The purpose of this bill is to remove an apparent injustice suffered by certain Coast Guard retired officers, through no fault of their own, in awaiting determination of permanent disability and subsequent retirement, and to accord them the same measure of fair treatment under like circumstances as was granted to certain officers of the Navy pursuant to section 25 of the Naval Omnibus Act approved March 4, 1925 (43 Stats. 1278), reading as follows:

"SEC. 25. Any officer of the regular Navy who has been retired since December 31, 1921, by reason of physical disability which originated in the line of duty at any time between April 6, 1917, and March 3, 1921, inclusive, while holding higher temporary rank, shall be advanced on the retired list to, or shall be placed on the retired list in, such higher grade or rank."

The following provision is contained in the Naval Appropriation Act approved July 1, 1918 (40 Stat. 733):

"That any officer of the Coast Guard temporarily promoted or advanced in grade or rank in accordance with the provisions of this Act who shall be retired from active service under his permanent commission while holding such temporary grade or rank, except for physical disability incurred in line of duty, shall be placed on the retired list with the grade or rank to which his position in the permanent Coast Guard at the date of his retirement would entitle him."

Pursuant to the foregoing provision of the act of July 1, 1918, an officer of the Coast Guard, while holding temporary higher rank during the effective period of this law (to Sept. 3, 1921), and retired for physical disability incurred in line of duty, was placed on the retired list in the higher temporary rank held by him.

So far as the Coast Guard can determine, there are two officers who would be affected by the proposed legislation. Both of these officers were incapacitated during the effective period of the act of July 1, 1918, but action upon their retirement was not taken until after September 3, 1921, on which date the rights and benefits conferred by temporary wartime legislation (act of July 1, 1918) expired. The result was that these officers, although suffering disability while holding temporary rank and which originated in line of duty during the period specified in the bill, were not retired for such disability until a date subsequent to September 3, 1921, and then in a grade lower than that held by them under the act of July 1, 1918. Both of these officers held the temporary higher rank of lieutenant commander, and would have been so retired if action had been taken upon their retirement prior to September 3, 1921. Later, one was retired on October 7, 1921, as a lieutenant (junior grade), and the other on October 30, 1923, as a lieutenant.

One of these officers is now receiving the retired pay of a lieutenant commander because of length of active duty to his credit. The other officer is serving in a Federal civil-service office, and pursuant to section 212 of the act of June 30, 1932 (Public, 212) has elected to receive the salary of the civil office instead of his retired pay. Therefore, no payment of his present retired pay or the proposed resulting increase in his retired pay will occur until he is separated from his civilservice office. When and if that occurs, the proposed legislation would result in an increase of $525 per annum in his retired pay. Pursuant to the act of June 21, 1930, both of these officers have their wartime rank of lieutenant commander on the retired list.

The Department considers this proposed legislation a measure of justice in according retired officers of the Coast Guard the same benefits accorded retired officers of the Navy who were similarly situated, and in extending them retirement rights to which they should have been entitled except for delay in action upon their retirement. Accordingly, the enactment of the bill S. 2338 is recommended. Very truly yours,

О

(Signed) WAYNE C. TAYLOR, Acting Secretary of the Treasury.

GRANTING PENSIONS TO SOLDIERS OF INDIAN WARS

JULY 6, 1937.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. GASQUE, from the Committee on Pensions, submitted the

following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 5787]

The Committee on Pensions, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 5787) granting pensions and increases of pensions to certain soldiers who served in the Indian wars from 1817 to 1898, and for other purposes, having had the bill under consideration, and having heard Gen. Frank T. Hines, Administrator of Veterans' Affairs, respectfully submit the following report, with the recommendation that the bill H. R. 5787, as amended by the committee, do pass.

ENDORSEMENT OF THE BILL

The bill has the favorable endorsement from the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs, the Bureau of the Budget, and the Indian War Veterans' Association.

In compliance with paragraph 2 (A) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the bill are shown as follows: The Indian War Act of March 3, 1927, is shown in small roman type, new matter proposed by this bill is shown in italics, and the committee amendment proposed to the bill is shown in black-face italics.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That any person who served thirty days or more in any military organization, whether such person was regularly mustered into the service of the United States or not, but whose service was under the authority or by the approval of the United States or any State or Territory in any Indian war or campaign, or in connection with, or in the zone of any active Indian hostilities in any of the States or Territories of the United States from January 1, 1817, to December 31, 1898, inclusive, and who is now or who may hereafter be suffering from any mental or physical disability or disabilities of a permanent character, not the result of his own vicious habits, which so incapacitate him for the performance of manual labor as to render him unable to earn a support, shall, upon making due proof of the fact, according to such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may provide, be placed upon the pension roll of the United

