White House Press Release, Message of President Harry S. Truman to the United States House of Representatives

365 #806 HOLD FOR RELEASE HOLD FOR RELEASE HOLD FOR RELEASE AUGUST 2, 1946 CONFIDENTIAL: To be hold in STRICT CONFIDENCE and no portion, synopsis or intimation to be given out or published until the READING of the President's Message has begun in the House of Representatives. Extreme care must therefore be exercised to avoid premature publication. CHARLES G. ROSS Secretary to the President TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: I return herewith without my approval the bill (H. R. 6442) "For the relief of Mrs. Elizabeth J. Patterson, Joy Patterson, and Roberta Patterson. The bill provides for the payment of the sum of $20,963 to the claimants in full settlement of "all claims against the United States on account of the losses or reduction on salary and allowances sustained by the late Brigadier General Robert F. Patterson" during the time he was United States Consul general at Calcutta, India. Mrs, Elizabeth J. Patterson is the daughter-in-law, and Joy and Roberta Patterson are the granddaughters of the late General Patterson. It appears that on January 1, 1898, General Patterson assumed the office of Consul General of the United States in Calcutta, India. At that time, it had been the practice of the Consul General at Calcutta to collect the fees of the office in rupees from which he deducted his salary, clerk hire, rent, and other expenses. Rupees were accepted at the bullion value which had been fixed at approximately 20 cents per rupee without regard to commercial rates of exchange, and after the deductions were made, the balance was remitted to the Government of the United States at the commercial exchange value, which at the time was approximately 32 cents. This custom was pursued by General Patterson for the first few months of his term of office. on March 8, 1898, the Comptroller of the Treasury issued a circular respecting exchange by consular officers of the United States, which required such officers to accept rupees at the commercial exchange value. Although this order was effective January 1, 1898, it was not received at the Consulate in Calcutta until April 13, 1898. From that time on, General Patterson collected the consular fees upon the basis of the commercial value of the rupee at the time of the transaction (approx- imately 32 cents) and remitted the balance after deductions at the same rate to the United States Government. Since there was no United States or English money in circulation at the time, General Patterson, of necessity, accepted his salary in rupees. In his report each quarter, he claimed his salary and expenses in the bullion value of the rupeo, and protested against their allowance at the commercial exchange rate. of course, payment in rupees at the bullion value (20 cents) would have enhanced General Patterson remuneration, as it would obviously have required more rupees at this value to make up his annual salary than at the higher (32 cents) value. When he returned to the United States in 1906, he undertook to have his salary adjusted on the basis of the bullion value of the rupee. The accounting officers of the Treasury Department, however, refused such settlement. The amount provided in the bill represents the difference between the bullion value and the commercial exchange value of the rupees he received as salary for his entire tenure of office. Apparently the only occasion on which the Government required General Patterson actually to remit a cash deficiency out of his own pocket, was for the period between January 1, 1898, when the order of the Comptroller of the Treasury became effective, and April 13, 1898, when it was received (OVER)