mitted to this Department by the Acting Director of the Bureau of the Budget under date of August 3, 1934. The original draft of the order has been revised slightly as to form but the sense has in no wise been changed. The proposed order allocates the sum of $65,000 to the Secretary of Agriculture from the emergency relief appropriation of $525,000,000 contained in the Emergency Appropriation Act, fiscal year 1935, approved June 19, 1934, for the control of the Japanese beetle infestation at St. Louis, Missouri. The question is presented as to whether the item of $525,000,000 is available for the purpose stated. The pertinent part of the appropriation Act in question is as follows: "To meet the emergency and necessity for relief in stricken agricultural areas, to remain available until June 30, 1935, $525,000,000, to be allocated by the President to supplement the appropriations heretofore made for emergency purposes *"(48 Stat. 1056). * * Although the Japanese beetle infestation in question is localized in the City of St. Louis, Missouri, control of the infestation, as stated by the Acting Secretary of Agriculture in his letter to you of August 1, 1934, is necessary in order to prevent it from spreading into and further damaging the agricultural area of the Mississippi Valley and west thereof which has been stricken by drought. It is to be noted in this connection that the use of the appropriation is not limited to the relief of conditions caused by drought but is available for meeting "the emergency and necessity for relief in stricken agricultural areas." Thus conditions justifying relief under the Act might also be brought about by such forces as floods, storms, disease, plague, pest, etc. There can be no doubt that if the agricultural area in question were already stricken by a Japanese beetle infestation the appropriation would be available for the control thereof in such area. The actual situation presented, however, cannot be distinguished in principle from the one supposed. The menace of the infestation in the non-agricultural St. Louis area has in fact created an emergency in the contiguous agricultural area sought to be protected; hence the removal or control of that menace is within the purpose of the act as expressed in the language thereof. If the appropriation is available for relief of conditions caused by pestilence, by force of reasoning it must be said to be available also for the prevention of such conditions. Accordingly, it is my view that you are authorized to issue the proposed executive order. Respectfully, WILLIAM STANLEY, Acting Attorney General. To the PRESIDENT. PAYMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES IN CONNECTION WITH SETTLEMENT OF WAR CLAIMS ACT OF 1928, ETC. Public Resolution No. 53, Seventy-third Congress, postponing payments of awards of the Mixed Claims Commission while Germany is in arrears under the debt-funding agreement of June 23, 1930, does not restrict payment of administrative expenses pursuant to paragraph (1) of section 4 (c) of the Settlement of War Claims Act of 1928, or payment by the Treasury Department of sums out of the Alien Property Custodian administrative expense fund. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, August 17, 1934. SIR: I have the honor to refer to the letter of Mr. L. W. Robert, Jr., Acting Secretary of the Treasury, dated August 10, 1934, wherein he requests the opinion of the Attorney General" on the question of whether Public Resolution No. 53, 73rd Congress, approved June 27, 1934, in any way restricts payment of administration expenses pursuant to paragraph (1) of Section 4 (c) of the Settlement of War Claims Act of 1928, or the payment by the Treasury Department to the Department of Justice, as the successor to the rights of the Alien Property Custodian, of sums out of the administrative expense fund consisting of the 2 per cent deducted at the time claims are paid by the Alien Property Custodian, which fund is a part of the No. 6 account of the Alien Property Custodian with the Treasury Department." Resolution No. 53, so far as material here, is as follows: "That so long as Germany is in arrears in any payments of principal or interest, including interest at the rate of 5 per centum per annum on principal installments not paid. when due, under the debt-funding agreement between Ger many and the United States, dated June 23, 1930, with respect to Germany's obligations remaining on account of awards, including interest thereon, entered and to be entered by the Mixed Claims Commission, United States and Germany, all payments, conveyances, transfers, or deliveries of money or property or the income, issues, profits, and/or avails thereof authorized or directed to be made under the Trading with the Enemy Act, as amended, or the Settlement of War Claims Act of 1928, as amended, whether or not a judgment or decree has been entered with respect thereto, shall be postponed and the money or property, or the income, issues, profits, and/or avails thereof reserved: Provided, however, That such of the funds as are from time to time available (without taking into consideration interest thereafter accruing) under the Settlement of War Claims Act of 1928, as amended, for the payment of principal and interest upon awards of said Mixed Claims Commission shall be applied when available to the