Edward E. Brown, of full age, being duly sworn according to law, upon his oath deposes and says: I can't accept one-third percent off for depreciation on my tools lost in the Works Progress Administration warehouse fire of May 2, 1936. Their value in reference to service in my trade can't be estimated. A carpenter's tools are seldom replaced and the longer he has them the greater the service he receives. I have been a carpenter for 28 years and would rather have an old set of tools than a new one. Many of the tools that I lost can't be duplicated today because of their superior quality and trueness of mechanism. The full amount of my claim is necessary to compensate me for this loss. I feel that the estimate of the cost of replacing said tools by the Chelsea Hardware Co., 2709-2711 Atlantic Avenue, Atlantic City, N. J., is fair and just. Witness: EDWARD E. BROWN. EUGENE W. LEGGETT, Senior Clerk. HARRY C. Warner. Sworn and subscribed to before me this 19th day of October 1936. [SEAL] My commission expires March 18, 1940. STATE OF NEW JERSEY, County of Atlantic, 88: Charles Walker, of full age, being duly sworn according to law, upon his oath deposes and says: I have been a carpenter for the past 30 years. Many of the tools that I lost in the Works Progress Administration warehouse fire I had for a considerable period of time. Throughout my 30 years of experience at this trade I find that the longer you use a tool the better service it renders. When a tool has become well seasoned with age, it gives its best service in doing delicate work. A carpenter considers the fact that the longer he has a tool in his possession the greater its valuation. He does not consider the valuation in dollars and cents, but in the trueness of its manipulation. I regret this loss because it is impossible to replace them. The attached estimate of the Kauffman & Weiner Hardware Store, 1007 Atlantic Avenue, Atlantic City, N. J., for replacement of such tools, lost in said fire, I consider a fair and just claim. Witness: EUGENE W. LIGGETT, Senior Clerk. CHARLES Walker. Sworn and subscribed to before me this 17th day of October 1936. [SEAL] My commission expires March 18, 1940. STATE OF NEW JERSEY, County of Atlantic, 88: HARRY C. WARNER, Notary Public. Frank Parr, of full age, being duly sworn according to law, upon his oath deposes and says: My tools that I lost in the fire were worth more to me than what the new tools would be worth today for this reason: That new tools do not serve their purpose in the most efficient manner until they have been used quite some time and have been broken in for the purpose intended. Witnessed: FRANK PARR. JOHN C. M. MANNING. Sworn and subscribed to before me this 6th day of October 1936. [SEAL] My commission expires March 18, 1940. HARRY C. WARNER. STATE OF NEW JERSEY, County of Atlantic, ss: Frank Parr, of full age, being duly sworn, according to law upon his oath deposes and says that the list attached hereto and made a part hereof is a true copy of the tools destroyed by fire in the International Garage, No. 2209 Atlantic Avenue, Atlantic City, N. J., and that the prices shown on said list are the true costs of said tools; that said tools were all ruined by reason of said fire on May 8, 1936, and while deponent was in the employ of the Works Progress Administration, and said tools were used by deponent solely for work on projects of the said Works Progress Administration; that the sum of $76.86 is justly due this deponent for said tools. FRANK PARR. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 26th day of August A. D. 1936. STATE OF NEW JERSEY, County of Atlantic, ss: John Moyer, of full age, being duly sworn according to law, upon his oath deposes and says: That in 1905 I started to learn my trade as an apprentice and the firm gave me a set of tools and they lasted me for 22 years. These tools were lost in a fire and I considered them practically as good as new. My tools that were lost in the fire of a Works Progress Administration tool house on May 8, 1936, were only 9 years old. I feel personally that there is no decrease in the valuation of these tools. I base my conclusion on the fact that the more a tool becomes aged the better service it gives you in doing high-grade work. Therefore its value to and service rendered a carpenter can't be estimated. Throughout the years a well-seasoned tool adds to the The sentiment attached to an A carpenter's tools are his means of livelihood. personal attachment is created. The touch of a efficiency of a carpenter in doing delicate work. old box of tools cannot be expressed in words. The cost of tools as set forth in the statement by Kaufman & Weiner (hardware store, 1007 Atlantic Avenue, Atlantic City, N. J.), I consider a just claim. JOHN MOYER. Witness: EUGENE W. LEGGETT, Senior Clerk. HARRY C. WARNER, Notary Public. Sworn and subscribed to before me this 19th day of October 1936. [SEAL] My commission expires March 18, 1940. STATE OF NEW JERSEY, County of Atlantic, ss: Lynford P. Fowles, of full age, being duly sworn according to law, upon his oath deposes and says: In the Works Progress Administration warehouse fire of May 8, 1936, I lost one of my prize possessions, a box of tools. Many of these tools I had during my 30 years of experience as a carpenter. I felt their loss deeply, because it is almost impossible to replace them from a carpenter's point of view. Their value increases with age. And a well-seasoned tool gives better service because a carpenter is more accustomed to its touch and can manipulate it more skillfully. The grade and quality of the tools I lost was far superior to any tools you can buy today. I feel that the cost of replacing my lost property as submitted in an estimate by the Chelsea Hardware Co., 2709-2711 Atlantic Avenue, Atlantic City, N. J., is just and considerate. Witness: LYNFORD P. FOWLES. EUGENE W. LEGGETT, Senior Clerk. Sworn and subscribed to before me this 19th day of October 1936. [SEAL] My commission expires March 18, 1940. HARRY C. WARNER, John W. Ingersoll, of full age, being duly sworn according to law, upon his oath deposes and says: I am 68 years old; born October 12, 1868. I learned the trade of a carpenter. When I was about 23 years old, In 1904 I went into the contracting business and have been in construction business ever since. My experience has been that new tools in many instances are not so serviceable as old tools. I now have in my possession many old tools that could not be replaced by new ones. I am of the opinion that almost any carpenter will tell you that he has tools in his kit that he would not exchange for new ones, no matter how old they are. Carpenters very rarely replace their tools, most of which usually last for a lifetime, unless lost, stolen, or broken. There is no such thing as depreci ation in carpenter's tools. Witness: BARTLEY A. MONELL. JOHN W. INGERSOLL. Sworn and subscribed to before me this 8th day of October 1936. [SEAL] My commission expires March 18, 1940. HARRY C. WARNER. O JUNE 12 (legislative day. MAY 28), 1940.-Ordered to be printed Mr. ELLENDER, from the Committee on Claims, submitted the following REPORT To accompany H. R. 1167] The Committee on Claims, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 1167) for the relief of the Black Hills Methodist Hospital of Rapid City, S. Dak., 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. 1852, Seventysixth Congress, third session, which is appended hereto and made a part of this report. [H. Rept. No. 1852, 76th Cong., 3d sess.] The Committee on Claims, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 1167) for the relief of the Black Hills Methodist Hospital, of Rapid City, S. Dak., having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do pass. The amendment is as follows: 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 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 $288.65 to the Black Hills Methodist Hospital, of Rapid City, S. Dak., in full settlement of all claims against the United States for services rendered beneficiaries of the Veterans' Administration by the hospital, prior to 1933, on the authority of the designated examiner and covered in a revised voucher received in the central office of the Veterans' Administration on June 9, 1933, after the passage of the Economy Act of May 20 1933. which discontinued the authority of payment for such services. STATEMENT OF FACTS Dr. F. W. Minty, a licensed and practicing physician in Rapid City, S. Dak., has ever since the World War been the designated examining physician at Rapid City for the United States Veterans' Administration. In this capacity Dr. Minty |