Hone Gibb Gllchrist Opinion No. V-1540 

Chancellor 

Texas A, & Mu! College Re; Applicability of Article 

System 2654b-1 to exemption from 

College Station, Texas tultlon of certain veterans 

who served ins the Armed 

Forces subsequent to Juiy 

Dear sir: 25,, 19’+7& 

We refer to, your 7.%qug%~t far tul o.pinion af 

th; 

2 

a Off$3w rpame;m~+ when wrwau wsu: ,xX nyty he ocmp 

ar~erea lega~$&jf txm~fiateu fw gwpuosea a$ Seotidn 3 of 

hrtjole 2654b-1.h VH%W?% CL%%% Statute@, the Ye$sran 

oalleqe+e twmp~~%sh stWut;*z: 

You state that the 8&h Oongress in Public. 

Further, you advise that fb&lowing?:fhg enactment of FUbl1c, I&w 23q,, ,the four colleges in the Texas 

A,. & MI: College System have exempted from tuition only 

those veterans who entered ,the armed service prior ‘to 

July E5$ 1947, the effective date of that 9awi and’who 

were .okherwlse el,lglble j A+. & M. College has decently 

reoe,,Wed m~%r;es from a young ex;serviceman who 

entlasW$ the aa%@d servloes subeequent~ to J&y ‘25, 3,F)47i 

r&qawWrig ~a r@und of the fees he pahlg, !&Cb3 lyi3 #tab3 

ent?olWd at A, & $L Collega “from September 1950 .to 

Feljruarg X952 lncludfng the summer of 1951.” He has 

pointed out that he,is now enrolled In another State 

,collegs ¶,p !k?xas which is exempting him from the paymant of feea* 
In oonneotldn with theee mattera you iiubmlt 

for our opinion the following questIon: ‘What date 

ahould be used for the termination of the period of 

servloe for which the tulticn exemption is authorized 

In Section 3 of Article 265&b-l? 

Article 2654b-1, Vernon’s Civil Statutea, providee in part as follows: 

‘Seotlon 1. The govern1 board of 

the several institutiona of 00 T leglate rank, 

rupparted in whole or In part by public 

f&d% appropriated from the State Treaewy, 

ar’e her&by authorloed and dlreoted to exoept 

and exenipt all oitleene of Tern--- who have 

resided UT xa for a period of not less 

than twelve 1 X2 f months prior to the date of ,’ 

reglstrati’on, and who served during the 

Spariieh-American aRd/or during the World War 

a8 nurses or in the armed Poroes of the Unnited 

Stattie during the World War, and who are 

honorably discharged therefrom, from the payment of all duee, fees and c,harges whatsoever, 

including fees for correapondenoe,,.,couraea; 

provided however, that the foregiSing exemption ehail not be oonatrued to aPply to deposlte, such a8 library, or laboratory deposits, 

‘Phe gqverning boards of said lnetitutlons 

I& &3 $t Uhall be their duty to require evwg 

applsoant claiming the benefit of.the above 

exemptlon to eubmlt satisfactory ‘evldenoe that 

the applioant le a citizen of Texae and 18 

otherwise entitled to said exemption. . . .’ 

3[h 1943 Article 2654b-1 was amended by adding 

thereto a ndw seo&Mn whiah r&ads in p~tr 

‘%eo.tYon.Q~, 4.11 the’. above and Poregoing 

provislOns qondi’tlbns and betiefl%s herelnabove in t&s A&Sole ~p~~ik&ied .ti Seo$‘ion. 1 

‘a shall apply atid atiortie to Wei ‘Banefi‘ts 

of’& ntirses &mbere af ths Women~e~~Arcmy 

Aud.laxy Uo&s, W&nents ,~AuxkXLi&?q XQIun$eer 

Emergenoy Servloe, and ali metiers of the 

Unlted States acme4 foraes re ardleda .df. 

whether members of the Uti&d &at+3 Army’oti 

l . w Navy or a . . Coaet uumd, who have, 
Hon, Qibb GIlchrIst, page 3 (v-1540) 

or are now serving, or who may after the pi?assage af this Act. serve in the armed ~forcee of 

xn 1945, Artiole 2654b-1 was again amended by 

the additldh of a new section whkch reads In part aa 

followB : 

“Section '4. me exemption from the payment of dues, fees.and charges as provided 

hereinabove ‘in Section 1 and Seotlon 3 of 

th18 Article shall not apply to or Include' 

honorably discharged members of such United 

States Armed Forces, or other person8 herelnagove named, 'who are eligible for education or 

trainitig benefits provided by the United States 

Oovernment under Publla Law No.".16, 78th Congreati flocatlonal rehabilltant87, or amendments 

thereto, or, under Public Law. 30. 346, 78th 

co 

bill 

ess Bor1.d War IT "GIIL" educational 

“es. 

