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. Statement of transfers between appropriations during fiscal year 1942 No transfers were made during the year. Information regarding appropriations for fiscal year 1943 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. 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? 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. Mr. FITZPATRICK. That is just the upkeep of it? Mr. WIGGLESWORTH. I was trying to get at the basis of the agreement with the French and Belgian Governments. How do you determine how much to pay them? Is it simply the number of employees that we had there, the number of personnel? Mr. CONWAY. No, sir. They have agreed to retain our nonAmerican personnel, personnel that we did not have to bring out, and personnel that is familiar with the maintenance and administration of the cemeteries. The payments are based upon the actual expenditures. General Vincensini's office is doing this without any charge to us at all other than the actual expenditures that he makes for the maintenance and care of these establishments. NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES AND NATURE AND VOLUME OF WORK OF WASHINGTON OFFICE Mr. WOODRUM. Will you require four employees in the Washington office next year in view of the fact that the cemeteries are being cared for on a contract basis? Mr. CONWAY. Yes, sir. Mr. WOODRUM. What do they have to do? Mr. CONWAY. The accounting, correspondence, and administrative work involved in our agreements and contracts with the French and the Belgians, answering correspondence and inquiries which come from within the United States, and other general administrative duties. Mr. WOODRUM. You think that it is necessary to have all four of those? Mr. CONWAY. Yes, sir. Mr. WIGGLESWORTH. What about the administrative work that is done here in Washington? You say you need this departmental staff here? Mr. CONWAY. Yes, sir. We have some historical work that is being done; also the accounting work, and the instructions and correspondence necessary in the administration and care of our establishments in France and Belgium; and also the correspondence and instructions necessary to maintain our Brookwood Cemetery. Mr. DIRKSEN. What is the nature and volume of the straight correspondence that is conducted out of the office in Washington? Mr. CONWAY. Most of the straight correspondence conducted from the Washington office consists of inquiries as to the condition of the cemeteries and monuments at the present time. Mr. DIRKSEN. That is, from the families of men who are interred there? Mr. CONWAY. Yes, sir. Mr. DIRKSEN. What is the volume of that correspondence that you handle, or the estimated volume; how many letters per day or per month or per year? Mr. CONWAY. I would say on an average of about one letter a day. Mr. DIRKSEN. One letter a day? Mr. CONWAY. Yes, sir. Mr. DIRKSEN. What other correspondence do you have besides that? Mr. CONWAY. We have the correspondence incident to the accounting. Mr. DIRKSEN. Do you have any other funds in process outside of this money that is appropriated from year to year; that is the overall amount that is flowing across your bookkeeping sheet? Let us say that is $50,000 a year. That would be the total amount, roughly $4,000 a month? Mr. CONWAY. That is right; yes, sir. Mr. DIRKSEN. How many accounts do you keep down there? Mr. DIRKSEN. For instance, let us assume that you maintain a ledger account there. Mr. CONWAY. Yes, sir. Mr. DIRKSEN. How many accounts are carried as a matter of bookkeeping volume? Mr. CONWAY. Four. Mr. DIRKSEN. You do not carry an account for each individual who is hired under this contractual authority, do you? Mr. CONWAY. No, sir; we do not. Mr. DIRKSEN. In other words, you keep a gross account here, let us say, with some central agency in Belgium and in France? Mr. CONWAY. That is right. Our accounts in France are being kept by our bookkeeper over there who is a non-American and who was allowed to stay. She is maintaining our records in the same manner as they were being maintained when we were in full charge, and the records are to be turned over to us. Mr. DIRKSEN. It is a very modest transaction that you have here in the Washington office, is it not? Mr. CONWAY. Yes, sir. Mr. DIRKSEN. What is the nature of the historical work that you do? Mr. CONWAY. At the present time we are trying to complete a series of maps and summaries of operations of the divisions in the First World War, trying to get them published and out as quickly as we can. Mr. DIRKSEN. Is that within the jurisdiction of your work? Mr. CONWAY. Yes, sir. Mr. DIRKSEN. Would not that be in the War Department, in the office of The Adjutant General? Mr. CONWAY. No, sir. The Commission is authorized to publish material on World War activities. Mr. DIRKSEN. It would occur to me, Mr. Conway, if you get one inquiry a day from a family in the country, you have a very modest amount of correspondence; and you are only maintaining four bookkeeping accounts here, so that two people in your office, inclusive of yourself, would be sufficient to maintain the office here. You do not give us any evidence that you need four people for that work, and yet here is an estimate for four people. I assume there would be two stenographers in grade 3, is that right? Mr. CONWAY. One stenographer and one clerk. Mr. CONWAY. Yes, sir. Mr. DIRKSEN. And the other position is custodial? Mr. DIRKSEN. Doing particularly what kind of work? Mr. CONWAY. Messenger and assistant in the files, and any minor office work that he can do. Mr. DIRKSEN. Do you need one messenger for three people? Mr. CONWAY. Yes, sir. We use the messenger particularly for any errands that the chairman might require, for collecting and returning reports and material that we are required to submit. Mr. DIRKSEN. Could you not dispose of one person in grade CAF-3, on the basis of the volume of work that you give us here? I cannot see any justification for four people. Mr. CONWAY. It is rather bad for me to explain it briefly, but we are giving up one employee for 1944 over our present staff. Mr. DIRKSEN. Of course, that does not prove anything, if you do not need him. Mr. CONWAY. Yes, sir; but we have found so far that the four of us will be well occupied in taking care of our work. Mr. WOODRUM. Does General Pershing give any of his time personally? Does he come to the office? Mr. CONWAY. He does not come to the office. We take the material to him. Mr. FITZPATRICK. And do you use your messenger to take that material to General Pershing? Mr. CONWAY. Yes, sir. Mr. CASE. Does General Pershing have any military aide? Mr. CONWAY. Yes, sir. Mr. CASE. Does he get from the War Department such aides as . he requires? Mr. CONWAY. For his office he does; yes, sir. Mr. CASE. How often do you have occasion to send material to him? Mr. CONWAY. Usually about once a week. Mr. CASE. About once every week? Mr. CONWAY. Yes, sir. Mr. CASE. Could not this stenographer-clerk, if he has only one letter a day to write, be able to take this material to the general one day a week? Mr. CONWAY. Yes. Of course, she has actually more than one letter a day; she has other duties to do; the bookkeeping and the making up of reports, and other correspondence, which would not permit her to leave the office; that is, to take the time out to act as a messenger. It takes quite a bit of time and I do not believe it would be feasible. Mr. CASE. Personally-and I assume the committee would feel the same way I would not want to impose any travel duties on General Pershing, but if he has aides from the War Department it would not seem necessary to have a messenger in this unit. Mr. DIRKSEN. With reference to this historical work, what is the necessity for pursuing that work now? You say this is a sort of history, divisional history? Mr. CONWAY. Yes, sir. It is a history of each division and its operations during the World War. Mr. DIRKSEN. A history of each division? Mr. CONWAY. Yes, sir. Mr. DIRKSEN. And its operations? |