Chevrolet pick-up truck and under it and that this truck had been giving them some trouble and that it had caught fire on the road while in use and had been shorting and back-firing. Everyone I talked to or saw about it indicated or stated that the defective condition of the Chevrolet pick-up truck caused the truck to catch on fire and that this in turn spread and fired the whole barn. That before the fire the building was in good condition and was mostly of brick construction with a standing seam iron roof on the main garage part. At that time the premises were of the reasonable value of $6,000. In my opinion the fire caused damage to the reasonable value of $4,000, as to the premises, and the hay belonging to Mr. Carl Johnson therein was of the reasonable value of $60.

E. G. FORSYTH.

Subscribed and sworn to before me this 22d day of March 1938.

THOMAS A. FLYNN, Notary Public, Houston County, Minn.

My commission expires February 14, 1940.

Mr. JAMES A. WALES,

INSURANCE COMPANY OF NORTH AMERICA,
Chicago, Ill., March 16, 1938.

(For C. J. Stefferud, Acting Chief Clerk, United States Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, Caledonia, Minn.)

DEAR SIR: Mr. William J. Mitchell has forwarded us your letter to him of March 4, this relative to a fire loss of November 12, 1935, in a garage owned by the estate of K. J. Foss, George K. Foss, administrator, at Houston, Minn.

In answer to your request for information, we advise that this company had insurance of $2,000 on the building which was damaged in this fire. That according to the papers submitted us by George K. Foss, as administrator, the loss to the building amounted to $2,233.04; which, being greater than our insurance of $2,000, resulted in our payment of the $2,000 to Mr. Foss, as administrator of the Knute Jorgenson Foss estate.

As our policy covered only on the building owned by the estate, we have no information as to whether any Government property was damaged in the course of this fire.

Very truly yours,

Mr. J. G. LINDLEY,

Head of Emergency Conservation Works,

S. L. NELSON, Superintendent Loss Department.

LA CROSSE, WIS.,

November 30, 1935.

Soil Conservation Service, Washington, D. C.

(Attention: Mr. O. B. Sandberg.)

DEAR SIR: I have your letter of November 18 relative to a further report on the fire situation at Houston, Minn., camp. This is to advise that our automotive equipment was stored at a garage in the village of Houston, rather than at the camp, because the garage at the camp had not been constructed at that time. We had anticipated the completion of the garage at the time the barracks were built, circulated bids so that this could be done, but the bids, I understand, were held up in the Washington office, which has delayed the construction of all of our garages.

The garage in the village of Houston where the trucks were stored was supposed to be a fireproof one and, apparently, no fire extinguishers or sand barrels had been provided. The village has a fire department and it was assured that this department could take care of any fire emergency in case it developed.

We have been unable to determine just where the fire started but there is a possibility that it was caused by a short in the wiring of the Chevrolet pick-up which had been condemned by Mr. Jesson last July.

The damaged G. M. C. trucks will be put in order just as soon as possible and we will send in the reappraised value of the Chevrolet pick-up very shortly.

Very truly yours,

R. H. DAVIS, Regional Director.

Mr. J. G. LINDLEY,

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE,

Head of Emergency Conservation Work,

La Crosse, Wis., November 18, 1935.

Soil Conservation Service, Standard Oil Building, Washington, D. C. (Attention: Mr. O. B. Sandberg.)

DEAR MR. LINDLEY: On November 12, 1935, there was a fire in the garage where our trucks were stored at Houston, Minn., S C S-4. I arrived there in the afternoon, inspected this equipment, and found that there were five G M C trucks damaged to a considerable extent. A 1933 Chevrolet pick-up was completely destroyed.

I am listing on a separate sheet the parts necessary to place these trucks in good condition. I have been unable to get hold of a General Motors agent anywhere to get figures on the cost of replacement, but it is my opinion that these trucks can be reconditioned and put in good shape for $300 to $350 each. I have suggested to Mr. Davis and the camp superintendent that they contact some General Motors agent and secure a figure for such reconditioning.

I firmly believe that these trucks can be reconditioned in a satisfactory manner for something near the figure I have indicated in my report. I have indicated in this report what is necessary to secure in order to repair the trucks.

The fire in my opinion was caused by a shortage in the 1933 Chevrolet pick-up. The Chevrolet pick-up was a complete loss and it will be necessary to recommend replacement of this unit.

I am attaching a copy of the camp superintendent's report, as well as a narrative account of the fire. I probably should have reported this to you sooner, but inasmuch as I was in the field I preferred to talk to Mr. Davis regarding this matter before making my report. I came back to La Crosse about 10 o'clock Saturday night and had a conference with Mr. Davis this morning regarding these trucks.

Please let me have your reaction in regard to this matter.
Very truly yours,

FRED TARRANT, Supervision Mechanic.

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE,
Houston, Minn., November 13, 1935.

Mr. R. H. Davis,

Regional Director-E. C. W.,

La Crosse, Wis.

DEAR SIR: I wish to report certain facts concerning the fire which destroyed Government property on November 12, 1935, at Houston, Minn.

The building which was burned has been leased by the Government through this camp from the estate of Knute Jorgensen Foss since September 1, 1935. This building is located on lot 10, block 29, of Mons Anderson addition to the village of Houston. For the use of this building the Soil Conservation Service is paying $26 per month. The building is partially frame and brick and contains approximately 7,000 square feet of floor space. It carried $2,000 of insurance. Trucks along with all other equipment were kept in this garage. We also kept a large amount of seed which was collected by the Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees. These seeds were all ruined in the fire together with approximately 200 sacks of cement.

I was at camp when the fire broke out and did not reach the warehouse until the fire department had arrived. Only a few of the tools were damaged by the fire. A few had burned handles and several articles were lost through theft. I did call La Crosse to report the fire to either Mr. C. E. Hughes, or to Mr. H. A. Flueck, but neither one was at home. I then called Mr. E. J. Bullis, who drove to Houston with Mr. Nesja, the mechanic.

From all data which I can obtain, the fire started from a short in the condemned pick-up. It appears that no one can be blamed for this disaster.

Mr. Fred Tarrant has viewed the ruins and will report the total damage of the mechanical equipment.

Sincerely,

-, Superintendent.

1

Statement of loss, Knute Jorgenson Foss estate, fire, Nov. 12, 1935, Houston, Minn.

Item 1, Building

Loss and damage as agreed based on Contractor Iverson's detailed estimate, checked

TOM KELLY

JUNE 23, 1939.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed

Mr. EBERHARTER, from the Committee on Claims, submitted the following

REPORT

(To accompany H. R. 2041)

The Committee on Claims, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 2041) for the relief of Tom Kelly, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.

The amendments are as follows:

Line 5, strike out the sign and figures "$20,000" and insert in lieu thereof "$6,270".

Line 6, after the name "Kelly" insert "of Skedee, Oklahoma". Lines 6 and 7, strike out the language "the claim of said Tom Kelly" and insert "all claims against the United States".

At the end of the bill add

: 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.

The purpose of the proposed legislation is to pay to Tom Kelly, of Skedee, Okla., the sum of $6,270, in full settlement of all claims against the United States for serious and permanent injuries received in an automobile collision with a Government Civilian Conservation Corps truck on the highway between Tulsa and Skedee, Okla., on September 24, 1934.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

On September 24, 1934, a Forest Service truck being driven by a Civilian Conservation Corps enrollee, proceeding along an Oklahoma highway, met a car owned and being driven by one Čol. E. Walters