WAR TIME CLAIM

Wairarapa Times-Age, 17 June 1939, Page 5

WAR TIME CLAIM

SABOTAGE IN UNITED STATES GERMANY GUILTY OF FRAUD IN PRESENTING EVIDENCE. DECISION OF COMMISSION. By Telegraph—Press Association —Copyright. WASHINGTON, June 15. The German-American Mixed Claims Commission today ruled in favour of American claims for approximately 50,000,000 dollars damages arising out of the Black Tom and Kingsland disasters during the Great War. It is believed that this is the first time that an international tribunal has found a major Power guilty of fraud. Mr Justice Owen Roberts, the impartial umpire of the three-man international tribunal, said he was convinced that German agents had presented fraudulent evidence, leading to the Commission’s previous decisions rejecting American claims. Mr Justice Roberts said he believed that the Commission still had jurisdiction to decide claims, despite the fact that the German Commissioner, Herr Victor Huecking, had resigned on March 1. Approximately 35,000,000 dollars is held by the United States Treasury as a bond for payment of the award by Germany. Payments will probably be made to individual claimants regardless of the German Government’s attitude. In this case the owners and underwriters of the Black Tom Terminal and the Kingsland, New Jersey, munitions factories, which were destroyed by fire and explosion in 1916, have been proceeding against the German Government. The commission has twice previously found in favour of Germany, but the rehearing began because of charges of fraud in the presentation of evidence. In 1935 an agreement was entered upon at Munich under which these sabotage cases to be compromised (“for the sake of improving relations”) by the payment of 22,000,000 dollars to the claimants from funds which had been left on deposit with the United States Treasury for settling war-time claims by Americans.