AFFIDAVIT OF MINA KEIL Expenses and damages incurred by Mrs. Mina Keil because of and due to an accident occurring Oct. 13, 1936, in State Road No. 45 Monroe County, ind Mrs. Keil was a passenger in a Ford sedan which was struck by a Civilian Conservation Corps truck Torn coat.. Torn stockings. 2 phone calls Bloomington to Indianapolis.. Transportation, Bloomington and back, to bring me home. Another trip to Bloomington to recover shoes, hat and miscellaneous articles left in wrecked car.. 2 trips to Monroe County to locate witnesses and procure affidavits. Notary fees and typing service_ Examination by Dr. L. A. Smith, Indianapolis Ind. Special brassieres because of breast injury. Akron Surgical Supply House, Miscellaneous expense, carfare, travel, and correspondence.. Dr. Moser, Bloomington, Ind. Dr. Porteus, Franklin, Ind.. Time lost by husband because of accident_ Total.. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 6th day of April 1939. [SEAL] $15.00 1.50 1. 50 9.50 9.50 24. 00 4. 00 2.00 10. 50 8.00 5. 00 9. 50 28.00 128. 00 MINA KEIL ELIZABETH STICK, Notary Public My commission expires March 4, 1942. AFFIDAVIT OF MRS. OTTO BERKHOLZ INDIANAPOLIS, IND., April 5, 1939. Hon. RAYMOND S. SPRINGER, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. DEAR MR. SPRINGER: Mrs. Mina Kiel has requested that I write you regarding her health since the accident in which she was injured October 13, 1936. I have known Mina for 15 years, or longer, and she always enjoyed good health until the time of the accident, since which she has had trouble with her left arm and left breast and has had to wear a special-made brassiere. I went to see her immediately after the accident and she surely was in bad shape. Her head was cut and all bandaged up and she was bruised all over and her arm and breast was hurting badly. If you wish any further reference you may write me at the following address. Very truly, MRS. OTTO BERKHOLZ, 1710 Thaddeus Street, Indianapolis, Ind. Subscribed and sworn to before me, a notary public April 7, 1939. [SEAL EDW. A. COMMINSKEY, Notary Public. My commission expires December 28, 1940. AFFIDAVIT OF MRS. FLORA BRIGGS GREENWOOD, IND., April 6, 1939. MR. SPRINGER: With reference to the condition Mrs. Mina Keil, Muncie, Ind., the day after the auto accident in southern Indiana with a Works Progress Administration truck. I saw Mrs. Keil. She was bedfast with a cut on her head and one bruised arm and a badly bruised breast; and that she was under doctor's care for months. At the time of the accident Mrs. Keil lived on Greenwood, Ind., rural route No. 2, and was my next door neighbor. FLORA BRIGGS. BESSIE L. AIKIN, Notary Public. My commission expires February 2, 1943. AFFIDAVIT OF MRS. LILLIAN FALL Hon. RAYMOND S. SPRINGER, INDIANAPOLIS, IND., April 5, 1939. House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. DEAR SIR: By request I am writing to you regarding an accident in which Mrs. Mina Keil, 1607 West Eleventh Street, Muncie, Ind., was injured. On October 13, 1936, in Monroe County, Ind., a Civilian Conservation Corps truck crashed into the car in which Mrs. Keil was riding. I have known Mrs. Keil for a number of years during which time she has enjoyed good health. Since the accident she has been troubled with her left arm and left breast due to the injuries she received. Her health in general has been impaired. Yours very truly, MRS. LILLIAN Fall. Subscribed and sworn to before me, this 5th day of April 1939. [SEAL] My commission expires January 11, 1941. R. B. STALEY, Notary Public, Marion County. 76TH CONGRESS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session MR. AND MRS. JOHN ECKENDORFF AND MR. AND MRS. ALEXANDER G. DORR JUNE 27, 1939.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed Mr. McGEHEE, from the Committee on Claims, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 5338] The Committee on Claims, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 5338) for the relief of Mr. and Mrs. John Eckendorff and Mr. and Mrs. Alexander G. Dorr, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill as amended do pass. The amendments are as follows: Strike out all the language after the enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof the following: That the Secretary of the Treasury be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to pay, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated. to Mr. and Mrs. John Eckendorff, of New Orleans, Louisiana, the sum of $500, and to Mr. and Mrs. Alexander G. Dorr of New Orleans, Louisiana, the sum of $250. Said sums shall be in full settlement of all claims against the United States for injuries received by Mrs. John Eckendorff and Mrs. Alexander G. Dorr, and expenses incident thereto, resulting from a collision between the car in which they were riding and a truck in the service of the Department of Agriculture, in New Orleans, Louisiana, on May 28, 1938: Provided, That no part of the amount appropriated in this Act in excess of 10 per centum thereof shall be paid or delivered to or received by any agent or attorney on account of services rendered in connection with this claim, and the same shall be unlawful, any contract to the contrary notwithstanding. Any person violating the provisions of this Act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be fined in any sum not exceeding $1,000. Amend the title of the bill to read: A bill for the relief of Mr. and Mrs. John Eckendorff, and Mr. and Mrs. Alexander G. Dorr. The purpose of the proposed legislation is to pay to Mr. and Mrs. John Eckendorff the sum of $500, and to Mr. and Mrs. Alexander G. Dorr, the sum of $250, in full settlement of all claims against the United States for injuries received by Mrs. Eckendorff and Mrs. Dorr, H. Repts., 76-1, vol. 5-18 and expenses incident thereto, when the car in which they were riding was struck by a truck in the service of the Department of Agriculture, on May 28, 1938, in New Orleans, La. STATEMENT OF FACTS The accident involved occurred on May 28, 1938, at about 8:40 p. m. on the Gentilly Highway, near New Orleans, La. Miss Cleo Eckendorff was operating her 1929 Ford sedan on this highway going in toward the city. In the car with her as passengers were Mrs. Josephine Eckendorff, Mrs. Alexander