As I have already stated, the claims of American owners of these German treasury notes fall within the treaty of Berlin, and when such claims are properly presented to the commission awards will be made against Germany on behalf of American claimants for the full amount of the notes and interest remaining unpaid just as has already been done in the two cases listed above.

While I am sure that all members of this committee agree that in all matters falling within the jurisdiction of the Mixed Claims Commission its decisions are final and binding upon the Governments of both the United States and Germany, and that no department of either Government has the power to disturb such decisions, nevertheless, in dealing with the broad question of how and when these awards shall be paid-with which the commission has no concern and with which you must deal the members of this committee and other Members of the Senate of the United States have the right to know what the awards are and how they were arrived at. If this information is not already before you, I place myself unreservedly at your service to furnish it. If I can to any extent contribute in any way toward the solution of the difficult problems with which you are called upon to deal, I shall esteem it a privilege to serve you.

When you and all interested parties come to consider the decisions, opinions, and awards of the commission you will find that the com

mission has patiently, painstakingly, and industriously discharged its task with even-handed justice, without regard to rank, station, or nationality. The traditional American policy of promoting international arbitration can be most effectively sustained and developed by arbitral tribunals actually functioning in a manner to deserve and command the respect and confidence of all interested parties. I hope and venture to believe that you may find the work of the Mixed Claims Commission has this effect.

Senator REED of Pennsylvania. Mr. Chairman, do you plan to take up the consideration of the bill this morning in executive. session?

The CHAIRMAN. No; not this morning. We are not through yet. We should like to hear from Mr. Neagle this morning. We have 25 minutes more.

STATEMENT OF PICKENS NEAGLE, SOLICITOR IN THE OFFICE OF THE JUDGE ADVOCATE GENERAL, NAVY DEPARTMENT

The CHAIRMAN. Please give your full name and position to the reporter.

Mr. NEAGLE. Pickens Neagle; solicitor in the office of the Judge Advocate General, Navy Department.

Senator JONES of New Mexico. Mr. Neagle, we have been discussing the organization of the commission to appraise the value of certain ships which were taken over by the Government of the United States about the time we entered the war. Will you tell us who constituted that commission, and how it was selected, and, so far as you know, what it did?

Mr. NEAGLE. A board was appointed consisting of three officersfour officers, perhaps a captain, a constructor, an engineer, and a Supply Corps officer.

Senator JONES of New Mexico. Will you give their names?

Mr. NEAGLE. I can get them.

Senator JONES of New Mexico. I wish you would.

Mr. NEAGLE. Capt. W. A. Gill was president of the board; Naval Constructor W. B. Robert was a member; Lieut. Commander C. S. Joyce was a member; and Lieut. Daniel H. Cox was a member.

The joint resolution of May 12, 1917, provided, in section 2:

That the Secretary of the Navy be, and he is hereby, authorized and directed to appoint, subject to the approval of the President, a board of survey whose duty it shall be to ascertain the actual value of the vessel, its equipment, appurtenances, and all property contained therein at the time of its taking, and to make a written report of their findings to the Secretary of the Navy, who shall preserve such report with the records of his department. These findings shall be considered as competent evidence in all proceedings on any claim for compensation.

In accordance with that, the Secretary on the 19th of May appointed the board that is here named, and there was an appointment of the board with reference to each ship, and the board's report was made separately with reference to each ship.

Senator BAYARD. And a detailed report was made in regard to each ship, sir?

Mr. NEAGLE. For instance, this is a copy of one of the orders from the board to appraise enemy vessels to the Secretary of the Navy, relating to the Adamsturm:

28623-27-21

Senator JONES of New Mexico. That is the name of the ship? Mr. NEAGLE. That is the name of the German ship:

The board appointed by the Secretary of the Navy under date of May 19, 1917, with the approval of the President, after full and careful consideration of the age and physical condition of the ship Adamsturm, its equipment and appurtenances, at the time of the taking thereof, and all other information and facts bearing upon the value thereof, has ascertained and determined the actual value of said vessel, its equipment, appurtenances, and all property contained therein at the time of its taking, to be $209,650.

This value is composed of the following items:

(a) The vessel, its equipment and appurtenances, $209,100.

I do not know whether you want these figures to go in or not. The CHAIRMAN. Yes.

Mr. NEAGLE (reading):

(b) All other property contained therein, including fuel, consumable supplies, cargo, etc.. $550,000. Total, $209,650.

The CHAIRMAN. It does not give the tonnage of the boat?
Mr. NEAGLE. No, sir. That is given elsewhere.

The CHAIRMAN. We can find it.

Mr. NEAGLE. That is very easily found.

Senator REED of Pennsylvania. Does it give the condition of its machinery.

