Third division-Continued.

4. Eugene M. Carr, Fairbanks.

5. F. C. Driffield, Unga.

6. John Goodell, Cook Inlet precinct (Sunrise).

7. N. Gray, Unalaska precinct.

8. J. Lindly Green, Rampart.

9. H. L. Hedger, Tanana precinct.

10. Henry H. Hildreth, Kenai precinct, post-office Seward.

11. Andrew Holman, Copper Center.

12. Frank E. Howard, Koyukuk precinct, post-office Coldfoot.

13. Leander L. James (justice of peace only), Fairbanks precinct, post-office Chena.

14. F. D. Kelsey, Kodiak.

15. F. C. Krause (justice of peace only), Fairbanks precinct, Cleary City. (?) 16. John Lyons. (recorder), Valdez.

17. U. G. Myers, Eagle.

18. John Niven, Bristol Bay precinct, post-office Nushagak.

19. J. Y. Ostrander (justice of peace only), Valdez.

20. D. C. Sargent, Nabesna.

21. James R. Saunders, Chesna (or Chisna).

22. Lee Van Slyke, Kantishna precinct. (?)

23. Luther L. Votaw, Circle City.

24. John Bathurst, Rampart.

Total, 51 commissioners.

(Second division.-Conville district consolidated with Noatak-Kobuk district (Point Barrow).)

POST-OFFICES IN ALASKA.

Post-offices, with name, date of appointment, and compensation of each postmaster.

32

Post-offices, with name, date of appointment, and compensation of each postmaster-Con.

Date of ap- Compenpointment.

$8.00

1,600.00

89.00

57.00

4.00

22.00

100.00

19.00

244.00

30.00

FOUR ADDITIONAL REVENUE CUTTERS.

FEBRUARY 19, 1906.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed.

Mr. CUSHMAN, from the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, submitted the following

REPORT.

[To accompany S. 925.]

The Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, to whom was referred the bill (S. 925) for the construction of a steam vessel for the Revenue-Cutter Service, for duty in the district of Puget Sound, having considered the same, report it with an amendment as follows:

Amend the title so as to read as follows: "An act authorizing the construction of four steam vessels for the Revenue-Cutter Service of the United States," and strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the following:

That the construction, under the direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, of four steam vessels for the Revenue-Cutter Service is hereby authorized at a total cost not to exceed six hundred and fifty thousand dollars, said vessels to be as follows:

One steam revenue cutter of the first class for duty in Puget Sound and adjacent waters, at a cost not to exceed two hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. One steam revenue cutter of the first class for duty at Savannah, Georgia, and adjacent waters on the Atlantic Coast, at a cost not to exceed two hundred thousand dollars.

One able seagoing tug for the Revenue-Cutter Service for duty at New Bedford, Massachusetts, and adjacent waters on the Atlantic coast, at a cost not to exceed one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars.

One boarding vessel for the Revenue-Cutter Service for duty at New Orleans, Louisiana, and adjacent waters, at a cost not to exceed fifty thousand dollars.

The following is a list of the bills for new vessels for the RevenueCutter Service now pending before the Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee of the Fifty-ninth Congress, first session, February 10, 1906:

From the foregoing list it will be seen that some of these Senate and House bills are duplicates or refer to the same vessel. However, with all duplication eliminated, the specific list of projects for the proposed new vessels for the Revenue-Cutter Service pending before your committee is as follows:

All of these vessels, with the exception of the boarding boat for Portland, Me., at a cost of $50,000, have been recommended by the Secretary of the Treasury, and it will be seen that the total amount proposed to be appropriated for new vessels for the Revenue-Cutter Service is $1,450,000. Undoubtedly all of the vessels recommended by the Treasury Department could well be used by the RevenueCutter Service. It is highly advisable and proper that a considerable number of the vessels composing the fleet of revenue cutters be replaced by modern ships. Of the vessels now carried on the list there are 11 from 21 to 32 years old, and 7 from 33 to 42 years old. These vessels have naturally outlived a great deal of their usefulness and should be replaced by new ones. In his annual report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1905, the Secretary of the Treasury emphasizes the necessity of replacing those vessels that have become obsolete and not worth repairing.

But your committee do not feel that, with due regard to the interest of the Public Treasury, all of the cutters asked for can be properly authorized. We have therefore reported this bill in a form to authorize the construction of the four revenue cutters most needed by the service at this time.

In order that your committee might have definite information in regard to the necessity for the various vessels asked for or recommended by the Treasury Department, the Secretary of the Treasury was requested to designate an officer to appear before the committee, and in accordance with this request Capt. Worth G. Ross, United States Revenue-Cutter Service, chief of the division of Revenue-Cutter Service,

appeared before the committee on February 10, and was exhaustively questioned in regard to the various bills for new revenue cutters.

It appears that the four vessels which the committee recommend are the ones most urgently needed at the present time, and it is believed that the efficiency and usefulness of the Revenue-Cutter Service call for their authorization. The total cost of these four vessels, as authorized by this bill, is $650,000, which, it will be observed, is a sum $750,000 less than all the projects recommended by the Treasury Department and less than one-half of the total amount for new construction recommended by that Department.

Of the four vessels recommended by your committee two are revenue cutters of the first class, intended to perform all the important duties that usually devolve upon the Revenue-Cutter Service. The numerous and varied duties intrusted to that service are such as to call for vessels of high speed and power, for the assistance of vessels in distress and for the enforcement of the navigation and customs laws of the United States. In addition, the revenue cutters cooperate with the Navy whenever directed by the President, and the cutters must therefore be of a sort that may render effective cooperation when called upon.

One of these vessels of the first class is intended to be stationed on Puget Sound and to cruise along the dangerous coast of Washington and Oregon. This vessel is intended to replace the revenue cutter Grant, now performing service in that district, a vessel that is not now suitable on account of age and the effects of continuous service to properly perform the important duties devolving upon a vessel stationed in those waters. The numerous gales prevailing in this vicinity and the large amount of shipping constantly passing along this coast to and from the important ports situated on Puget Sound render it necessary that a first-class efficient vessel should be available to render immediate assistance when required. There are about 1,100 documented vessels of the United States in the district of Puget Sound, a large number being steamers, and these require constant supervision and inspection in the enforcement of the navigation and customs laws. The vessel proposed will be a strong factor contributing to the enforcement of these laws.

The other first-class cutter is intended for duty at Savannah, Ga., and is urgently needed for the purpose of assisting vessels in distress and to enforce the navigation and customs laws on a large extent of coast which is not now protected by any Government vessel. For a long time there has been no vessel stationed on the Atlantic coast between Wilmington, N. C., and Key West, Fla., where previously there had been two, one at Savannah and the other at Charleston. Your committee believe that a first-class vessel should be built and designated to cruise on this part of the coast.

The third vessel authorized by your committee is an able seagoing tug for duty at New Bedford, Mass., and adjacent waters on the Atlantic coast. The Revenue-Cutter Service very much needs a vessel of this type for the particular purpose of assisting distressed shipping.

There is a large amount of commerce constantly passing through Vineyard Sound and Nantucket Sound, probably a greater number of vessels than are to be found on any other section of the coast of the United States, and the numerous shoals in Nantucket Sound cause