Fed&l 

or amendments thereto, or any oth,er 

legislation that may.be in force at, 

the tlm6 of registration In’ the oollege con- .~ 

oerned of such ex-service man or woman. * c c" 

Under Article 2654b-1, as amended;*any World 

War Ii vet&ran who served in the armed forces of the 

United States, who is a citizen of Texas and otherwise 

ell&ble thereunder, ie entitled to claim the exemption 

benefit& of that statute, provlded he is not eligible 

for educational benefits made available by the fIovernment in Public Law 16 or 346, 78th Congress, or in any 

other Bederal legislation (e.g., Public Law 550 82na 

Coogrese) . Attry Oen. Ops, O-7316 (1946), v-68&.(1948), 

v-v307 (1952). 

Public Law 239, 80th Congress, provides that 

July 25, 1'947, Shall be deemed the date of termi.nE+tion 

of any state of wati theretofore declared by COn@eaS and 

of the national emergencies proclaimed by the President 

on September 8, 1939 and May 27, 1941, for the ~purposee 

of.. Public. LOW, 346, 78th Congress, .provldlng Federal 
Hon. Qibb ffilchrlst, page 4 (V-1540) 

educational benefits for certain World War 1: -ve*erans. 

By virtue of Public Law 239, any person wno f&ret 

entered the armed services on July 26, 1947, oc thexeafter Gas rendered lnel$glble for Pub110 Law 346 

veteran educational benefits. 

Law 5500 It provides educationa !F 

eas has enaoted Pub110 

beheflts to certain 

Recently, the.82nd Con 

veterans who serve or served in the armed force0 on or 

after June 27, 1950, the date of the Prealdent’6 order8 

for military a&ion in South ,Xorea: 38 U.S.C*A. foil. 

ah. 12, Sets:901 et seq. :~The Oovernment benefits of 

Publlo Law 550 tare llmlted to veteran6 of the armed 

aervioea during the Korean emergenoy. By virtue of the 

dates f’lxed In Public Lawe 239 and 550, supra, a Veteran 

wbo,entered the armed services on OF after July 26, 

1, 

$4 

7; and who.oompleted his aervioe prior to June 26, 

50, 10 provided no eduoatlonal benefits by the Govern- 

,ment under Public Law 346 or 550. 

With respeat to this olaes’of veterans, not 

oovered by Public Law 346 o? 550 the question arisesr 

For .purpoees of a proper apbli*aGion of ‘Seetlon 3 0r 

Artiole 2654b-1, the Texas World ,W@ ~: ,’ veteran exemptlon etatute, what Is the legal date 8 termination of 

World War II? In this oonneotlon It le to be observed. 

that no stat8 leglslatlon has !been %iaoted whloh f*es 

the termination (late of World-War ti’for the -purposes of 

llr?tlole 2654b-1;’ Furthermore, uhhil& ‘the-w- tern&n+ 

tion date fixed in Public Law 239” Bupra, has upealSl0 

applicatiw to Federal “0.1.” benefits aQtho&ed lo 

Public Law 346, and to certain other enu.merated statutes, 

but thi8 Aot of Congress operated to terminate the W&T 

0nXy With reapeot to the purposes speolfied therein, 

You have s 

,of educatlo nzf 

geete,d that sinee the period for 

benefits oonfermd~ ?J 

,tertina%ed on July 25 l@+?, br vir E 

Nlio Y&w 

ulj &~Z%%i%#& 

the same date should ii& t&k&n 88 &es-& Ml@ 
. . ._ 

Hon. Gibb Gilchrist, page 5 (V-1540) 

conform to Federal limitations on educational benefits 

to World War II veterans. This office has previously 

held that Public Law 239 has no application to the State 

exemption a,uthorized in Arti~cle 2654b-1.. Att’y Gen. Ltr. 

Op. addressed to Han, Ernest H. Poteet, President of 

T;;;s College of Arts and Industries, dated Oct. 17, 

. See Att’y Gen. Ltr. Op, addressed to Hon. William 

Ni Hensley, Criminal District Attorney, Bexar. County, 

dated June 28, lo483 

As noted in Att ‘y Gen, Op, 0-7368 (1946), this 

office has held in several opinions that a war Is not 

concluded In the legal sense until some formal action 

by a competent authority terminating the war and reestablishing. the peace Is had, Attry Gen, Op. O-6828 

(1945), V-30 (1947); Att’y Gen. Ltr. Op,. t,o Hon. Will 

R. Wilson, Criminal District Attorney, Dallas,County, 

dated October.10, 1950. It Is the province of the 

politlcai department of the Federal Government to determine when war is at an end+ The .Prote;zll;; 