States and be entitled to receive pension not exceeding $50 per month and not less than $20 per month, proportionate to the degree of inability to earn a support; and in determining such inability each and every infirmity shall be duly considered and the aggregate of the disabilities shown shall be rated, and such pension shall commence from the date of filing of the application in the Bureau of Pensions, after the passage of this Act, upon proof that the disability or disabilities then existed, and shall continue during the existence thereof: Provided, That any such person who has reached the age of sixty-two years shall, upon making proof of such fact, be placed upon the pension roll and entitled to receive a pension of $20 per month; in case such person has reached the age of sixty-eight years, $30 per month; in case such person has reached the age of seventy-two years, $40 per month; and in case such person has reached the age of seventy-five years, $50 per month. SEC. 2. If any person who rendered service as described in section 1 of this Act or who died in service irrespective of length of service, has since died, or shall hereafter die, leaving a widow, or minor children under the age of sixteen years, such widow shall, upon due proof of her husband's death, without proving his death to be the result of his military service, be placed on the pension roll from the date of filing the application therefor under this Act, at the rate of $30 per month during her widowhood, and shall also be paid $6 per month for each child of such person under sixteen years of age, and in case there be no widow, or one not entitled to pension, and in the event of the death, remarriage, or forfeiture of title of the widow, the child or children under sixteen years of age of the soldier shall be paid such pension until the age of sixteen years, said pension, if there be no widow entitled, to commence from the date of filing application therefor after the passage of this Act, and in the event of the death, remarriage, or forfeiture of title by the widow the pension to continue to the minor children from the date of such death, remarriage, or forfeiture of title: Provided, That in case a minor child is insane, idiotic, or otherwise permanently helpless, the pension shall continue during the life of said child, or during the period of such disability, and such pension shall commence from the date of filing application therefor after the passage of this Act: Provided further, That said widow shall have married said soldier prior to March 4, 1917, and this section shall apply to a former widow of any soldier who rendered service as hereinbefore described, such widow having remarried either once or more after the death of the soldier, if it be shown that such subsequent or successive marriage has or have been dissolved, either by the death of the husband or husbands or by divorce without fault on the part of the wife. Such pension shall commence from date of filing application therefor in the Bureau of Pensions after the passage of this Act, and any such former widow shall be entitled to and be paid a pension at the rate of $30 a month, and any former widow mentioned in this section shall also be paid $6 a month for each child of the soldier under sixteen years of age: Provided further, That in case of any widow whose name has been dropped from the pension roll because of her remarriage, if the pension has been granted to an insane, idiotic, or otherwise helpless child, or to a child or children under the age of sixteen years, she shall not be entitled to a renewal of pension under any Act until the pension to such child or children terminates, unless such child or children be a member or members of her family and cared for by her, and upon renewal of pension to such widow payment of pension to such child or children shall cease.

SEC. 3. The period of service performed by beneficiaries under this Act shall be determined, first, by reports from the records of the War Department, where there are such records; second, by reports from the records of the General Accounting Office showing payment by the United States, where there is no record of regular enlistment, or muster into the United States military service; and third, when there is no record of service or payment for same in the War Department or the General Accounting Office by satisfactory evidence from muster rolls on file in the several State or Territorial archives; fourth, where no record of service has been made in the War Department or General Accounting Office and there is no muster roll or pay roll on file in the several States or Territorial archives showing service of the applicant, or where the same has been destroyed by fire or otherwise lost, or where there are muster rolls or pay rolls on file in the several State or Territorial archives but the applicant's name does not appear thereon, the applicant may make proof of service by furnishing evidence satisfactory to the Commissioner of Pensions: Provided, That the want of a certificate of discharge shall not deprive any applicant of the benefits of this Act.

SEC. 4. From and after the fourth day of the next month after the approval of this Act the rate of pension to surviving soldiers of the various Indian wars and campaigns who are now on the pension roll or who may hereafter be placed thereon

under the Acts of July 27, 1892, June 27, 1902, and May 30, 1908, as amended by the Act of February 19, 1913, or under the Act of March 4, 1917, shall be $30 per month if sixty-eight years of age, $40 per month if seventy-two years of age, and $50 per month if seventy-five years of age, and that the rate of pension to the widows who are now on the pension roll or who may hereafter be placed thereon under the said Acts shall be $30 per month: Provided, however, That nothing in this Act shall be so construed as to reduce any pension under any law, public or private, and that hereafter pensions granted under the Acts referred to in this section shall commence from the date of filing of application therefor in the Bureau of Pensions.

SEC. 5. No claim agent, attorney, or other person shall contract for, demand, receive, or retain a fee for service in preparing, presenting, or prosecuting claims for the increase of pension provided for in this Act; and no more than the sum of $10 shall be allowed for such service in other claims thereunder, which sum shall be payable only on the order of the Commissioner of Pensions; and any person who shall, directly or indirectly, otherwise contract for, demand, receive, or retain a fee for service in preparing, presenting, or prosecuting any claim under this Act, or shall wrongfully withhold from the pensioner or claimant the whole or any part of the pension allowed or due to such pensioner or claimant under this Act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction thereof shall for each and every offense be fined not exceeding $500 or be imprisoned not exceeding one year, or both, in the discretion of the court.

