COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

CLARENCE CANNON, Missouri, Chairman

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INDEPENDENT OFFICES APPROPRIATION BILL, 1944

HEARINGS CONDUCTED BY THE SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, IN CHARGE OF THE INDEPENDENT OFFICES APPROPRIATION BILL FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1943; NAMELY, CLIFTON A. WOODRUM (CHAIRMAN), JAMES M. FITZPATRICK, JOE STARNES, JOE HENDRICKS, RICHARD B. WIGGLESWORTH, EVERETT M. DIRKSEN, AND FRANCIS H. CASE, ON THE DAYS FOLLOWING, NAMELY:

FRIDAY, JANUARY 8, 1943.

AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION

STATEMENT OF HARVEY E. CONWAY, CHIEF CLERK

SALARIES AND EXPENSES

Mr. WOODRUM. We will take up the item for the American Battle Monuments Commission, which is as follows:

For all expenses necessary for the work of the American Battle Monuments Commission authorized by the Act of March 4, 1923 (36 U. S. C. 121-138), and by Executive Order Numbered 6614 of February 26, 1934, including the acquisition of land or interest in land in foreign countries for carrying out the purposes of said Act and Executive order without submission to the Attorney General of the United States under the provisions of section 355 of the Revised Statutes (34 U. S. C. 520, 40 U. S. C. 255); employment of personal services in the District of Columbia and elsewhere; including not to exceed $3,000 for allowances for living quarters, including heit, fuel, and light, as authorized by the Act approved June 26, 1930 (5 U. S. C. 118a), purchase and repair of uniforms for caretakers of national cemeteries and monuments in Europe at a cost not exceeding $500; travel expenses; rent of office and garage space in foreign countries which may be paid for in advance; the maintenance, repair, and operation of motor-propelled passenger-carrying vehicles which may be furnished to the Commission by other departments of the Government or acquired by purchase; printing, binding, engraving, lithographing, photographing, and typewriting, including the publiestion of information concerning the American activities, battlefields, memorials, and cemeteries in Europe; transfer of household goods and effects as provided by the Act of October 10, 1940, and regulations promulgated thereunder, and, when ordered or approved by the Commission, expenses of travel of dependents of employees when transferred from one official station to another, and the temporary transfer of employees by the Commission between places in foreign Countries or between foreign countries and the United States, including transfers incident thereto, or, in the case of new appointments, transfer from place of appointment, may, if ordered or approved by the Commission, be regarded as a transfer from one official station to another for permanent duty for the purpose of authorizing the payment of travel of dependents and for the purposes of said Act of October 10, 1940, and regulations promulgated thereunder; and the purchase of maps, textbooks, newspapers, and periodicals; $47,450: Provided, That notwithstanding the requirements of existing laws or regulations, and under such terms and conditions as the Commission may in its discretion deem necessary and proper, the Commission may contract for work, supplies, materials, and equipment in Europe and engage, by contract or otherwise, the services of

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architects, firms of architects, and other technical and professional personnel: Provided further, That when traveling on business of the Commission, officers of the Army serving as members or as secretary of the Commission may be reimbursed for expenses as provided for civilian members of the Commission: And provided further, That the Commission may delegate to its chairman, secretary, or officials in charge of either its Washington or Paris offices, under such terms and conditions as it may prescribe, such of its authority as it may deem necessary and proper.

JUSTIFICATION OF ESTIMATE

Mr. WOODRUM. Will you give us a statement on this item for the American Battle Monuments Commission, Mr. Conway?

Mr. CONWAY. Yes, sir. I have here a letter from General Pershing, the Chairman of the Commission, to the chairman of your committee, which with your permission, I should like to read and place in the record.

Mr. WOODRUM. Proceed.

Mr. CONWAY (reading):

The Honorable CLARENCE CANNON,

Chairman, Committee on Appropriations,

DECEMBER 28, 1942.

House of Representatives, Washington, D. C.

MY DEAR MR. CANNON: In accordance with request from your office, there is given below information regarding the work of the American Battle Monuments Commission and its estimate of appropriations for the fiscal year 1944.

The proposed appropriation is for the following purposes:

1. Maintenance and general administration of national cemeteries and memorials as follows:

(a) Eight cemeteries containing the graves of 30,907 American dead who gave their lives during the World War. The names of these cemeteries, their locations, and the number of burials in each, are as follows:

Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, near Romagne, France
Oise-Aisne American Cemetery, near Fore-en-Tardenois, France-
St. Mihiel American Cemetery, near Thiaucourt, France.......
Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, near Belleau, France.
Somme American Cemetery, near Bony, France.

