"That $482,032.92 of the fund entitled 'Recreation fundArmy', created by the War Department Appropriation Act, approved March 4, 1933, is hereby authorized to be appropriated by the Secretary of the Treasury for effecting a settlement of any indebtedness connected with Pershing Hall, a memorial already erected in Paris, France, under the auspices of the American Legion, Inc., to the commander in chief, officers, men and auxiliary services of the American Expeditionary Forces, to the end that such memorial as so freed from debt may be perpetuated: Provided, That the amount herein provided shall not be used for the purposes indicated herein, until the legal title to said property shall have been vested in the Government of the United States for the use and benefit of all American officers and enlisted men of the World War.

"SEC. 2. Any balance remaining after settlement of such indebtedness shall be retained by the Secretary of the Treasury as a special fund to be known as the 'Pershing Hall Memorial Fund.' The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized (a) to invest and reinvest any part or all of the corpus of this fund so remaining in interest-bearing United States Government bonds and retain custody thereof; and (b) upon request of the American Legion, Inc., the Secretary of the Treasury shall pay to the National Treasurer of the American Legion, Inc., from time to time any part of the earnings upon the fund for use in the maintenance and/or perpetuation of Pershing Hall.

"SEC. 3. An itemized report shall be transmitted to the Senate and House of Representatives on the first day of each regular session of Congress of expenditures made in pursuance herewith."

The Act of August 12, 1935, ch. 508, 49 Stat. 571, to which your inquiry is specifically directed, in so far as it refers to the question presented, provides (p. 594):

"For settlement of any indebtedness in connection with Pershing Hall, a memorial already erected in Paris, France, under the auspices of the American Legion, Inc., to the commander in chief, officers, men, and auxiliary services of the American Expeditionary Forces, and for the creation by the Secretary of the Treasury of a special fund to be known as the 'Pershing Hall Memorial Fund', to be derived from

the 'Recreation fund, Army', created by the War Department Appropriation Act approved March 4, 1933: Provided, That the amount herein appropriated shall not be used until the legal title to said property shall have been vested in the Government of the United States for the use and benefit of all American officers and enlisted men of the World War, all as authorized by the Act approved June 28, 1935, to remain available until expended, $482,032.92."

The language of these acts directing the use of the moneys appropriated is positive and explicit, and must be taken in its natural and obvious sense unless the context clearly shows a different use. Lake County v. Rollins, 130 U. S. 662, 667; United States v. Union Pac. R. R. Co., 91 U. S. 72, 85; Child Labor Tax Case, 259 U. S. 20, 36. Your General Counsel points out, however, that the only provision made by the Acts for jurisdiction over and maintenance of Pershing Hall is the provision in section 2 (b) of the authorizing Act, which provides that upon the request of the American Legion, Inc., the Secretary of the Treasury shall pay to the Treasurer of that organization the earnings upon the "Pershing Hall Memorial Fund" for use by it in the maintenance and perpetuation of Pershing Hall. From this he reasons that since it must be assumed that the Congress would not authorize the purchase of Pershing Hall without making provision for its maintenance, and since no provision is made for such maintenance by any agency other than the American Legion, Inc., it must be held that it was the intention of Congress that the funds appropriated should not be expended for the purposes of the act unless and until the American Legion, Inc., signified its willingness to assume the duty of such maintenance.

I am unable to agree with this view. Reading the two Acts together, the appropriation as made is for the definite purpose of "effecting a settlement of any indebtedness connected with Pershing Hall, a memorial already erected to the end that such memorial as so freed from

debt may be perpetuated"; and establishing "a special fund to be known as the Pershing Hall Memorial Fund", to be invested and held by the Secretary of the Treasury. In my opinion, the only condition precedent to the use of the moneys appropriated for the purposes specified is that con

tained in the provisos in the Acts, expressly prohibiting the use of such moneys "until the title to said property shall have been vested in the Government of the United States for the use and benefit of all American officers and enlisted men of the World War." The clause in Section 2 of the authorizing Act directing the Secretary of the Treasury, upon the request of the American Legion, Inc., to pay over the earnings from the special fund to the Legion for use in the maintenance and perpetuation of Pershing Hall is, it seems to me, in the nature of a grant of a permissive right rather than a statement of a condition precedent. It is conceivable that the American Legion might decline to assume the duties of maintenance and perpetuation under any condition. Therefore, to hold that the Congress intended that the use of the appropriated moneys for the specific purposes designated should be conditioned upon an uncertain action which might or might not be taken by the American Legion, would be, in effect, to hold that the Congress has granted to the American Legion, not by express terms but by implication only, the administrative power and discretion to either put the statute into effect or completely nullify it. Such a construction may not, in my opinion, be accepted. (United States v. Lexington Mill Co., 232 U. S. 399.)

