[First endorsement] HEADQUARTERS, HARBOR DEFENSES OF LONG ISLAND SOUND, To: Capt. D. R. Wolverton, QMC, Fort H. G. Wright, N. Y. 1. The harbor defense commander takes great pleasure in transmitting this letter of commendation. 2. A copy of this letter will be attached to your next efficiency report. Lieutenant Colonel, Eleventh Coast Artillery, The following is a record of the service of David R. Wolverton, colonel, United States Army, retired, since entering the Government service. As a result of successfully passing civil-service examinations, he was appointed by the United States Government to service in the construction of the Panama Canal, and sailed from San Francisco on the Pacific Mail steamship City of Sidney, on April 15, 1905, less than a year after the United States Government had acquired the Canal Zone He arrived on the Isthmus of Panama May 11, 1905, and was assigned to the mechanical division, and later to the sanitary department. During this tour of duty on the Canal Zone, he held the positions of clerk. chief clerk, and statistician, with the Isthmian Canal Commission and the Panama Canal from 1905 to 1916, when he resigned to return to the United States. For his service on the Canal Zone during the construction of the Panama Canal he received a Congressional Medal and three bars, and the thanks of Congress The medal known as the Theodore Roosevelt Medal was issued to each American who served 2 years on the Isthmus during the construction of the Panama Canal. A bar was issued for each two additional years' service during the construction. He served through the yellow fever and bubonic plague epidemics, and while he did not contract these diseases. he had several attacks of malaria during his duty on the Canal Zone At the beginning of World War I, he enlisted in the United States Army, and entered the first Reserve Officers' training camp, in the Infantry section, at Fort Snelling, Minn., on May 14, 1917, and was commissioned second lieutenant, Quartermaster Corps, National Army, on August 15, 1917. He served as assistant division quartermaster, Eighty-eighth Division, National Army, Camp Dodge, Iowa, until he was ordered to Camp Joseph E. Johnston, Jacksonville, Fla., as a student officer. In December 1917 he was ordered to Washington, D. C., where he was placed in charge of directing the organization of quartermaster units and companies for overseas service, during which time 20,000 officers and 120,000 enlisted men of the Quartermaster Corps were mobilized and sent overseas. At the close of World War I, he was placed in charge of the Cable Section, Purchase, Storage and Traffic Division, during the period that the troops were being brought home for demobilization. In 1920 he received his commission as captain, Quartermaster Corps, Regular Army, and was assigned as property officer, Washington General Depot, during which time he successfully transferred to the Corps of Engineers and the Medical Corps several millions of dollar of property for which he was accountable. In 1923 he was transferred to the Philippine Department, with station at Manila, P. I During the earthquake in Japan in 1923, he was in charge of the Philippine depot and worked 48 hours without sleep, directing the loading of two ships with food supplies to be sent to the earthquake sufferers in Japan. Upon his return to the United States in 1925, he attended the Quartermaster School at Philadelphia for 1 year and was then assigned as harbor quartermaster of Portland Harbor at Portland, Maine, with station at Fort Williams, Maine. During that period he had charge of feeding and clothing the soldiers at three active forts, and repair and construction of buildings. During this period he built the National Guard camp at Fort Williams, Meine, at a cost of $52,000, comprising 13 frame buildings, water and sewer lines, and road construction. He was commanding officer of Fort Williams for 2 months in 1928. In 1930 he was transferred to Fort H. G. Wright, N. Y., where he was harbor defense quartermaster of the Harbor Defenses of Long Island Sound for the following 4 years. During that time had had charge of the construction of two aviation fields During the summer training period he took care of the camps for the training of four regiments of Coast Artillery of the National Guard, and the housing of Reserve Officer regiments sent there for training. In 1933 he was appointed district quartermaster. fiscal and accounting officer, and depot officer for the State of Connecticut, supplying 14 camps with a strength of 3,500 Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees. In the fall of 1933 he was appointed constructing quartermaster and Civil Works Administrator in charge of the construction of $500,000 worth of new permanent brick buildings. In 1934 he was ordered to the Hawaiian Department with station at Fort Armstrong, Honolulu, where he held the position of commanding officer, depot detachment; sales officer, general sales store; and utilities officer. He was promoted to major, August 1, 1935. Upon his return to the United States in 1936, he was assigned to Civilian Conservation Corps duty in the office of the Quartermaster, Governors Island, N. Y. On January 19, 1937, he assumed his duties as camp quartermaster, Camp Dix, N. J. This camp became a permanent post in 1938 and is now known