The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1927-12-21
GERMANS TO.
PAYLUS|TAN|A
DEATH CLAIMS
Awards of $4,000, 900 Will
Be Made as Result of
Ship Sinking.
HEIRS TO GET MONEY
Ebert Hubbard Relatives to
Receive $4,000, Biggest
Is $4,000.
HEIRS TO GET MONEY
BY ROBERT TALLEY


deep in the gigantic $4,000, 900
war claims bill now before Congress
are awards for approximately 49,
100000 to be paid by the German
government for the sinking of the
Lusitania, torpedoed off the Irish
coast on May z, 1915, with a loss
Of 128 American lives.
More than twelve years after a
German submarine sent the big
liner to the bottom, American heirs
and survivors are due to collect
death and personal injury claims.
They may get their money in ninety
days.
The German government admit
ted liability for the loss of life and
injury, in the treaty of Berlin. The
Mixed Claims Commissioll-com-
posed of one American, one Ger
man and a neutral umpire-heard
these claims, as they did thousands
of others, and made the awards.
The Germans are paying. under the
Dawes plan annuities, but as ali
this money will be- seventy five
years in coming, Congress is pre-
pairing to advance the money for
payment Of death and injury claims
now and collect from Germany in
due time.
Hubbard Award
Prominent among the hundred
Lusitania awards is one for $57 500
made to the heirs of Ebert Hub
bard and his wife, who both
drowned.
Ebert Hubbard II, now following
in the footsteps Of his literary
father. is to get $25 1000. A daughter,
Katherine Hubbard, also by his first
wife, is to get $780, Miriam Hub
bard, a daughter by his second wife,
is to get $4,000.
The commissions measure OF
award In all cases was not the
wealth Of the decedent, but what
the heirs had lost by his demise.
For instance, the estate of Alfred
Gwynne Vanderbilt, who went down
on the Lusitania, put in claim for
$25OOOO and was allowed nothing.
vanderbilt left $15,594,000 which
went to his widow (noW Mrs. Ray
T. Eaker) and their two children.
The commission held that since
it had been shown that Vanderbilt
had not been adding to his estate
during his lifetime, the heirs Suf-
fered no financial loss by his de-
mise. The record showed, Incl
dentally, that Vanderbilt spent
100000 year on himself and his
family.
Frohman Heirs Get Nothing
A somewhat similar ruling was
made in the case of Charles Froh-
man, the famous theatrical pro-
Queer.
Frollman was unmarried. The
claim filed by his aged sisters was
denied, on the ground that his stock
holdings in the Famous Players
Lasky Corporation had increased to
such extent that relief was not
Needed.
The sum Of $4,000 is to be paid
to the children of Charles Klein,
another famous theatrical producer,
who went down with the ship. His
widow gets nothing, as she was a
British subject and has since mar
ried a British citizen.
A unique case is that OF Albert
L. Hopkins, Al, president Of the
Newport News Shipbuilding and
Dry Dock Company, also drowned
Hopkins had salary of $4,000 a
year-and, according to the record,
never has saved dime, spending
all his income on his family because
Of business and social connections.
The commission held that this
was an. investment by Hopkins to
improve himself toward bigger in
come. Consequently, it awarded his
widow $4,000 and his daughter
Mary years old on the day the
LuSitania went down-$30, 900.
$4,000 Biggest Award
The biggest award in all the Lusi-
tania cases is $4,000 to the widow
and children of Albert G. Bilicke, 49,
Los Angeles realtor.
The record showed that B1licke
went to Los Angeles in 1891 with
$4,000. BY profitable real estate
investments, he increased this 10
$2,706,0OO by 1914. Thus, it was
demonstrated that he was a man OF
very great earning capacity, hence
the award of $4,000 to his widow
and $4,000 to each three children.
The Lusitania claims are among
the 12,425 filed with the commits
sion, for which $1S0,0OO,O0O IN
awards have been made. Three
hundred eighty-four awards, repre-
senting $4,O91 ,O66, arose out Of death
and personal injury, about a fourth
Of these being due to the Lusitaniai
sinking.
The rest of the awards have beer
for American property loss anc
damage in the war zone and on the
high seas, for American marine in
su~ance companies who lost through
%;o,ac IF cxVf1rroo Ii1ooC ctr