gaining consciousness; that her body was crushed internally and she had signs of various other injuries; and that said injuries and crushed condition of her body was the cause of the death of Dorothy Mason; and happened shortly after she arrived at the Harlan Hospital.

J. H. HENDREN, M. D.

Sworn to and subscribed before me by Dr. J. H. Hendren, this the 22d day of February 1936.

[SEAL]

My commission expires February 10, 1940.

RUTH ALEXANDER, Notary Public, Harlan County, Ky.

WITNESSES' STATEMENTS

The affiant, Eula Blanton, being duly sworn, states as follows, to wit: On or about the 13th day of September 1935, I got into a taxicab operated by Mat Hensley at Lake View in Harlan County, State of Kentucky, for the purpose of being transported as a passenger therein to the city of Harlan in Harlan County, State of Kentucky. As we were going along the highway to Harlan, a truck, driven by H. L. Raines and operated by the Civilian Conservation Corps, was driven into, against, and collided with the taxicab.

The Cumberland River was on our right as we traveled from Lake View to the city of Harlan and this side of the road was and is called the lower side of the road. The other side of the road, the one on our left, was and is called the upper side of the road. The Civilian Conservation Corps truck was traveling this road from the direction of the city of Harlan toward Lake View, meeting the taxicab, and its side of the road was the upper side or the right side to it.

At the place where the collision occurred, the lower side of the road is on the edge of the bank of the river. Should a car leave the shoulder of the road, it would go down the bank into the river. It was a rainy or damp night and very dark and owing to the condition of the road the taxicab was running very slow and keeping strictly on its side of the road.

I first saw the truck when it was several yards from us. It was then running at a rapid rate of speed and was near the middle of the road, with its two inside or left wheels some 2 or 3 feet over the center line of the road. It kept this rate of speed up until it hit us and it also stayed in the middle of the road. When it got within a few feet of us, it cut still further over on our side of the road and into the taxicab.

When the truck was within 15 or 20 feet of the taxicab, and still in the middle of the road, Mr. Hensley then began to cut the taxicab farther to the right. I thought we were going over the bank. The outside or right wheels of the taxicab ran off the concrete and onto the shoulder of the road and had gotten over about 2 feet from the edge of the concrete when the truck hit it. When the taxicab began cutting to its right and off the road, the truck instead of getting back on its side or even keeping its course, cut further toward us and ran into us. Had the truck kept its course or had it cut to its right instead of to its left, it would have missed the taxicab and there would have been no collision. The truck had all of its side of the concrete and at least 3 or 4 feet of our side on which to

pass the taxicab without hitting it. All this space was free and unobstructed. I was riding in the front seat of the taxicab and nothing obstructed my view. I could see the lights on the truck; there were only two, and I could not tell that it was a truck or what kind of bed or frame it had on it. After the collision I learned it was a truck, but I could see the center line of the road and sides thereof from the lights on the truck and taxicab.

The collision ruined and demolished the taxicab and killed one of the passengers, by name, Dorothy Mason. It also seriously injured Lilly Price and Clyde Thorpe, both of whom were taken from the place of accident to the hospital in an unconscious condition. It also injured two other passengers, namely, Mat Hensley, driver of the taxicab, and Arnold Blanton. After the accident the truck ran about 150 to 200 yards before it stopped, and entirely out of sight of the taxicab and the place where the collision happened.

Later the driver of the truck and some of its occupants came back to the place of the accident and in conversation at that place and in the presence of myself, Arnold Blanton, Mollie Carnes, Lena Baker, and several others, stated that he was the driver of the truck and then stated in words or their substance, "well he need not worry about the car (referring to the taxicab) it was my fault (referring

to the collision). We will fix his car or get another one just like it. Later in the same conversation he said "my goggles fell down over my eyes and I was trying to get them adjusted and lost control of the truck and the next thing I knew I had hit the car. Later he said in the same conversation, "it seemed all day that something was going to happen to me, I guess this is it."

Some time after this an officer came by and arrested the driver of the truck and took him to the Harlan jail. Mat Hensley and Arnold Blanton and myself went with him to the jail and at the jail in the presence of three parties, that is, Mat Hensley, Arnold Blanton, and myself, and also two parties by the name of Ball and Farley, the driver of the truck repeated in substance the same as he had stated just after the accident and which is detailed above. EULAH BLANTON.

Subscribed and sworn to before me by Eulah Blanton, this the 15 day of January
RUTH ALEXANDER,
Notary Public, Harlan County, Ky.

1936.
[SEAL]

My commission expires February 9, 1936.