as Fort Dix, N. J. During his tour of duty at Fort Dix, he constructed the airport consisting of four runways, each hard surfaced, 150 feet wide and 8,000 feet long, with hangars, lighting, etc. As S-4 in 1940, he prepared the plans for the enlargement of Fort Dix, and constructed the winterized camp for the Forty-fourth Division, New Jersey National Guard, and the recaption center for inductees In 1940, Lt. Col. Wolverton was appointed agent officer of the Army and during that year he purchased 30,000 acres of additional land at Fort Dix, Ñ. J. for the expansion of the troops to 71,000 population, and to provide adequate ranges for artillery fire, etc. He was promoted to colonel, Army of the United States, February 1, 1942, during World War II. He became Director of the Technical Services Division on June 1, 1943. He was retired from active service on December 31, 1943, since which date he has been engaged in the general practice of law in the State of Maryland and Washington, D. C Colonel Wolverton holds the degrees of LL. B., and LL. M., Georgetown University, Wash, D. C.; degrees of Master of Patent Law, National University, Washington, D. C.; degree of Electrical Engineering, McKinley-Roosevelt University, Chicago, Ill., and a diploma in Civil Engineering, I. C. S., Scranton, Pa. He had a course of instruction, as a special student, for a period of 6 months in 1929 at the School of Business Administration at Harvard University. 1st Session MRS. KATHERINE GEHRINGER No. 914 JUNE 27, 1949.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed Mr. JENNINGS, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following REPORT To accompany H. R. 3598 The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 3598) for the relief of Mrs. Katherine Gehringer, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill as amended do pass. The amendments are as follows: Page 1, line 10, strike out "Works Progress", and insert "Work Projects". At the end of 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 the sum of $1,021.45 to Mrs. Katherine Gehringer, Egg Harbor City, N. J., in full settlement of all claims of the said Mrs. Katherine Gehringer against the United States on account of personal injuries sustained on August 12, 1940, when she was struck by a Work Projects Administration truck at the intersection of Claudius Street and San Francisco Avenue, Egg Harbor City, N. J. STATEMENT OF FACTS It appears that on August 12, 1940, Anthony Merlino, employed as a truck operator by the Work Projects Administration, was overating a Government-owned truck while engaged within the scope of his employment; that the truck was proceeding in a northeasterly direction on San Francisco Avenue in Egg Harbor City, N. J.; that, at the intersection of Claudius Street and San Francisco Avenue, the truck collided with the automobile operated by Mrs. Gehringer, which was traveling in a southeasterly direction; and that, as a result of the collision, Mrs. Gehringer sustained personal injuries and the automobile, owned by her husband, was damaged. It also appears that the streets were dry, the visibility clear, and that the only eyewitnesses to the accident were operators of the vehicles involved. The Federal Works Agency, in its report, states that no evidence of negligence on the part of Mrs. Gehringer has been submitted. Moreover, no evidence of medical, hospital, and incident expenses, or loss of earnings, if any, has been submitted. Repeated attempts have been amade to obtain this necessary evidence from claimants' attorney without avail. However, bills for medical and hospital expenses, and automobile repairs to Mr. Gehringer's car, are in the files of your committee, and an affidavit signed by Katherine Gehringer indicates that the negligence was on the part of the Government driver. Therefore, your committee is of the opinion that the claim is meritorious and liability rests with the Government, and recommend favorable consideration to the bill. Hon. DAN R. McGEHEE, Chairman, Committee on Claims, FEDERAL WORKS AGENCY, House of Representatives. MY DEAR MR. MCGEHEE: Reference is made to your letter of April 18, 1946, and to my reply thereto of April 26, 1946, concerning H. R. 6103, a bill for the relief of Mrs. Katherine Gehringer. The bill proposes to appropriate to Mrs. Katherine Gehringer, Egg Harbor City, N. J., the sum of $1,021.45, in full settlement of all claims against the United States on account of personal injuries sustained on August 12, 1940, when she was struck by a Works Progress Administration truck at the intersection of Claudius Street and San Francisco Avenue, Egg Harbor City, N. J. From the records available in this Agency, it appears that, on August 12, 1940, Anthony Merlino, employed as a truck operator by the Work Projects Adminis tration, was operating a Government-owned truck while engaged within the scope of his employment; that the truck was proceeding in a northeasterly direction on San Francisco Avenue in Egg Harbor City, N. J.; that, at the intersection of Claudius Street and San Francisco Avenue, the truck collided with the automobile operated by Mrs. Gehringer, which was traveling in a southeasterly direction; and that, as a result of the collision, Mrs. Gehringer sustained personal injuries and the automobile, owned by her husband, was damaged. It also appears