The purpose of this bill is to authorize the President to appoint Arthur L. Hacykell a lieutenant in the United States Navy and to place him on the retired list of the Navy with the retired pay and allowances of that grade.

Arthur L. Hacykell was appointed a machinist in the Navy in January, 1914. He was temporarily advanced to the ranks of ensign, lieutenant (junior grade), and lieutenant during the period of the World War. In 1920 he appeared before a naval retiring board, which board found him not incapacitated for service by reason of a disability which was not considered permanent if further operation should be performed, and further found that the disability was incurred in the line of duty as the result of an incident of the service, which originated prior to the date of his temporary appointment as an ensign. He was subsequently examined physically preliminary to promotion to the grade of chief machinist and found not qualified.

Mr. Hacykell's temporary appointment as a commissioned officer terminated by operation of law on December 31, 1921, when he reverted to his permanent status as a machinist, and after that date he was not eligible, under the law, for retirement in his temporary commissioned rank. In 1922 he was retired in the grade of chief machinist by reason of the aforementioned disability, which was again found to have been incurred prior to his temporary advancement in rank. The report of the retiring board in this case reads, in part, as follows:

* "find him to be incapacitated for active service by reason of adhesions of the peritoneum following two abdominal operations; that his incapacity is permanent and was incurred in line of duty, not in time of war, as the result of an incident of the service and, furthermore, that his disability was incurred while serving as a machinist in the United States Navy and that it is 75 per cent for the naval service and 25 per cent for civil life.

Attention is invited to the fact that Mr. Hacykell was again considered by a naval retiring board on May 13, 1925, pursuant to the provisions of section 25 of the act approved March 4, 1925 (43 Stat. 1278), which section reads as follows: "SEC. 25. Any officer of the regular Navy who has been retired since December 31, 1921, by reason of physical disability which originated in the line of duty at any time between April 6, 1917, and March 3, 1921, inclusive, while holding higher temporary rank, shall be advanced on the retired list to, or shall be placed on the retired list in, such, higher grade or rank."

The Naval Retiring Board in this case reported that the disability for which Mr. Hacykell was retired on March 27, 1922, was not incurred during the period of his service under a temporary appointment nor in time of war, viz., between April 6, 1917, and March 3, 1921.

The bill H. R. 3601, if enacted, will result in an additional cost to the Government of $682.50 per annum.

In view of the foregoing, the Navy Department recommends against the enactment of the bill H. R. 3601.

The bill H. R. 3601 is identical in language with the bill H. R. 658 introduced in the Seventy-first Congress.

Sincerely yours,

C. F. ADAMS, Secretary of the Navy.

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AUTHORIZING THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY TO FIX THE CLOTHING ALLOWANCE FOR ENLISTED MEN OF THE NAVY

FEBRUARY 13, 1932.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed

Mr. DELANEY, from the Committee on Naval Affairs, submitted the

following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 6735]

The Committee on Naval Affairs of the House of Representatives, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 6735) authorizing the Secretary of the Navy to fix the clothing allowance for enlisted men of the Navy, having had the same under consideration, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

The act of March 1, 1889 (25 Stat. 781; U. S. C., title 34, sec. 916), authorized the issue of an outfit of clothes to recruits, such outfits not to exceed the sum of $45 in value. This amount has been increased in various appropriation acts without any change in the original authorizing statute. Navy appropriation bills since 1929 have carried a limitation of $100 on the value of the outfit to be issued to recruits. The cost of a complete outfit in 1929 necessary to the health and comfort of the newly enlisted man was nearly $120. This outfit he had to provide for himself, but since the limitation of cost was $100 the new recruit was debited nearly $20 against his first month's pay of $21.

At the present time the cost of a first outfit is $98.27, but the recruit. is credited with $100 and may therefore buy extra clothing to the value of $1.73 at the expense of the Government. Assuming the same cost of the same outfit for the fiscal year 1933 and 13,914 first enlistments, this bill, if enacted, will result in a saving to the Government for that year of $24,071.22. This saving will increase if the price of the first outfit should fall below the present prices. Should the price rise above $100, the bill will result in a cost to the Government, depending on the excess in cost above $100 and the number of first enlistments. However, the Navy promises the recruit an outfit on first enlistment, and it is believed that failure to furnish it would impugn the good faith of the Navy and furthermore impose an undue hardship on the recruit.