New matter proposed by the bill is as follows:

That from and after the first day of the next month after the approval of this Act, the rate of pension to surviving soldiers of the various Indian wars and campaigns who are now on the pension rolls or who may hereafter be placed thereon under the provisions of the Acts of July 27, 1892; June 27, 1902; and May 30, 1908, as amended by the Act of February 1, 1913; or under the Act of March 4, 1917, or the Act of March 8, 1927, shall be $65 per month: Provided, That any such survivor who is now or hereafter may become, on account of age or physical or mental disability, helpless or blind, or so nearly helpless or blind as to need or require the regular aid and attendance of another person, shall be paid the rate of $72 per month: Provided, however, That nothing in this Act shall be so construed as to reduce any pension under any law, public or private, and that hereafter pensions granted under this Act or Acts referred to in this section shall commence from the date of filing of application therefor in the Veterans' Administration.

The committee amendment to this bill is shown as follows: Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof the following language:

That from and after the first day of the next month after the enactment of this Act, all surviving soldiers of the various Indian wars and campaigns who are now on the pension rolls or who may hereafter be placed thereon under the provisions of the Acts of July 27, 1892, June 27, 1902, and May 30, 1908, as amended by the Act of February 19, 1913, or under the Act of March 4, 1917, or the Act of March 3, 1927, shall be entitled to receive a pension not exceeding $55 per month and not less than $20 per month, proportioned to the degree of inability to earn a support as determined by the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs, and in determining such inability each and every infirmity shall be duly considered, and the aggregate of the disabilities shown be rated: Provided, That any such person who has reached the age of sixty-two years shall be entitled to receive a pension of $25 a month; in case such person has reached the age of sixtyeight years, $35 a month; in case such person has reached the age of seventy-two years, $45 a month; and in case such person has reached the age of seventy-five years, $55 a month: Provided further, That any such person who is now or hereafter may become, on account of age or physical or mental disabilities, helpless or blind, or so nearly helpless or blind as to need or require the regular aid and attendance of another person, shall be paid the rate of $72 a month: And provided further, That no one while an inmate of the United States Soldiers' Home or of any National or State Soldiers' Home shall be paid more than $50 per month under this Act. SEC. 2. That the increased rates of pension herein provided shall be effective from and after the first day of the month following the enactment of this Act as to those then in receipt of Indian War service pension, and as to those with claims then pending who are shown to be entitled

to pension under one of the Acts enumerated herein, and as to all other cases where entitlement under this Act is shown, such pension shall commence from the date of filing application therefor in the Veterans' Administration on and after the enactment of this Act, and in such form as may be prescribed by the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs: Provided, That pension of $72 per month granted under this Act on the basis of requiring the regular aid and attendance of another person shall commence from the date of receipt in the Veterans' Administration of the evidence showing the requisite condition or the date of filing application therefor on and after the enactment of this Act, whichever is the later date, but such pension of $72 per month shall not be awarded to any person for any period during which he is maintained in an institution by the United States Government or a political subdivision thereof and is being furnished with nursing or attendant service: Provided further, That in no event shall the rates of pension provided in this Act be effective prior to the first day of the month following the enactment thereof.

STUDY OF INDIAN WAR LEGISLATION MADE BY THE COMMITTEE

For the past 10 years the Committee on Pensions has had under consideration the question whether or not the Indian War Act of March 3, 1927, should be liberalized. At various times the committee held hearings. The first was on March 6, 1928, again on February 10, 1931, and on March 16, 1932, a special subcommittee was appointed to go thoroughly into the question, and as a result, the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs set up a special board to consider Indian war veterans' claims, which resulted in the Department liberally construing the Indian War Act of March 3, 1927, in favor of the Indian war veterans. In the Seventy-fourth Congress, hearings were held on five bills which were pending before the committee at that time. These bills were H. R. 2754, H. R. 2857, H. R. 9497, H. R. 10359, and H. R. 10721, and as a result of these hearings, another subcommittee was appointed to make a further study of this question. The subcommittee failed to submit a report before the close of the Seventyfourth Congress. This Congress, namely the Seventy-fifth Congress, the committee again appointed a subcommittee to study the question of Indian war legislation and as a result of this study, the subcommittee recommended that the bill H. R. 5787 be introduced. On May 24, 1937, hearings were held on this bill.

RELIEF MUST BE GIVEN NOW

The committee is of the opinion that if relief for the Indian War veteran is to be granted by Congress, it should be done at this time. in view of the fact of their advanced age, together with the fact that there are only 3,188 on the rolls. These Indian War veterans are rapidly passing away at the rate of 600 per year, which means that within a very short time, it will be too late for relief to be extended to this deserving group.

AVERAGE AGE OF VETERANS

The average age of the Indian War veteran is 77 years, as against 92 for the Civil War, 62 for the Spanish War, and 45 for the World War.

LENGTH OF SERVICE

It must be clearly kept in mind that the Indian War veterans service of 30 days was service actually rendered in combat, that is, 30 days of service within the zone of and in connection with active Indian