The

The history of the legislation is also significant. authorizing Act originated in the Senate as Senate Bill No. 2917. As originally introduced its title read: “Authorizing an appropriation to the American Legion for its use in effecting a settlement of the remainder due on, and the reorganization of, Pershing Hall, a memorial already erected in Paris, France, to the commander in chief, officers, and men of the expeditionary forces." The bill provided that the balance not required for settling the indebtedness on Pershing Hall should be available for expenditure by and under the direction of the American Legion, Inc., for the maintenance and/or to secure the perpetuation of Pershing Hall. Before its enactment into law it was amended in several respects, among others: (1) by the elimination of the reference to the American Legion in the title thereof; (2) by the elimination of the requirement that the balance not required for settling the indebtedness should be available for expenditure by and under the direction of the American Legion, and

the substitution therefor of section 2 of the act as approved; and (3) by the addition of the proviso in section 1 requiring the title to the property to be vested in the United States. The House Committee Report on the bill reads in part as follows:

"S. 2917, originally identical in language with H. R. 8443, was amended in the Senate to provide that the title of Pershing Hall shall have been vested in the Government of the United States before the Stars and Stripes Fund of $482,032 shall be used to free the hall from debt.

"The purpose of the bill is to allow the use of a fund in the Treasury Department which was accumulated during the World War through the publication of the American Expeditionary Force newspaper known as "The Stars and Stripes', to be applied to liquidate indebtedness incurred in connection with the erection of the memorial Pershing Hall in Paris, France. The purpose is to give back to the World War veterans insofar as possible the veterans' money, not one dollar of it belonging to the Government or the taxpayers.

*

*

*

"Not one dollar of the money comprising the Stars and Stripes fund came from the taxpayers, but on the contrary came from the pockets of the American soldiers, sailors, and marines in France and from other sources of revenue which the publication may have had in addition to the sale of newspapers. Clearly the money cannot be returned to the individuals from whom it came. Your committee believes that the saving in this manner of Pershing Hall would constitute as worthy and appropriate use of this fund as could be possibly found.”

The Senate Committee Report on the bill reads in part as follows:

"In the American Legion convention in 1927, there was authorized the erection of a memorial building which in its original conception was known as the 'American Legion Building.' This building was later and is now named 'Pershing Hall.' The building was erected at a total cost of approximately $540,000. What seemed at the time to be a

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sufficient amount of money to pay for the building and provide for its maintenance was at that time and later subscribed by various organizations and by individuals. However, due to the depression of 1929, the change in rates of exchange, and various unforeseen circumstances, the actual amount finally collected toward the building was only between $540,000 and $500,000. Mortgages and liens on the building are now due and in imminent danger of foreclosure. The project is beyond the financial resources of the American Legion and no hope of help from other sources. However there is now on deposit a trust fund accumulated from profits of the Stars and Stripes, the American newspaper published by and for the members of the American Expeditionary Forces. This fund amounts to $482,032.92, and under a proviso in the last War Department Act, is to revert to the Treasury of the United States on July 1, 1935, with no benefit to the men who were responsible in fact for the accumulation of the fund. This bill (S. 2917) proposes to utilize this fund for the worthy purpose of disposing of the existing indebtedness on Pershing Hall and to assist in its future maintenance.

66* * * the State Department points out that Pershing Hall is the Paris home of the American Legion and bearing as it does the name of the General of the Armies is viewed by a large section of the French people as something in the nature of a national monument. The Department further states that in the event Pershing Hall should not be reorganized and freed from debt, it would be a serious blow to American prestige and to the financial credit in France of private American institutions."

Incorporated in both the Senate Report and the House Report is a letter from Secretary of State Hull to Senator Sheppard, in which the following language is used:

66*

* It will be recalled that Pershing Hall is the Paris home of the American Legion and bearing as it does the name of the General of the Armies is viewed by a large section of the French people as something in the nature of a national monument.

"Without entering into the question of the financing or the organization of the hall, the Department of State can safely assert that if Pershing Hall should not be reorganized and