Docket No. 2271.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
on behalf of
Genevieve Cox Bancroft and William Blanchard Bancroft,
Claimant,
v.
GERMANY.
PARKER, Umpire, rendered the decision of the Commission.
This case is before the Umpire for decision on a certificate of the two National Commissioners[a] certifying their disagreement.
From the record herein it appears that William Blanchard Bancroft, Jr., an American national nearly 28 years of age, went down with the Lusitania. He had never married, but was survived by a mother, Genevieve Cox Bancroft, an American national, then 56 years of age, a father William Blanchard Bancroft, an American national, then 67 years of age, and four brothers, Earl, Basil, Gerald, and Kenneth, then 39, 29, 25, and 21 years of age respectively. No claim is put forward on behalf of these brothers, none of whom was in any wise dependent upon the decedent or had any expectation that decedent would ever contribute toward his support.
The parents of the decedent had separated in 1904 and were divorced in 1908. None of the children resided with or contributed to the father’s support. The mother resided with and was dependent upon her children. For several years prior to his death his mother resided with the decedent at London, England, and elsewhere and was principally maintained and supported by him.
The decedent was an advertising expert employed on a salary and commission basis. His annual income is variously estimated at from $4,000 to $15,000.
William Blanchard Bancroft, a claimant herein, the father of the decedent, had for many years past been largely dependent upon a brother for support. The decedent had never contributed to his father’s support and the record negatives the claim that there was any likelihood of his making any such contributions in the future.
The decedent had with him luggage and other personal effects, all of which were lost. The evidence with respect to the value of this property is very unsatisfactory. With the meager data furnished the value of this property is placed by the Commission at $2,000.
Applying the rules announced in the Lusitania Opinion and in the other decisions of this Commission to the facts as disclosed by the record herein, the Commission decrees that under the Treaty of Berlin of August 25, 1921, and in accordance with its terms the Government of Germany is obligated to pay to the Government of the United States on behalf of (1) Genevieve Cox Bancroft the sum of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00) with interest thereon at the rate of five per cent per annum from November 1, 1923, and (2) the Estate of William Blanchard Bancroft, Jr., Deceased, the sum of two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) with interest thereon at the rate of five per cent per annum from May 7, 1915; and further decrees that the Government of Germany is not obligated to pay to the Government of the United States any amount on behalf of William Blanchard Bancroft, the father of the deceased and a claimant herein.
Done at Washington January 7, 1925.
EDWIN B. PARKER,
Umpire.
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[a] Dated December 17, 1924.
53281°–25—-33
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