Suresnes American Cemetery, at Suresnes, Near Paris, France..
Brookwood American Cemetery, at Brookwood, England..
Flanders Field American Cemetery, near Waereghem, Belgium.

Total____.

14, 242

6, 012

4, 152

2,288

1, 836

1, 541

468

368

30, 907

(b) A memorial chapel in each of the above cemeteries. (c) Twelve memorials outside the cemeteries, located as follows: Montfaucon, France; Montsec, France; near Chateau-Thierry, France; Brest, France; Tours, France; near Bellicourt, France; near Sommepy, France; Audenarde, Belgium; near Ypres, Belgium; Cantigny, France; near Belleau, France; Gibraltar, Gibraltar.

(d) Two memorial tablets, one at Chaumont, France, and the other at Souilly,

France.

2. Carrying on the general administrative work of the Commission. As was explained to your committee last year, it became necessary in the summer of 1941 for the Commission to order all of its American personnel in France and Belgium to return to the United States, and arrangements were made with the French and Belgian Governments so that our American cemeteries and memorials in those countries would be cared for under their supervision until it was practicable for our regular organization to return. In order to provide for the minimum operating expenses incurred under these agreements and to provide for the necessary administrative expenses of the Commission, $50,000 was appropriated for these purposes for the fiscal year 1943, and the amount provided for the fiscal year 1944 is $47,450, which reflects a reduction of $2,550 in administrative expenses.

Tables giving certain data requested by your committee are enclosed.

I have directed Mr. Harvey E. Conway, Chief Clerk of the Commission, to appear before your committee to answer any questions and to give any further information that you may desire in connection with our work or estimates.

With kind regards, I am

Sincerely yours,

JOHN J. PERSHING, Chairman.

Allotments from emergency funds, available during 1943

The American Battle Monuments Commission has received no allotments from emergency funds.

Statement of additional amount included in fiscal year 1944 due to automatic promotions made in fiscal year 1943 under the Ramspeck Act

Two promotions at $60 each, total, $120.

DAMAGE TO CEMETERIES AND MONUMENTS

Mr. FITZPATRICK. Were you able to get the French and Belgians to look after these cemeteries and monuments; are you able to at the present time?

Mr. CONWAY. Yes, sir; General Vincensini's office is still handling the cemeteries and monuments in France; and the Belgian Ministry of the Interior is taking care of the cemetery and the monuments in Belgium.

Mr. WOODRUM. Has there been any appreciable damage to the cemeteries and monuments on account of the war activities?

Mr. CONWAY. In 1940 two of the cemeteries and four of the monuments were damaged slightly and in 1941 the monument at Brest was destroyed.

Mr. WOODRUM. What is the latest report that the American Battle Monuments Commission has on that subject?

Mr. CONWAY. According to our latest reports no further damage has been done and the cemeteries and monuments are being maintained very well under the circumstances. They are being maintained in fact, about as well as they were 18 months ago.

SUPERINTENDENT OF BROOKWOOD CEMETERY, ENGLAND

Mr. WOODRUM. I notice that in the break-down of the justifications, you are setting up one field position, at $1,620. What is the need of that?

Mr. CONWAY. That is our superintendent at Brookwood.
Mr. WOODRUM. Where is Brookwood?

Mr. CONWAY. In England.

Mr. WOODRUM. You have not had one there before?

Mr. CONWAY. Yes; we have had one there all the time, but it is the only field position that is under our direct supervision at the present time.

Mr. WOODRUM. How has he been carried heretofore?
Mr. CONWAY. In the same way, sir.

PAYMENT TO FRENCH AND BELGIAN

GOVERNMENTS FOR CARE AND

MAINTENANCE OF CEMETERIES

Mr. WIGGLESWORTH. I see you have here under "Other contractual services," $37,200. That is what I assume we are paying the French and Belgian Governments for this work?

Mr. CONWAY. Yes, sir.

Mr. WIGGLESWORTH. Are we paying the two governments on the same basis?

Mr. CONWAY. No, sir. The estimate for the French Government was originally around $30,000, but experience has proved that too small.

Mr. WIGGLESWORTH. What is the basis of that figure?

Mr. CONWAY. The French Government has the six cemeteries and the memorials to take care of. The Belgian Government has one cemetery and two memorials.

Mr. WIGGLESWORTH. How is it figured, so much per grave? What is the basis?

Mr. CONWAY. It is based upon figures compiled by our office before they left France. Upon the non-American employees that we would have to retain in order to maintain the cemeteries in such a way that they would not deteriorate; so that it would not take a large amount of money to repair them after the war is over.