In our study we were assisted by the appraisers of the Office of the Chief of Engineers of the Army. We have had several friendly conferences with the General Services Administration, and are still studying the matter in the hope of reaching an amicable agreement with them. At the moment the papers are in the hands of the Chief of Engineers of the Army.

Great improvement has been made through the years in the facilities of the home and there has been a comparable improvement in the character and behavior of the membership. Disciplinary problems are minor and the members have rightfully earned the respect of the neighboring community. On Christmas Day there was one member only undergoing disciplinary punishment. The members give generously to all worthy causes, such as the Red Cross and the March of Dimes, and always exceed their quota to the Community Chest.

I would like to inform the committee that many improvements in organization and administration have been effected during the past fiscal year. In accordance with a directive of the Under Secretary of the Army, there was completed by recognized experts a further development of the master plan for the future development of the home. A copy of the plan was furnished the Bureau of the Budget in the hope that it would be accepted as a systematic and businesslike method of seeking funds for further development.

I regret to say that no comment was forthcoming from the Bureau of the Budget, although the home authorities and the District Engineer who supervised our construction consider it a most excellent plan and one essential to systematic and economical expansion.

As a matter of interest, I am furnishing the committee a copy of the plan, but I would like to repeat that the plan has no Bureau of the Budget approval.

Within the limits of our maintenance funds, we were able to correct one-third of over 200 safety hazards developed in a safety survey made on home request by safety experts from the Office of the Chief of Engineers of the Army.

Through better organization, overtime payments to employees were reduced by 51 percent. Through the betterment of working conditions and a campaign to obtain a better class of employee, the turnover in civilian employees was reduced 42 percent.

Outside experts, principally from the Army, made, on home request, surveys of the hospital already mentioned, clothing specifications and clothing supply, the laundry, the canteen, and the library.

District of Columbia traffic officials were of great assistance in the marking of our roads and crossways to reduce the chances of traffic accidents. The Metropolitan Fire Department, in addition to continuing its spendid cooperation in fire prevention, was extremely helpful in the drawing up of fire regulations for our new buildings.

The Metropolitan Police Department has continued its full and cheerful cooperation with the home authorities.

In conclusion, I believe the American people can be well satisfied with the measures taken through the years by the Congress for the care of the old and disabled soldiers and airmen of the Regular forces, and I can assure the committee that continued effort is being made by the officials of the home to carry out the mission of the home efficiently and economically.

Senator THYE. We have been informed that the committee chairman is in the other room and ready to proceed with the hearing there.

So, gentlemen, we will permit you to enter in the record any supporting information that you would like to add to the statement that you have before us here.

Thank you very much.

General HAISLIP. Thank you, sir.

Senator THYE. We will resume at 10 o'clock tomorrow morning with General Sturgis, Chief of Engineers.

(Thereupon, at 11:10 a. m., Tuesday, January 26, 1954, the subcommittee recessed, to reconvene at 10 a. m., Wednesday, January 27, 1954.)

The subcommittee met at 10 a. m., pursuant to recess, in room F-39, the Capitol, Hon. William F. Knowland (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.

Present: Senators Knowland, Hayden, McClellan, Robertson, and Holland.

CIVIL FUNCTIONS

OFFICE OF CHIEF OF ENGINEERS

STATEMENTS OF MAJ. GEN. SAMUEL D. STURGIS, JR., CHIEF OF ENGINEERS; BRIG. GEN. C. H. CHORPENING, ASSISTANT CHIEF OF ENGINEERS FOR CIVIL WORKS; BRIG. GEN. EMERSON C. ITSCHNER, DEPUTY TO THE ASSISTANT CHIEF OF ENGINEERS FOR CIVIL WORKS; G. L. BEARD, CHIEF, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DIVISION; B. J. TOFANI, CHIEF, PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT BRANCH; RICHARD HERTZLER, STAFF ASSISTANT; AND STUART H. D. FREED, BUDGET ANALYST

Senator KNOWLAND. The hour of 10 o'clock having arrived, the committee will come to order.

General, you may proceed.

General STURGIS. Before proceeding with my formal remarks, I would like to say that Mr. Secretary Stevens, who during the past year has been very closely in contact with civil works, regrets that he cannot be here. He is absent now in Korea, but nevertheless he would like to have been here. But with these other emergencies occurring, his presence was demanded over there.

Senator KNOWLAND. We are familiar with the fact that the Secretary had to be overseas. If later on during the hearings he desires to either drop in in person and present any point of view or submit a statement to the committee, we of course will be glad to hear from the Secretary.

General STURGIS. I will so inform him, sir.

I would also like to take advantage of the opportunity here at the start to indicate that General Chorpening, who has been Assistant

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Chief of Engineers for Civil Works for the last several years, is on his last appearance before the committee this year.