Perkins v, Rogers; d 

v. Michigan C;$?~cRiv~o~, 

919). Cl,t&zens P t t 

[App. Dr C.. 1946 certr 

den. 329 U,d. 787); 67 C.Ji 429, War, SecI '195; 

In Citizens Protective, League v1 Clark, supra, 

decided May 2, 1946, Associate Justice Prettyman said: 

No peace treaty has yet been 

ai nedbw& Germany* and a state of tiar has 

no been terminated by Act of aongrese or by 

Executive Proclamatlonr Cases involvlhg the 

termination of other wars dispose of appellants I point, 19 1s not for the oourts to 

determine the end of a war declared by the 

Congressr” 

In Ludecke v. Watkins, 335 U,S‘ 160, 170 (1948) 

the Supreme Court of the United States saidp 

“The political branch of the Government 

has not brought the war with Germany to an 

end + On the contrary, it has proclaimed that 

a ‘state of war still exists*” Presidential 

Proclamation 2714, 12 Fed, Reg, 1; see Woods 

v. Miller Co., supra L733 U.S. 138 b194BJ~ 

at p. 140; Fleming v, Mogawk Wreoklng & 

Lumber Co,, 331 UrS, 111, 116. ‘b q: *I’ 
Hon. Glbb Gilchrist, page 6 (V-1540) 

This opinion, which was rendered after the effective 

date of Public Law 239, did not refer to that enactment, 

but it is obvious that the court did not consider that 

law as having brought about a general termination of 

the state of war. 

The 77th Congress of the United States, 

joint resolutionj:'formally declared a state of war 

by 

between the United States and six foreign governments, 

Public Laws 328 (,Japan, Dee, 8, 1941), 331 (Germany, 

Dec. 11, 1941)~ 32 Italy, Dec. 11, 1941), 563 (Bulgarla, June 5, 1942 7 5 r; 4 (Hungary, June 5, 1942), and 565 

(Rumania, June 5,'1942). President's Proclamation No. 

2563, 7 F-R. 5535. On September 11, 1945, the designation of World*War II was approved as the officially 

designated name for the then present war covering all 

Its theatres. 10 F.R. 11881. 

On February 10, 1947, at Paris, separate 

Treaties of Peace were concluded by designated Allied 

and Associated Powers, including the United Statesof 

America, with.Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary and Rumania. 50 

U.S.C.A. App., p. XXI. 

Each of these Treaties contained a recltal:,in;? 

the Preamble that the Allied and Associated Powers named 

therein 

"Heve therefore agreed to declare the 

oessatl.on of the state of war and for this 

purpose.to oonclude the present Treaty of 

Peace, and have accordingly appointed the 

undersigned Plenlpotentlarles who, after pres.entatlon of their full powers, found in good 

and due form, have agreed on the following 

proviSions: e . .'I 

Each of these.Treaties ocntains an Article 

therein, similar to Article 90 of the Treaty of Peace 

with Ita~ly which reads in part as follows: 

"The present treaty, . . . shall be 

ratified by the Allied and Associated 

Powers. It shall come into foroe 

lmmedlateiy*u~on the deposit of ratlfloationa by the Union of Soviet Socialist 

Republics, by the United kingdom of Great 

Britain and Northern Ireland, by the 

United States of Amerloa.and'b$~France&! 
.&an& Qabb OIlchrIst; page 7 (V-1540) 

See Art. 38, Bul 

Art. 40 Rumania $ 

aria Treaty; Art. 42, Hungary Treaty, 

reaty. 

These four Peace Treaties were each ratified 

by the United States Senate on June 5, 1947* Con resslonal Record, 80th Gong.. 1st Sessco pp. 

6427, 6415. 

6409, 6$20, 

The 82nd Congress of the United States, by 

joint resolution approved by the President on October 

19, 1951 formally declared the termination of t.hgb;;,"te 

of war between the United States and Qermany. 

Law 181, 82nd Gong,, 1st Seas.; 50 U.S,C.A. App,, p,.XX 

Frealdentls Proclamationa No* 2950 was Issued pursuant 

theret;,o&october 24, 1951, 16 F.R. 101915; 50 ts,S.c.~, 

App.; . . 

A treaty of Peace with Japan was ,slgeed at San 

Franolsco b.y designated plenipotentiaries on SBptember 

8, 1951.' 50 !J .S,i:lA: App., .p: XIX& Cfiapter.1 of Article 

'1 provides: ' 

't(a) The state of,war between JAban and 

each qf the Allied Powers Is terminated as 

from the.date on which the present Treaty 

comee into force between Japan and the Allied 

Power.concerned as provided for in Article 

23." 

