, and that the claims found by him to be meritorious similarly share in these funds. Since, by the terms of the convention, this Government is relieved of international liability toward the Government of Mexico on account of claims of Mexican nationals against this Government, and since the sum which the Government of Mexico has agreed to pay represents a "balance" due this Government in settlement of claims of nationals of each country against the Government of the other, it is recommended that the funds payable by the Government of Mexico for distribution among American claimants be augmented by an appropriation by the Congress in an amount representing the appraised value of the claims of Mexican nationals against this Government. With a view to effecting a settlement of certain claims and parts of claims which were filed with both the above-mentioned General Claims Commission and the Special Claims Commission, established pursuant to the convention signed September 10, 1923, and which have been determined to fall within the purview of that convention, it is recommended that out of the funds paid by the Government of Mexico an appropriate amount be allocated to the settlement of claims filed with the Special Claims Commission to be distributed among the claimants as contemplated by provisions of existing law. As a matter of convenience, a draft of proposed legislation to carry these recommendations into effect is transmitted herewith. Respectfully submitted. [Enclosure: Draft] CORDELL HULL. AN ACT To provide for the settlement of claims of the Government of the United States on behalf of American nationals against the Government of Mexico comprehended within the terms of agreements concluded by the United States and Mexico Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be cited as the "Settlement of Mexican Claims Act of 1942". SEC. 2. For the purposes of this Act (a) The term "General Claims Commission" means the Commission established pursuant to the convention between the United States and Mexico signed September 8, 1923 (43 Stat. 1730). (b) The term "Special Claims Commission" means the Commission established pursuant to the convention between the United States and Mexico signed September 10, 1923 (43 Stat. 1722). (c) The term "Agrarian Claims Agreement of 1938" means the agreement between the United States and Mexico effected by exchange of notes signed on November 9 and November 12, 1938, respectively. (d) The term "Agrarian Claims Commission" means the Commission established pursuant to the Agrarian Claims Agreement of 1938. |