Senator KNOWLAND. We are sorry to hear that. We almost feel that General Chorpening is a member of this committee.

General STURGIS. Naturally, we hate very much to see him go. We think he has done a magnificent job for us. However, we are trying to get him into a position where he can get two stars which he so meritoriously deserves.

Senator KNOWLAND. That is a worthy project.

General STURGIS. At the same time, I would like to take this opportunity, in case you have not met him, to introduce you and the committee to Gen. Emerson C. Itschner, who will replace General Chorpening and who has had extensive experience on civil works, having recently been the division engineer of our North Pacific Division in the very field where we have several multipurpose projects.

Senator KNOWLAND. We are glad to have you with us, General. General STURGIS. I do not know whether or not you and the committee have met Mr. Hertzler, who is the assistant to the Secretary for Civil Works. He is here, also, today representing the Secretary. Senator KNOWLAND. We are glad to have Mr. Hertzler here. General STURGIS. We have some new members here, also. Officers before have gone to overseas stations and similar new assignments, so I would like to have General Chorpening introduce those that are here. General CHORPENING. Unfortunately, since the House hearings are still going on, they could not be present this morning but they will appear in the proper place. I do have here this morning Mr. Beard, whom you have seen before, who is Chief of the Planning and Development Division in my office, and Mr. Tofani, of the Program Development Branch in that Division.

Senator KNOWLAND. Mr. Tofani is also a member of this committee almost.

General CHORPENING. Also here is Mr. Freed, with the Army Controller.

PREPARED STATEMENT

General STURGIS. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, a year ago in taking over the command of the Corps of Engineers, I was faced with a number of serious problems affecting the morale and efficiency of the Corps of Engineers. Under the unique conditions of half war and half peace of the previous 3 years, the Corps had experienced one of the most difficult periods of its entire history.

In the field of public works, current philosophies were being strongly questioned; conflicting interests in the development of water resources were intensified; some justified, and much biased, criticism was leveled at departmental agencies charged with development of our water resources, including the Corps of Engineers. It also began to be evident, as so well brought out by the Jones subcommittee, that inconsistent legislation and conflicting policies inherent in those laws over many years constituted the principal source of friction.

On the military side, I found the Corps of Engineers deployed in the most remote corners of the globe, from the north tip of icy Greenland to Saudi Arabia, with its unbearable 130° heat; and from the mud of provincial France to the frontlines of Korea. Unlike World War II when resources in engineering skills as well as funds were almost unlimited, the corps suffered-and still is suffering grievously-from

shortages of professional engineering talent in uniform compared to the civil economy and even compared to our sister services.

Moreover, although charged in many respects with the missions of war, I found the corps operating under increasingly severe restrictions of peacetime activity, wholly understandable from the viewpoint of the overburdened taxpayer, but at the same time not consistent with the desperate construction objectives assigned us on the outbreak of the Korean war. Regardless of these onerous limitations, it is, of course, the eternal duty of the Corps of Engineers to accept whatever rigorous conditions are imposed upon it by the public, by the Congress, and by the Army, and to do the best it can to serve the national interest. That our performance during this difficult period was not always satisfactory cannot be denied and was, I assure you, a source of the deepest concern to us. With our long proud record of a century and a quarter of renowned engineering achievement and honorable service to the Nation, our reaction could not be otherwise.

Hence, on assumption of office last January, I found a very somber situation in the corps. Yet it was not the time for vain regrets. Rather, it was necessary for me to discern and adjust our civil planning to the new philosophies; to transition our crash military construction programs to the spartan dictates of rigid economy; to execute efficiently and expeditiously the stated and implied desires of the Congress; and to implement internal organization and procedures in the interests of the greatest possible efficiency.

In addition I found the Army and the Air Force dissatisified with our performance in a number of particulars, all of which required my immediate personal attention.

MAJOR TOPICS OF PRESENTATION

I, therefore, ask your indulgence in making a somewhat longer and more comprehensive introductory statement than has been made by any Chief of Engineers in recent years. In your deliberations upon our proposed budget for 1955, I believe that these remarks will serve to give you a better background and understanding.

The major topics which I will discuss in order are as follows: I. Streamlining of the top echelon of the Corps of Engineers. II. Responsiveness of the corps to public trends and requirements. III. Major improvement measures accomplished within scope of corps authority.

IV. Major problems of adverse effect to operations but beyond corps control.

V. Operations in fiscal year 1954.

VI. The budget for fiscal year 1955.

I. STREAMLINING THE TOP ECHELON OF THE CORPS

One of the first improvements I found necessary involved the functions and position in our scheme of operations as the Chief of Engineers himself. Both the Army and the Air Force felt that important military missions assigned to the corps were not receiving enough personal attention from the Chief.

Your attention is invited to chart I which shows the top organizational echelon of the Corps of Engineers when I took command. With