The present prescribed outfit for a recruit is given in the table below:

The enactment of this bill will place the Navy in a status similar to that of the Army at present.

The bill H. R. 6735 is proposed by the Navy Department, and the appended letter from the Secretary of the Navy, addressed to the chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs, House of Representatives, clearly sets forth the recommendations of the department and is hereby submitted as part of this report.

NAVY DEPARTMENT, Washington, December 23, 1931.

The CHAIRMAN COMMITTEE ON NAVAL AFFAIRS,

House of Representatives, Washington, D. C.

MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: There is inclosed herewith a copy of a letter, together with a copy of a proposed bill, to authorize the Secretary of the Navy to fix the clothing allowance for enlisted men of the Navy, this day forwarded to the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

It is requested that this proposed legislation be included on the priority list of legislation submitted December 15, 1931, to the Committee on Naval Affairs under item No. 7 on the "essential list."

Sincerely yours,

C. F. ADAMS, Secretary of the Navy.

NAVY DEPARTMENT, Washington, December 23, 1931: Washington, D. C.

The SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

MY DEAR MR. SPEAKER: I have the honor to transmit herewith a draft of bill to authorize the Secretary of the Navy to fix the clothing allowance for enlisted men of the Navy.

The purpose of the proposed legislation is to authorize the Secretary of the Navy to prescribe the money value of the clothing, bedding, and outfits in kind which may be issued to enlisted men in their first enlistment in the Navy.

The act of March 1, 1889 (25 Stat. 781; U. S. C., title 34, sec. 916) authorized the issuance of an outfit of clothing to recruits, such outfit not to exceed in value the sum of $45. That act was entitled "An act to encourage the enlistment of boys as apprentices in the United States Navy." The amount has been increased in various appropriation acts without any change in the original authorizing statute. The naval appropriations bills since 1929 have carried a limitation of $100. The cost of a complete outfit, necessary for the health and comfort of the newly enlisted man, was then nearly $120. This outfit he had to provide for himself, but since the limitation of cost was $100, the new recruit was debited nearly $20 against his first month's pay. At the present time the cost of a first outfit is only $98.27, but the recruit is credited with $100 and may therefore buy extra clothing to the value of $1.73 at the expense of the Government. Assuming the same cost of a first outfit for the fiscal year 1933 and 13,914 first enlistments, the inclosed bill if enacted will result in a saving to the Government of $24,071.22. This saving would increase if the price of a first outfit should fall below that at present. Should the price rise above $100 the bill will result in a cost to the Government depending on the excess in cost above $100 of the outfit and the number of enlistments. However, as the Navy promises a recruit an enlistment outfit, it is believed that its failure to furnish it in full impugns its good faith and, furthermore, imposes an unwarranted hardship on the recruit himself.

The act of March 3, 1915 (28 Stat. 932; U. S. C., title 34, sec. 917), allows the issuance of a clothing outfit to an enlisted man on his second enlistment who did not receive the full value of his clothing allowance on his first enlistment. Certain cases arise, however, where the intent of this law is impracticable of fulfillment. For instance, a recruit in the insular service receives a $50 allowance, but upon his further enlistment in the regular Navy he can not draw the difference under the Comptroller General's decision of March 8, 1922 (1 Comp. Gen. 480). The enactment of the proposed legislation would place the Navy in a similar status to that of the Army. The clothing allowance for the enlistment personnel of the Army is based, under the law, on executive action prescribing the quantity and kind of clothing which shall be issued annually to the enlisted force of the Army (U. S. C., title 10, secs. 831, 832; Revised Statutes, sec. 1296; 43 Stat. 507, 922).

In view of the foregoing the Navy Department recommends the enactment of this proposed legislation.

Sincerely yours,

C. F. ADAMS, Secretary of the Navy.

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