that the streets were dry, the visibility clear, and that the only eyewitnesses to the accident were the operators of the vehicles involved. Anthony Merlino, in his several affidavits, avers that his truck was traveling along San Francisco Avenue at approximately 28 to 30 miles per hour; that he reduced the speed to 15 miles per hour before entering the intersection at Claudius Street; that he had proceeded one-half of the distance through the intersection when he noticed the automobile driven by Mrs. Gehringer entering the intersecton from Claudius Street on his left; that Mrs. Gehringer failed to reduce the speed of, or stop, the automobile; and that, although he applied his brakes, he was unable to prevent his right front bumper and fender from striking the right rear fender and bumper of the automobile. Approximately 10 months after the accident occurred, Mr. and Mrs. Gehringer submitted unsupported claims to the WPA for damage to the automobile and personal injuries sustained by Mrs. Gehringer. Mr. Gehringer's claim merely indicated damage to the automobile in the sum of $271.45; that the automobile was insured under a $50 deductible collision policy written by the General Motors Acceptance Corp., Camden, N. J.; and that he had been reimbursed in part for the damages under that policy. No evidence concerning the circumstances surrounding the accident or evidence in support of the amount claimed was submitted Mrs. Gehringer's claim consists of an unsigned statement dated October 16, 1940, purportedly made by Dr. Myrtile Frank, a copy of which is enclosed. Dr. Frank states that Mrs. Gehringer was examined shortly after the accident on August 12, 1940; that such examination disclosed contusions over the right sixth and seventh ribs in the axillary line and of the right elbow; that she was in intense shock, that her subsequent history shows mental symptoms of depression, insomnia, loss of weight, and indefinite pains over the back and abdomen; and that she still complains of lack of appetite and nervousness. The doctor's statement fails to indicate the treatment rendered, the period of temporary total or partial disability, if any, nor does it contain a prognosis or an opinion as to whether there was a causal connection between the injuries and the accident in question Moreover, no evidence of medical, hospital, and incidental expenses or loss of earnings, if any was submitted. Repeated attempts of WPA investigators to obtain the necessary evidence from claimants' attorney were unavailing. The claims were, therefore, considered inactive and have remained in that status since the liquidation of the WPA. This Agency has no evidence to corroborate or rebut the testimony of the WPA truck operator and is, therefore, not in a position to determine the proximate cause of the collision. In view thereof, it is deemed inadvisable to recommend for or against the enactment of the proposed legislation. There are enclosed photostatic copies of pertinent papers from the files of this Agency. The Director of the Bureau of the Budget advises me that there would be no objection to the submission of this report to the committee. Sincerely yours, AFFIDAVIT OF MRS. KATHERINE GEHRINGER STATE OF NEW JERSEY, County of Atlantic, ss: Katherine Gehringer, of full age, being duly sworn according to law upon her oath deposes and says: I am the wife of John Gehringer, Sr., deceased, owner of a 1940 Oldsmobile sedan, New Jersey registration No. AF605, which was involved in a collision with a PWA truck, bearing license No. U. S. 438 N. J. and operated by Anthony Merlino, on August 12, 1940, in Egg Harbor City, N. J. On said date at about 3 p. m., I was proceeding easterly on Claudius Street near San Francisco Avenue, Egg Harbor City, N. J., and as I approached the intersection I was driving at a very slow rate of speed; that as I neared the intersection, I blew my horn which is my custom when crossing an intersection and as I entered the intersection, I observed both to my left and right and did not see a motor vehicle on San Francisco Avenue; that as I proceeded across San Francisco Avenue and when I was three-quarters of the distance across, I heard the racing of a motor and looked to my right and saw approaching me a truck, driving at an excessive rate of speed. I then attempted to entirely clear my automobile from San Francisco Avenue into Claudius Street. The driver of the automobile made no attempt to apply his brakes or swerve his automobile to the left where he had sufficient room to pass the automobile operated by me, but instead struck the right end of the automobile operated by me behind the rear wheel. After the accident, both I and the driver of the PWA truck appeared at the office of Frank O. Breder, a justice of the peace in Egg Harbor City, N. J., at which time and place the driver of the PWA truck admitted that at the point of collision he was operating the truck at a speed of at least 35 miles an hour. Upon leaving the magistrate's office, I went to my home and was attended by Dr. Myrtile Frank, of Egg Harbor City, for injuries that I sustained in the accident. The damages to my car amounted to the sum of $271.45; that a statement from Roy E. Beach, dated November 23, 1940, covering damages to my automobile in the sum of $271.45 is hereto annexed and made a part hereof; that my medical |