Page images
PDF
EPUB

Columbia; to cause to be erected over said graves white marble headstones similar to those recently placed over the graves in the "Confederate section" in the National Cemetery at Arlington, Virginia, similarly inscribed; to build proper fencing for the preservation of said burial grounds, and to care for said burial grounds in all proper respects not herein specifically mentioned, the said work to be completed within two years, at the end of which a report of the same shall be made to Congress. * * Act of Mar. 9, 1906 (34 Stat. 56).

Provision for the above has been made regularly. See 1829, ante.

The burial of Confederate veterans dying in the District of Columbia in the ArlingtonNational Cemetery was authorized by act of Aug. 24, 1912 (37 Stat. 440). The annual sundry civil acts regularly provide for the maintenance of Confederate burial plats as follows: Confederate Mound, Oakwood Cemetery, Chicago; Confederate Cemetery, North Alton, Ill.; Confederate Cemetery, Rock Island, Ill.; Confederate section, Greenlawn Cemetery, Indianapolis, Ind.; Confederate Cemetery, Point Lookout, Md.; Confederate Stockade Cemetery, Johnstons Island, Sandusky Bay, Ohio; Confederate Cemetery, Camp Chase, Columbus, Ohio.

1832. Transportation of the baggage of deceased civilian employees.— * * That hereafter, under such regulations as the Secretary of War may prescribe, transportation at public expense may be provided for the baggage of civilian employees who die in the service from their last duty station to such places within the limits of the United States as may be the home of their families, or as may be designated by their legal representatives or executors. Chap. XVIII, act of July 9, 1918 (40 Stat. 892).

1833. Settlement of accounts of a deceased soldier.-Hereafter, in the settlement of the accounts of deceased officers or enlisted men of the Army, where the amount due the decedent's estate is less than five hundred dollars and no demand is presented by a Cily appointed legal representative of the estate, the accounting officers may allow the amount found due to the decedent's widow or legal heirs in the following order of precedence: First, to the widow; second, if decedent left no widow, or the widow be dead at time of settlement, then to the children or their issue, per stirpes; third, if no widow or descendants, then to the father and mother in equal parts, provided the father has not abandoned the support of his family, in which case to the mother alone; fourth, if either the father or mother be dead then to the one surviving; fifth, if there be no widow, child, father, or mother at the date of settlement, then to the brothers and sisters and children of deceased brothers and sisters, per stirpes: Provided, That this Act shall not be so construed as to prevent payment from the amount due the decedent's estate of funeral expenses, provided a claim therefor is presented by the person or persons who actually paid the same before settlement by the accounting officers. Act of June 30, 1906 (34 Stat. 750), making appropriations for sundry civil expenses.

See also art. 112, Articles of War, ch. 52, post.

1834. Estate tax not applicable if decedent died in the World War.— The taxes imposed by this title or by Title II of the Revenue Act of 1916 (as amended by the Act entitled "An Act to provide increased revenue to defray the expenses of the increased appropriations for the Army and Navy and the extensions of fortifications, and for other purposes," approved March 3, 1917) or by Title IX of the Revenue Act of 1917, shall not apply to the transfer of the net estate of any decedent who has died or may die while serving in the military or naval forces of the United States in the present war or from injuries received or disease contracted while in such service, and any such tax

collected upon such transfer shall be refunded to the executor. Sec. 401, act of Feb. 24, 1919 (40 Stat. 1097).

1835. Gratuity to the heirs of a deceased soldier.-That hereafter, immediately upon official notification of the death from wounds or disease, not the result of his own misconduct, of any officer or enlisted man on the active list of the Regular Army or on the retired list when on active duty, the Quartermaster General of the Army shall cause to be paid to the widow, and if there be no widow to the child or children, and if there be no widow or child to any other dependent relative of such officer or enlisted man previously designated by him, an amount equal to six months' pay at the rate received by such officer or enlisted man at the date of his death. The Secretary of War shall establish regulations requiring each officer and enlisted man having no wife or child to designate the proper dependent relative to whom this amount shall be paid in case of his death. Said amount shall be paid from funds appropriated for the pay of the Army. Sec. 1, act of Dec. 17, 1919 (41 Stat., 367).

That nothing in this Act shall be construed as making the provisions of this Act applicable to officers or enlisted men of any forces or troops of the Army of the United States other than those of the Regular Army, and nothing in this Act shall be construed to apply in commissioned grades to any officers except those holding permanent or provisional appointments in the Regular Army. Sec. 2, act of Dec. 17, 1919 (41 Stat., 367).