The affiant, Cloe Cox, being duly sworn, states and says as follows, to wit: I was in the taxicab driven by Mat Hensley on the 13th day of September 1935 when a Civilian Conservation Corps truck operated by H. L. Raines ran into and collided with same. I was talking with some of the passengers and did not notice the truck until about the time it hit the taxicab.

The first thing that attracted my attention was a quick or sudden swerve of the taxicab to the right. I looked and saw the car just as it hit the taxicab. We were on the right of the road and near the edge of the top of the river bank. When the truck hit us it nearly tore the taxicab in two, near the middle, and it did not run but a few feet before it stopped.

I could not say where the car was before I looked up, that is, what part of the road it was traveling on. But the taxicab was on the right side of the road and immediately after being cut to the right it did go off the edge of the concrete and I thought it was going over the bank into the river.

I was not seriously injured but received quite a shock and was considerably nervous thereafter. Dorothy Mason, one of the passengers, was seriously injured and died within a short while after the collision. Two other passengers, Lillie Price and Clyde Thorpe, were rendered unconscious and both were taken from the place of collision in an unconscious condition. We thought that Lillie Price

was killed also, or at least would not live. Two other passengers received rather severe injuries but neither of them was rendered unconscious and both of them were able to stir around a short while after the collision.

CLO COX.

Sworn to and subscribed before me by Cloe Cox, this the 15th day of January 1936. [SEAL] RUTH ALEXANDER, Notary Public, Harlan County, Ky.

My commission expires February 9, 1936.

As

The affiant, Della May Cornett, being duly sworn, states as follows, to wit: I was in the taxicab driven by Mat Hensley on September 13, 1935, when a Civilian Conservation Corps truck driven by H. L. Raines ran into same. I got in the taxicab at Lake View and was going to Harlan as a passenger therein. we were going up the road_toward Harlan on the State highway, and about two-thirds of the way from Lake View to Harlan, some car ran into us. I did not see the car until after the collision, and then learned that it was a Civilian Conservation Corps truck.

I first became aware that there was anything wrong when the taxicab in which I was riding swerved and cut immediately to the right. I felt a jolt as though the outside or right wheels of the taxicab had dropped off the concrete and in an instant after this I felt a severe jar and heard the noise of the collision and a crushing ripping sound. The taxicab stopped and I got out and saw its condition. It was very badly bent and crushed on the left side, beginning about the front end of the running board or near the ront edge of the front door and gradually cut into until it looked as though it was about half torn into just in front of the rear sat and very badly bent and crushed on the rear left-hand corner and wheel.

I was not seriously injured but severely shocked. However, one of the passengers of the taxicab was killed or died in a short while after the collision. Clyde Thorpe and Lillie Price, two other passengers, were unconscious and taken to the Harlan Hospital in an unconscious condition. I thought Lillie Price and Clyde Thorpe would both die. Arnold Blanton, another passenger, was also injured and also Mat Hensley, driver of the taxicab.

Shortly after the collision, some cars came along and took Dorothy Mason, Clyde Thorpe, and Lillie Price to the hospital. Cloe Cox, Vernon Howard, and I went with them. We left before the driver of the truck or any of the Civilian Conservation Corps boys arrived at the scene of the collision.

DELLA MAY CORNET. Subscribed and sworn to before me by Della May Cornett, this the 15th day of January 1936. [SEAL] RUTH ALEXANDER, Notary Public Harlan County.

My commission expires February 9, 1936.

The affiant, Frank Davis, says that he was in the taxicab of Mat Hensley on the 13th day of September 1935, when a Civilian Conservation Corps truck ran into it. I first noticed the car approaching us when it was about 100 feet from us. It had only two lights on it and I thought it was a passenger car. I did not see anything to indicate that it was a truck. I looked off and the next thing that I

noticed the car was cutting into the taxicab.

I was on the inside or left side of the taxicab and could see the black mark which marks the middle of the road. At the time of the collision the taxicab was 2 or 3 feet or more from this mark and the right side was off the concrete. The truck was in the middle of the road. It had at least 12 or 14 feet of concrete on its side of the road in which to pass the taxicab. Had it stayed on its side of the concrete it would have missed the taxicab from 2 to 4 feet or more.

The side of the road on which the truck was being operated, or should have been operated, that is, its side of the road was unobstructed and clear of traffic and obstacles, and in addition to the 12 or 14 feet of concrete there was a shoulder on this side of the road about 4 feet wide.

The taxicab was running at about 25 miles per hour, while the truck was running at a much faster rate of speed and appeared to be making at least 40 miles per hour. After the collision the truck ran something like 150 or 200 yards before it stopped and when it did stop it was entirely out of sight of the place of the collision.

