1954 COl

to settle and mature its yet recent institutions, and to progress, without interruption, to that degree of strength, and

consistency which is necessary to give it,

humanly speaking, the command of its

own fortunes.

Though in reviewing the incidents of

my administration, I am unconscious of

intentional error, I am nevertheless too

sensible of my defects not to think it

probable that I may have committed

many errors. Whatever they may be, I

fervently beseech the Almighty to avert

or mitigate the evils to which they may

tend. I shall also carry with me the hope

that my country will never cease' to view

them with indulgence; and that, after

forty-five years of my life dedicated to its

service, with an upright zeal, the faults

of incompetent abilities will be consigned

to oblivion, as myself must soon be to

the mansions of rest.

Relying on its kindness in this as in

other things, and actuated by that fervent love toward it, which is so natural

to a man who views in it the native soil

of himself and his progenitors for several

generations; I anticipate with pleasing

expectation that retreat in which I

promise myself to realize without alloy,

the sweet enjoyment of partaking, in

the midst of my fellow citizens, the benign influence of good laws under a free

government-the ever favorite object of

my heart, and the happy reward, as I

trust, of our mutual cares, labors and

dangers.

GEO. WASHINGTON.

UNITED STATES,

17th September, 1796.

SPECIAL ORDERS GRANTED

Mr. PATMAN asked and was given

permission to address the House for 20

minutes on Thursday, February 26, and

for 20 minutes, on Monday, March 1,

to extend those remarks and include extraneous matter.

Mr. PERKINS (at the request of Mr.

NATCHER) was given permission to address the House for 45 minutes on tomorrow, February 23, after the legislative program of the day and any special

orders heretofore entered.

Mr. EBERHARTER asked and was

given permission to address the House

for 20 minutes tomorrow, February 23,

following any special orders heretofore

entered.

Mr. HAGEN of California asked and

was given permission to address the

House for 10 minutes on Tuesday, February 23, 1954.

CLAIMS OF CERTAIN EMPLOYEES OF

DEPARTMENT OF PRISONS-VETO

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

OF THE UNITED STATES (H. DOC.

NO. 334)

The SPEAKER laid before the House

the following veto message from the

President of the United States:

To the House of Representatives:

I return herewith without my approval

H. R. 395, "to confer jurisdiction upon

the United States Court of Claims with

respect to claims against the United

NGRESSIONAL RECORD - HOUSE

States of certain employees of the Bureau of Prisons, Department of Justice."

This measure would confer jurisdiction upon the United States Court of

Claims to adjudicate the claims of employees and former employees of the

Federal Bureau of Prisons, notwithstanding the lapse of time or any provisions of law to the contrary.

The claimants seek compensation for

overtime performed on Saturdays during

the period beginning in March 1931, and

ending in May 1943. They allege that

they were not granted compensatory

time off on some other workday as required by the so-called Saturday halfholiday law of March 4, 1931. Even for

the most recent of the claims the 6-year

statute of limitations expired several

years ago.

The claims in these cases relate to

work performed at different times over

a period of more than 20 years. The

official time and attendance records

which would be required to prove or disprove the issues of fact have been disposed of periodically in the regular manner. Without doubt, necessary witnesses

have died or are otherwise beyond reach.

This is the very kind of situation which

proves the wisdom of a statute of limitation. Without it in such cases it is

doubtful whether we can have efficient

and orderly administration of the affairs

of Government.

If I were to approve this enactment,

I could not in good conscience refuse

to approve other bills setting aside the

statute of limitations on old claims for

overtime or other compensation for

either individuals or groups of Federal

personnel who delayed in presenting

their claims.

Leaving aside these very important

issues of principle and going to the legislative record of this bill, it would appear that the measure has been under

consideration in one form or another

since the first session of the 80th Congress. Each successive review by the

Department of Justice has indicated that

within the then existing statutory framework, Bureau of Prisons employees were

granted appropriate time off.

In this connection, it must be remembered that the matter of authorizing payment of overtime compensation to Federal employees has been of gradual development. For almost 50 years, between 1893 and 1942, except where there

was express authorization to the contrary, the statutes prohibited the payment of additional compensation for

extra hours of service, and there was

no law of general applicability establishing weekly hours of duty of Federal per

annum employees.

The outbreak of World War II brought

a close to the haphazard approaches to

this problem. Under wartime laws and

those enacted since, definite statutory

limits were established to govern the

workweek, overtime compensation, and

holiday pay. Without doubt, by present

standards, the working conditions of the

Bureau of Prisons employees for a great

part of tle period in question would be

considered onerous. But they were no

more onerous than those applicable to

many other groups of Federal employees.

2089

I believe it would be a mistake to single

out the group covered by H. R. 395 for

the purpose of dealing retroactively with

an hours-of-work situation which existed

during a long-past period that began

almost 23 years ago.

Furthermore, I do not see how this bill

could work full justice. Turnover in

employment in the classes of employees

covered by it was very high, and I have

the gravest doubts that the intended

benefits would reach more than the relatively few who would become aware of

the existence of this act if I were to

approve it.

I am in favor of providing Federal employees with the fullest opportunity to

adjust grievances. I believe, however,

that it is fair to confine them generally

to the limitations of law and other reasonable conditions. This case, in my

opinion, is especially an instance where

the law and the principles of orderly

administration should be permitted to

prevail.

For these reasons I return the bill

without my approval.

DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER.

THE WHITE HOUSE, February 22, 1954.

The SPEAKER. The objections of the

President will be spread at large upon

the Journal.

Without objection, further proceedings

on the message will be postponed until

tomorrow.

There was no objection.

LEAVE OF ABSENCE

By unanimous consent, leave of absence was granted to:

Mr. CHELF (at the request of Mr.

NATCHER), for an indefinite period, on

account of convalescing from an operation.

Mr. HAYS of Arkansas (at the request

of Mr. HARRIS), for the week of February

22, 1954, on account of official business.

EXTENSION OF REMARKS

By unanimous consent, permission to

extend remarks in the RECORD, or to revise and extend remarks, was granted to:

Mr. PELLY in two instances.

Mr. HILLINGS in two instances and to

include extraneous material.

* Mr. HOSMER in two instances and to

Include extraneous material.

Mr. NATCHER.

Mr. YORTY in two instances, in each to

include extraneous matter.

Mr. LANTAFF.

Mr. PATMAN in two instances.

BILL PRESENTED TO THE

PRESIDENT

Mr. LECOMPTE, from the Committee

on House Administration, reported that

that committee did on this day present to

the President for his approval a bill of

the House of the following title:

H. R. 1160. An act for the relief of Cornelio and Lucia Tequillo.

ADJOURNMENT

Mr. ARENDS. Mr. Speaker, I move

that the House do now adjourn.

The motion was agreed to.