Act of May 11, 1908 (38 Stat. 108), as amended by act of Mar. 3, 1909 (35 Stat. 735), provided that: "Hereafter immediately upon official notification of the death from wounds or disease not the result of his own misconduct of any officer or enlisted man on the active list of the Army, the Paymaster General of the Army shall cause to be paid to the widow of such officer or enlisted man, or to any other person previously designated by him, an amount equal to six months' pay at the rate received by such officer or enlisted man at the date of his death, less seventy-five dollars in the case of an officer and thirty-five dollars in the case of an enlisted man. From the amount thus reserved the Quartermaster's Department shall be reimbursed for expenses of interment, and the residue, if any, of the amount reserved, shall be paid subsequently to the designated person. The Secretary of War shall establish regulations requiring each officer and enlisted man to designate the proper person to whom this amount shall be paid in case of his death, and said amount shall be paid to that person from funds appropriated for the pay of the Army."

1836. Gratuity to heirs of a person killed in an aviation accident.Provided further, That there shall be paid to the widow of any officer or enlisted man who shall die as the result of an aviation accident, not the result of his own misconduct, or to any other person designated by him in writing, an amount equal to one year's pay at the rate to which such officer or enlisted man was entitled at the time of the accident resulting in his death, but any payment made in accordance with the terms of this proviso on account of the death of any officer or enlisted man shall be in lieu of and a bar to any payment under the Acts of Congress approved May eleventh, nineteen hundred and eight, and March third, nineteen hundred and nine (Thirty-fifth Statutes, pages one hundred and eight and seven hundred and fifty-five), on account of death of said officer or enlisted man. Sec. 3, act of July 18, 1914 (38 Stat. 516).

The reference here is evidently intended to be seven hundred and thirty-five instead of seven hundred and fifty-five; see note to 7835, ante.

1837. Suits for damages by the estates of persons killed at sea.--That whenever the death of a person shall be caused by wrongful act, neglect, or default occurring on the high seas beyond a marine league from the shore of any State, or the District of Columbia, or the Territories or dependencies of the

United States, the personal representative of the decedent may maintain a suit for damages in the district courts of the United States, in admiralty, for the exclusive benefit of the decedent's wife, husband, parent, child, or dependent relative against the vessel, person, or corporation which would have been liable if death had not ensued. Sec. 1, act of March 30, 1920 (41 Stat. 537).

That such suit shall be begun within two years from the date of such wrongful act, neglect, or default, unless during that period there has not been reasonable opportunity for securing jurisdiction of the vessel, person, or corporation sought to be charged; but after the expiration of such period of two years the right of action hereby given shall not be deemed to have lapsed until ninety days after a reasonable opportunity to secure jurisdiction has offered. Sec. 3, act of March 30, 1920 (41 Stat. 537).

That if a person die as the result of such wrongful act, neglect, or default as is mentioned in section 1 during the pendency in a court of admiralty of the United States of a suit to recover damages for personal injuries in respect of such act, neglect, or default, the personal representative of the decedent may be substituted as a party and the suit may proceed as a suit under this Act for the recovery of the compensation provided in section 2. Sec. 5, act of March 30, 1920 (41 Stat. 537).

That the provisions of any State statute giving or regulating rights of action or remedies for death shall not be affected by this Act. Nor shall this Act apply to the Great Lakes or to any waters within the territorial limits of any State, or to any navigable waters in the Panama Canal Zone. Sec. 7, act of March 30, 1920 (41 Stat. 538).

That this Act shall not affect any pending suits, action, or proceeding. Sec. 8, act of March 30, 1920 (41 Stat. 538).

1838. Recovery of damages by estates of persons killed at sea.-That the recovery in such suit shall be a fair and just compensation for the pecuniary loss sustained by the persons for whose benefit the suit is brought and shall be apportioned among them by the court in proportion to the loss they may severally have suffered by reason of the death of the person by whose representative the suit is brought. Sec. 2, act of March 30, 1920 (41 Stat. 537).

That whenever a right of action is granted by the law of any foreign State. on account of death by wrongful act, neglect, or default occurring upon the high seas, such right may be maintained in an appropriate action in admiralty in the courts of the United States without abatement in respect to the amount for which recovery is authorized, any statute of the United States to the contrary notwithstanding. Sec. 4, act.of March 30, 1920 (41 Stat. 537).

That in suits under this Act the fact that the decedent has been guilty of contributory negligence shall not bar recovery, but the court shall take into consideration the degree of negligence attributable to the decedent and reduce the recovery accordingly. Sec. 6, act of March 30, 1920 (41 Stat. 537-538). -6

146345°-21-VOL 2

[blocks in formation]
« PreviousContinue »