Several of the occupants of the truck came back to the place of the collision and I then learned that it was a Civilian Conservation Corps truck which had hit us. The driver of the truck was there and they all had on the Civilian Conservation Corps uniforms and the driver of the truck said that it was a Civilian Conservation Corps truck and he was driving it on this occasion.

As a result of this collision, one of the passengers of the taxicab was killed, two others were rendered unconscious and left the place of the accident in an unconscious condition being taken to the hospital, and two others were injured, including the driver.

All of this was due to the negligence of the driver of the truck and had he kept on his side of the concrete he would have had more than three feet to pass the taxicab without hitting it.

FRANK R. Davis. Subscribed and sworn to before me by the affiant, Frank Davis, this the 11th day of January, 1936. [SEAL]

RUTH ALEXANDER,
Notary Public.

The affiant, Vernon Howard, says that on the 13th day of September 1935, he got into a taxicab driven by Mat Hensley at Lake View, Harlan County, Ky., for the purpose of going from there to Harlan, Harlan County, Ky., and as the taxicab was being driven along the State highway going from Lake View to Harlan, a Civilian Corservation truck operated by H. L. Rains ran into, against, and collided with the said taxi.

I did not see the truck before it struck the taxicab, but I felt the jar of the taxicab when the two outside or right-hand wheels ran off the concrete and immediately I felt the jar of the collision. At the time of the collision the taxicab

was on its right-hand side of the road and the two outside or right-hand wheels off the edge of the concrete.

I was on the right side of the taxicab and could look out and see the bank by the light of the truck and the taxicab. It looked to me as though the taxicab was right on the edge of the bank. If it had gone over any further it would have ran over the bank. Just above where the collision occurred the shoulder of the road widens and the taxicab swerved into this and was stopped a few feet above where the collision occurred. I thought the taxicab was going over the bank. From the place where we were on the side of the road, the truck had at least 14 or 15 feet in which to pass the taxicab.

The collision was severe and the jar and jolt from it was very severe. As result of the collision Dorothy Mason was killed, Lillie Price was rendered unconscious and was put in the hospital in an unconscious condition, Arnold Blanton was injured on his arm, Clyde Thorp was rendered unconscious and regained consciousness on the way to the hospital, and the driver Mat Hensley was injured. The truck had abundant of room to pass the taxicab and had the driv used any sort of care he would have been able to have passed the taxicab without hitting it. VERNON HOWARD. Subscribed and sworn to before me by Vernon Howard, this the 16th day of January 1936.

H. C. HOWARD,
By J. PAUL TOWSON,

Deputy Clerk.

The affiant, Alvin Watson, says and states as follows to wit: I came up in an automobile a few minutes after the collision between the taxicab of Mat Hensley and the Civilian_Conservation Corps truck, driven by H. L. Raines, and while there I heard H. L. Raines, the driver of the truck, state in words or substance that Mr. Mat Hensley need not worry about his car; it was his (H. L. Raines) fault. And that they would fix Mr. Hensley's car or get him another one in its place, and at the same place and a little later he said that his goggles or glasses had fallen off or gotten down over his eyes and he was trying to get them adjusted and in doing this he lost control of the truck, and the next thing he knew he had hit the car.

All of this conversation took place on the grounds and at the place of the collision and while the taxicab was still sitting near the place of the collision, and Mr. Hensley, Eula Blanton, Arnold Blanton, and several of the Civilian Conservation Corps boys were either present or there around the place of the collision. ALVIN WATSON.

Sworn to and subscribed before me this the 14th day of February 1936.
[SEAL]
L. S. GOODE,
Notary Public, Harlan County, Ky.

My commission expires December 2, 1937.

JUNE 3 (legislative day, MAY 28), 1940.—Ordered to be printed

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

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 7959]

The Committee on Claims, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 7959) for the relief of Nathan A. Buck, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with the recommendation that the bill do pass without amendment.

The facts are fully set forth in House Report No. 1557, Seventysixth Congress, third session, which is appended hereto and made a part of this report.

(H. Rept. No. 1557, 76th Cong., 3d sess.]

The Committee on Claims, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 7959) for the relief of Nathan A. Buck, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.

The amendments are as follows:

Line 4, after the word "authorized", insert "and directed".

Line 6, strike out the word "compensation" and insert in lieu thereof "settlement of 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 contract 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 bill is to pay to Nathan A. Buck, of Chatham, Mass., the sum of $300 in full settlement of all claims against the United States for damage caused to his oyster beds in Oyster Pond River, in Chatham, in the fall of 1931, by a boat belonging to the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey, Department of Commerce.

A similar bill was reported favorably by this committee in previous Congresses, and the facts are fully set forth in House Report No. 114, Seventy-fifth Congress, first session. This report is appended hereto and made a part hereof.