payment of principal and interest upon such awards in the same manner and to the same extent as though certain of the payments provided for in said Act had not been postponed under this resolution: Provided, further, That the President may, in his sole discretion, remove the restriction as to any of the cases or classes of cases in relation to which payments, conveyances, transfers, or deliveries have been postponed under this resolution: And provided further, That the President is authorized to determine, for the purposes of this resolution, the period or periods in which Germany is in arrears in the payments hereinbefore described, and his determination thereof shall not be subject to judicial review " [48 Stat. 1267, 1268]. It is to be noted that the Resolution does not expressly prohibit or direct the payment of administrative expenses; in fact, it is silent on the subject. It does, however, direct that all payments be postponed and that all money and other property be reserved. To carry out this direction obviously requires administration. The resolution further directs the payment of awards made by the Mixed Claims Commission, and it authorizes the President, in his discretion, to remove the restrictions as to payment in any case, and to determine the period or periods in which Germany is in arrears. Clearly, payment of awards of the Mixed Claims Commission cannot be made, nor can the authority vested in the President be exercised by him, without administration of the funds and other property in question. Administration necessarily requires funds with which to defray expenses. The Congress has made no provision, by appropriation or otherwise, for the payment of administrative expenses other than the provisions of law in force at the time Resolution No. 53 was adopted. Since the Congress had previously provided for administrative expenses, it may be presumed that that body knew that funds therefor are necessary. It is inconceivable that the Congress intended administration to be carried on without funds, and to impute such an intention to the Congress would produce an absurd result. In my opinion, such a construction may not be properly placed on the Resolution. Considering the language of Resolution No. 53 as a whole in the light of the foregoing, it is my opinion that the Resolution does not in anywise restrict the payment of administrative expenses. The question presented is therefore answered in the negative. Respectfully, WILLIAM STANLEY, To the SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY. RELEASE OF AMERICAN LEGION POSTS AND THEIR SURETIES FROM CLAIMS RESULTING FROM LOSS OF PROPERTY LENT PURSUANT TO ACT OF FEBRUARY 10, 1920, AS AMENDED The Act of May 29, 1934, Public No. 265, Seventy-third Congress, has the effect of releasing and canceling as to both principal and surety all claims existing prior to passage of that act and resulting from loss of property lent to American Legion Posts pursuant to the act of February 10, 1920, as amended. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, SIR: I have the honor to refer to your letter of July 25, 1934, in which you request the opinion of the Attorney General as to whether the Act of May 29, 1934 (Public, No. 265, 73d Congress; [48 Stat. 815]), has the effect of releasing all claims arising prior to the passage of this act on account of property lent to American Legion Posts pursuant to the act of February 10, 1920 (ch. 64, 41 Stat. 403), as amended by the act of June 5, 1920 (ch. 240, 41 Stat. 976), and subsequently lost, bonds having been given by the posts for the return of such property. In this connection you refer to the various claims against Lloyds Insurance Company of America filed by the Government with the Insurance Department of the State of New York in the liquidation proceedings involving that company. The Act of February 10, 1920, as amended by the Act of June 5, 1920, under the authority of which the property here involved was lent to American Legion Posts is as follows: "That the Act entitled 'An Act authorizing the Secretary of War to loan Army rifles to posts of the American Legion,' approved February 10, 1920, be, and the same is hereby, amended to read as follows: "That the Secretary of War is hereby authorized, under rules, limitations, and regulations to be prescribed by him, to loan obsolete or condemned Army rifles, slings, and cartridge belts to posts or camps of organizations composed of honorably discharged soldiers, sailors, or marines, for use by them in connection with the funeral ceremonies of deceased soldiers, sailors, and marines, and for other post ceremonial purposes; *Provided, however, That not to exceed ten such rifles shall be issued to any one post or camp.'" * Under the authority of and pursuant to the above-quoted statute, the War Department issued a regulation providing for the issue of the property in question upon execution of proper bond. The regulation is as follows: "Issue of the above property will be directed by the proper department or corps area ordnance officer, United States Army, to the individual, post or camp upon the filing of a bond by such organization, approved by the State commander or other proper authority, in the penal sum of the value of the property, and providing that said organization guarantees to take proper care of and safely keep and ac |