Veto of House Bill 1870.

To the House of Representatives:

I RETURN herewith, without my approval, House' Bill No. 1870 entitled "An Act for the relief of Corinne Blackburn Gale."

This bill authorizes and directs the Secretary of the Treasury to pay to Corinne Blackburn Gale, widow of William Holt Gale, late American Foreign Service officer, retired, the sum of $8,000, being one year's salary of her deceased husband at the rate of pay received by him at the time of his retirement in 1929.

This bill is objectionable because it provides for the payment of a gratuity to the widow of a retired Foreign Service officer who, after his retirement and until his death in April, 1932, received retirement pay at the rate of $3,596.77 yearly from the Government. While Congress has in some instances authorized payment to the widow of a Foreign Service officer who died while in active service of one year's salary of her deceased husband, no payment of this kind has been authorized to the widow of a Foreign Service officer who died after being retired, and I deem it inadvisable to establish a precedent of approving payments of this character.