Docket No. 228
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
on behalf of
James E. Twining, Administrator of the Estate of Edwin Twining, Deceased, and Florence Larke,
Claimants,
v.
GERMANY.
PARKER, Umpire, rendered the decision of the Commission.
This case is before the Umpire for decision on a certificate of the American Commissioner and the German Commissioner[a] certifying their disagreement. A brief statement of the facts as disclosed by the record follows:
Edwin Twining, an American national, 19 years of age, was a passenger on and went down with the Lusitania. He left surviving him a mother, Mrs. Florence Larke, claimant herein, then 50 years of age, one sister, 13, and five brothers ranging from 26 to 16 years of age. Mrs. Larke’s first husband, Thomas Twining, died July 4, 1907, and on July 6, 1908, she married her present husband, Reverend Mr. Edmund Larke, with whom she has since been living in Chicago, and through whose naturalization in 1909 she and her children, all of them minors, became American citizens.
From the time the decedent was 15 years of age he earned his own livelihood as a mechanician, specializing in work on racing automobiles. He made his home in New York with his eldest brother, James E. Twining, who has been appointed and qualified administrator of his estate. The decedent was frequently absent from New York attending automobile races. His brother James, who seems to have known more about him than did any of the other members of the family, testifies that neither he “nor anyone else to deponent’s knowledge can state exactly where or exactly what compensation he received”. The testimony with reference to the earnings of the decedent and his contributions to his mother is unsatisfactory and vague. It does appear, however, that he contributed towards his mother’s support and these contributions are placed by his mother and his brother James at $900 per annum.
No claim is made for property lost.
Applying the principles and rules announced in the Lusitania Opinion to the facts of this case as disclosed by the record, the Commission decrees that under the Treaty of Berlin of August 25, 1921, and in accordance with the terms of the Government of Germany is obligated to pay to the Government of the United States on behalf of Mrs. Florence Larke the sum of five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) with interest thereon at the rate of five per cent per annum form November 1, 1923; and further decrees that the Government of Germany is not obligated to pay any sum on behalf of any of the other claimants herein.
Done at Washington February 21, 1924.
EDWIN B. PARKER
Umpire.
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[a] Dated February 14, 1924.
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