Article 23 of C?:apter VII, above rdPk?rred t0j 

provides .in part: 

"(a) The present Treaty shall be.ratifled by the States whioh nign If, Including 

Japan,. and will come into force for all the 

States which have then ratified It, when 

lnstrtiments of ratification have been deposited by Japan and by a majority, lncludln 

the United States of Am$rica as the print f gal 

occupying Power, . . D 

This Treaty with.Japan was' ratified by the 

Un$$ed St$tes, Senate on March~20, 1952* Congresalonal 

' Record,~82pd'.C!or@ess,~ p.+ 2635, 

By telegram $a%$ S~p.cember 4, 19~52, this office Inqulred of the Secretary of State', Washington, D, 

C.j regaralng the entry fnto.frr@e sf the above enumer- 
Ron,. olbb Qllohrlst, pa&e 8 (V-1540) 

ated treaties, We quote from the letter dated September 

11, 1952, in answer thereto, a8 follows: 

"Reference Is made to your telegram Of 

September 4, 1952, in which you make oertalh 

lnqulrkes regarding the entry Into foroe of 

the peace treaties and the termination of 

World War II. 

"The Treaty of Peace with Japan, signed 

at San Francisco on September 8, 1951, waa 

approved by the Senate on March 20, 1952 and 

ratified by the President on April 15 19%. 

The Treaty came Into foroe on April 26, 1952, 

the date on which a.majorlty of.the States, 

IncludLng the United States, deposited lnatruments of'ratlfloatlon as provided In Article '~ 

23 of the<Treaty. The President on that Bane 

day, Appll 28, 1952, proclaimed the Treaty 

and the termination of the state of war with 

Japan. . . . 

"The treaties of peace with Italy, 

Bulgaria, Hungary, and Rumania, signed at 

Par18 on February 10, 1947, were approved by 

the Senate on June 5, 1 47, and ratified by 

the President on June 1 ! 1947. The treaties 

came Into force on Septkiber 15, 1947, the 

date on which, with respect to the Italian 

treaty, instruments of ratlflcationweie 

depoelted by.the United States, the United 

kingdom, France,, and the Soviet Union, and, 

with respect to the Bulgarian, Hungarian, and 

Rumanian treaties, Instruments of ratlflcatlon were deposited by the United States, the 

United Kingdom, and the Soviet Unlon. On 

September 15, 1947, the President proclaimed' 

each of'the aforementioned peace treaties and 

the termination of the states of war with Italy, 

Bulgaria, Hungary, and Rumania. The text of 

each of those reclamations may be foupd in 61 

Stat. 12%17$, 1758-1912, ~1916-2062, and 

2066-2227. 

"The state of war between the United 

States and Germany was terminated on October 

19, 1951, pursuant to House Joint Resolution 

No. 289, approved October 19, 1951, ~entltled 
HO& O&bb ailchrist, page 9 (v-1540) 

&Joint Resolution to Terminate the.State of 

W#? Between the United States and the Uovernment of Germany’ (Publlo Law 181,~ 826 Con-, 

pees) s This termination w&s proolelmed by 

the President In his proclamation No* 2950 of 

October 24, 1951i which may be found on page 

51 of Volume 3, 1951 SuEplementi, of,the @c&z 

kf Federal Regulations+ 

It being within th.e .province of the political 

department of the Federal 5overnment to determine when 

war legally Is at an end, we think that the war designated 

as World War II was thus officially detarmaned to be 

terminated when the Treaty of~Peace with Japan, the last 

of the Axis powers, came into force, whtoh treaty, as 

above Indicated, came Into Yoroe on April 28, 1952w 

The Legislature of this State'not having offlcally deslgnated the date of the terminatlton of World 

.War II for purpose8 of Article, 265&b-1, supra, the date 

of. the legal termination of a stat&of war with the 

owetis 

it 

Involved in World War II 1s the date that the 

egislature must have i&ended as the date of term@ation of the benefits therein afforded” Accordln ly, it 

a.8 the opln 

if: 

n of this offlce that April 28, 19&i, le the 

date whloh s ould be used as the date of tt?rmlnaOlon for 

the tuition exempt$on authoriz*d in Section 3cof Article 

2654bd1, v&,s. 

@J&Y 

The date which should be used for the 

termination of World,War II'for the purpose 

of determining ellglbllity,-for the tuition 

exemption authorized World War II veterans 

fn Section 3 of Article 2654be1, V&&3,, 18 

April 28, 1952, 

APPROVED: 

Mary Ku Wall 

Reviewing Aaslstant 

Charles D. Mathews 

First Asslatant 

CEO:am