Evening star., 1940-01-03
District Court Uphold,
Black Tom, kings|and
Sabotage Awards
Without Power to Alter
CIoims Body Findings,
Justice BoiIey Rules

District Court is without power to
overturn the findings Of the Ger
man-American Mixed Claims Com
mission, Justice Jennings Bailey
held today in a memorandum
opinion.
This action was tantamount to
sustaining the legality Of the Black
Tom and Kingsland, N. j., awards,
growing out of sabotage during the
World War attributed to agents of
the German government.
The z. and F.. Assets Realization
Corp. of New York City and other
claimants in the same category, con-
tended that they had vested in
terest in a $22,O00,00 fund now in
the Treasury, as the result of decis-
ions made by the commission. They
asked Justice Bailey to rule that the
awards made by the commission dur
ing the June Is and October 30 meet
ings in the Black Tom and Kings
land explosion cases were invalid.
They maintained that the commits
sion had no right to reconsider its
previous three decisions, dismissing
the Black Tom and Kingsland claims
as not legally meritorious.
No Power to Act.
In his opinion today Justice Bailey
said:
In my opinion, the court has no
power to grant the relief sought by
the plaintiff. The claims made be-
fore the commission were the claims
of the United States. Whether these
claims were properly allowed or not
was question to be raised by the
United States and not by individ-
uals who might be wronged by the
action of the commission. If there
was any breach of the treaty be-
tween the two governments, the
only recourse would be by action
of the contracting parties. The act
OF Congress of March 10, 1928, di-
rected the Secretary of State to
certify from time to time to the
Secretary of the Treasury the
awards of the Mixed Claims Com
mission and directed the Secretary
of the Treasury to pay out those
amounts. The Secretary of State
has certified to the Secretary of the
Treasury the award of which the
plaintiff complains, and under the
terms of the act of Congress it is
the duty of the Secretary to pay the
award
1T is true that the plaintiff claims
land I think that this is it's strong
est claim that the award was not
made by the commission, as the
commission could not function after
one of the commissioners had re-
signed, but so far as the fund in the
Treasury of the United States is
concerned. the question was one to
oe decided by the Secretary of State,
and whether he decided rightly or
wrongly the court cannot prevent
the payment of the claim"
Complaint Dismissed.
Accordingly. Justice Bailey grant
ed the motion for a summary judg-
ment, which had been filed by the
Lehigh Valley Railroad Co.. repre-
sented at the hearing by William
D. Mitchell, John J. McCloy and
Richard H. Wilmer. The railroad
desired the sabotage awards of the
commission to stand. contending
that District Court lacked authority
to review the commissions action:
that the United States had accepted
and certified the awards and that
the court could not properly con-
slider this political question. The
railroad argued that the commits
sion's decisions were valid. notwith-
standing the withdrawal of the
German commissioner, DR.. Victor
l.. F H. Huecking. on March /.
Justice Bailey, on the motion of
the Secretary of the Treasury, dis
missed the complaint.