G. Door, Mrs. V. Allenback, and Dorothy Allenback. According to the evidence, Miss Eckendorff was driving her car on the proper side of the highway at a speed of approximately 20 miles per hour, when the rear of her automobile was struck by a 1938 Ford V-8 truck owned by the United States Department of Agriculture. The Department admits liability in the cause of this accident, stating that it was due to the "failure of the Government driver to control his vehicle and stop quickly enough to avoid colliding with the rear of the Eckendorff car with sufficient force to cause injuries and damage to the vehicle." The driver of the Government truck stated that he was traveling at a speed of approximately 35 to 45 miles per hour and did not see the automobile ahead of him until he was upon it. A claim for property damage to the car amounting to $87.23, was approved by the Department for payment under the Small Claims Act. Mrs. Alexander Dorr, Mrs. Josephine Eckendorff, and Mrs. Allenback were injured and they were taken to the Charity Hospital. Doctors' statements will be hereafter appended which will describe the nature of the injuries received. The third woman, Mrs. Allenback, apparently only suffered from shock and no claim is made for any damages. In Two bills were introduced, H. R. 5338, representing the claim of Mrs. Eckendorff and her husband; and H. R. 5339, representing the claim of Mrs. Dorr and her husband, for the damages and expenses resulting from the injuries to Mrs. Eckendorff and Mrs. Dorr. view of the fact the Department admits negligence on the part of the operator of the Government vehicle in causing the damages claimed, your committee has incorporated both the bills into one and is recommending settlement in the amount of $500 to Mr. and Mrs. Eckendorff and $250 to Mr. and Mrs. Dorr. The injuries received by these women were not serious and it is felt that the amounts recommended will properly cover the damages resulting therefrom. Appended hereto is the report of the Department of Agriculture submitted in connection with these bills, together with other pertinent evidence. Hon. AMBROSE J. KENNEDY, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Chairman, Committee on Claims, House of Representatives. Dear Mr. KENNEDY: Receipt is acknowledged of your communications dated April 3 and 4, 1939, regarding H. R. 5338 and H. R. 5339, Seventy-sixth Congress, first session, for the relief of Josephine Emmer, wife of and John Eckendorff, and Alice Emmer, wife of and Alexander G. Dorr, in the amounts of $2,097.98 and $518, respectively. In accordance with your request, there are enclosed copies of the reports filed in this Department regarding the motor-vehicle accident near New Orleans, La., on May 28, 1938, involving Chevrolet pick-up truck, USDA No. 63-705, driven by Lee J. Robertson of the Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine of this Department, and a Ford car owned and operated by Miss Cleo Eckendorff, 3726 Dauphine Street, New Orleans, La. The attached preliminary reports were received from the filed office concerned on June 4, 1938, and indicated that Mrs. Josephine Eckendorff, Mrs. Alex G. Dorr and a young child had received injuries in this accident, which was attributed to failure of the Government driver to control his vehicle and stop quickly enough to avoid colliding with the rear of the Eckendorff car with sufficient force to cause the injuries and damage to the vehicles. The interests of Mrs. Eckendorff and the other passengers in her car were represented by Neal Armstrong, attorney, of New Orleans, La. Shortly after the accident the Government driver made several visits to Mr. Armstrong's office in an effort to arrange an equitable settlement, but Mr. Armstrong preferred to hold the Government liable and no further information has been supplied to the Department regarding later developments. In a letter to the Department dated January 30, 1939, Congressman J. O. Fernandez stated that the injured persons had filed with him a statement of expenses amounting to $206.21 for medical services, nursing, drugs, and auto repairs. A claim form was furnished to Congressman Fernandez for execution by his constituents in connection with the property damage, and subsequently a claim was filed in the amount of $87.23, which was approved by the Department for payment and forwarded to the Bureau of the Budget for further action. In view of the foregoing and lack of complete information regarding expenditures due to personal injuries, the bill for the relief of Alice Emmer, wife of and Alexander G. Dorr in the amount of $518, as provided in H. R. 5339, appears to be excessive. However, the Committee on Claims may have evidence which is not disclosed by reports in the Department's files, and it is therefore suggested that H. R. 5339 be enacted in an amount which your committee deems appropriate and sufficient. Sincerely, HARRY L. BROWN, Acting Secretary. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Washington, D. C. NEW ORLEANS, LA., June 4, 1938. Re report on automobile accident on May 28, 1938. Project Leader, White Fringed Beetle Control, Gulfport, Miss. DEAR MR. CORLISS: On the night of May 28, 1938, I was returning to New Orleans by way of Gentilly Road (U S 90) operating a Government 2-ton pick-up truck, on official business, license 63-705. At 8:40 p. m. I collided with a car, 1929 model A Ford, driven and owned by Miss Cleo Eckendorf of 3726 Dauphine Street, New Orleans, La. CAUSE OF ACCIDENT The accident, occurring on a Saturday evening, gave cause for this part of Gentilly Highway to have more traffic than usual. Approaching the 72-mile post, using the extreme right lane in a four-lane highway, due to the approaching of cars with glaring headlights, I was temporarily blinded by these glaring headlights and using the black line on the highway to drive by until these cars passed. Upon the passing of these cars with the glaring headlights, I found myself within 20 feet from the rear of another automobile going in the same direction and in the same lane. Not having time to do anything due to the speed of the other car, which was being driven about 10 miles per hour. The Government car, in which I was operating, collided into the rear of this other car. |