Mr. NEAGLE. This paper does not; but the board had before it exhaustive information on that feature, and that information is in the possession of the Navy Department, in the proceedings of the board.

Senator BAYARD. And a survey was made of each ship for the purpose of valuation?

Mr. NEAGLE. Each ship separately, and each ship was reported on separately.

The CHAIRMAN. And the total amount of valuation of the interned ships was $32,000,000?

Mr. NEAGLE. About $33,000,000; about 99 ships.

Senator JONES of New Mexico. Who has a copy of Mr. McCarl's report here? I should like to have it for reference.

The CHAIRMAN. I left my copy down in my room.

list here of the resale price of the ships?

Mr. NEAGLE. Yes, sir.

Have you a

The CHAIRMAN. Carrying the amount of insurance on each, and, where sunk, the amount of insurance paid?

Mr. NEAGLE. No; I have not that before me.

(A copy of Mr. McCarl's report was placed before Senator Jones of New Mexico.)

The CHAIRMAN. You have simply got the sale price?

Mr. NEAGLE. Yes, sir.

Senator REED of Pennsylvania. What have you about the Adamsturm?

Mr. NEAGLE. In the case of the Adamsturm, its former owners were the Hansa Line of Germany. It was at one time named the Actaeon. The CHAIRMAN. That is the American name?

Mr. NEAGLE. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. After taking over the boat?

Mr. NEAGLE. Yes, sir. Its deadweight tonnage was 7,000 tons, and its Navy appraisal in accordance with this report was $209,650. The CHAIRMAN. Seven thousand tons?

Mr. NEAGLE. Seven thousand tons; yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. That would be a little less than $30 a ton. Mr. NEAGLE. Yes, sir. Its fate is given here. That vessel was sunk; this does not say how or when.

The Shipping Board reports that the amount spent on reconditioning, repairs, and betterments amounted to $179,189.17.

The CHAIRMAN. And you do not know what insurance was paid. upon it?

Mr. NEAGLE. No, sir. That is not shown here.

The CHAIRMAN. I wonder if you could give us a complete list of these ships, the history of them as you have it on this statement, but adding to it just where the ships were. Why not put in the complete statement?

Senator JONES of New Mexico. I was just going to call the attention of the witness to the report of the Comptroller General, Mr. McCarl, which is published in his report to the Senate, and appears on pages 64, 65, 66, and 67. The statement on page 64 states the circumstances under which the appraisal was made; and I will ask to insert in the record at this point this statement of Mr. McCarl, beginning on page 64 of his report, headed "Steamships seized as property of enemies," and then the following pages down to and including about one-half of page 68, which is a summary of his report.

The CHAIRMAN. A recapitulation of it?
Senator JONES of New Mexico. Yes.

(The matter referred to is as follows:)

STEAMSHIPS SEIZED AS PROPERTY OF ENEMIES

In addition to the property taken over by the Alien Property Custodian, all enemy vessels found in American waters at or subsequent to the declaration of war against Germany and Austria-Hungary were seized by the United States Government under Executive order of June 30, 1917, and subsequent Executive orders, all issued in pursuance to joint resolution of Congress approved May 12, 1917. These vessels were turned over to the Navy, the War Department, the United States Shipping Board, and other Government agencies for use and operation.

These vessels were never under the control of the Alien Property Custodian. However, they were recorded on the books of his office. With a view of determining the present status of such vessels as were turned over to the United States Shipping Board, there was secured from that board the information relative thereto which is contained in statement following, showing the capital expenditures made by the board and amount realized for such vessels as were sold, lost, and insured or were chartered to foreign governments. This statement indicates that the United States Shipping Board realized $12.913,712.94 for 69 ships, on which the capitalized cost for these particular ships was $10,116,971.14, exclusive of the cost of ordinary operating repairs and reconditioning and not including the expenditures by the United States Government in the acquisition and the reconditioning of the vessels for transport service, etc., the cost of which was paid from the "national defense fund." Four of these ships, namely, Grunewald, Prinz Sigismund, Sachsenwald, and Savoia, seized in the harbor at Cristobal, Canal Zone, reconditioned by the Panama Canal at the expense and for the service of the Panama Railroad Co., were sold to that corporation for $187,500 each, or a total of $750.000.

The proceeds of the vessels sold by the United States Shipping Board Emergency Fleet Corporation were used for ship construction, repairs, maintenance, operation, payment of claims, etc., as provided in the merchant marine act and amendments thereto, thus reducing the appropriation requirements of that corporation.

As shown by the following statement of vessels taken over by the United States Shipping Board, the majority was owned by the Hamburg-American Line and the North German Lloyd Steamship Co.