or foreign duty. All of them were made field clerks regardless of the service without the allowance.

At that time they did transfer into this new status all field clerks all the clerks that were placed at the department, division headquarters, service schools, excepting the ones at the Army War College and the clerks in the Staff Corps; that is, in the General Staff.

I remember at that time a Mr. Mercer, at that time was the chief clerk of the Army War College, and he wrote to me several times and told me the chief clerk of the General Staff, from which the chief clerks of the War College were detailed, did not want to be transferred into this field service for the reason that he was afraid, as well as the others, they would have to leave Washington, which, of course, would have occurred. Afterwards and a couple of years ago, all of the field clerks were made warrant officers, so if these clerks had been transferred into the new class of field clerks they to-day would be by operation of the law warrant officers.

Of these three particular individuals, one is a lady.
Mr. GARRATT. What is her name?

Captain HARM. Barndollar. We have amongst the warrant officers three of them that were made warrant officers by operation of the law. We have three ladies now, unless one of them has died or dropped out. There is one of them I know of, Miss Hodson, at San Francisco, another one at Omaha, Nebr.

Mr. WAINWRIGHT. I do not think we need to take any more time on this bill, unless there is any member who desires to ask any particular questions. That is all.

Captain HARM. I just wanted to explain to you how this came about and I think they are all three entitled to this.

Mr. WAINWRIGHT. Anyone else?

Mr. WURZBACH. That is all.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
SUBCOMMITTEE ON MILITARY AFFAIRS,

Wednesday, February 13, 1929.

The subcommittee met at 10.30 o'clock a. m., Hon. J. Mayhew Wainwright presiding.

Mr. WAINWRIGHT. We will now take up the bill of Mrs. Kahn, H. R. No. 11105, a bill to provide for appointment of Robert J. Burton, a former field clerk, Quartermaster Corps, a warrant officer, United States Army.

[H. R. 11105, Seventieth Congress, first session]

A BILL To provide for appointing Robert J. Burton, a former field clerk, Quartermaster Corps, a warrant officer, United States Army

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of War is hereby authorized to appoint Robert J. Burton, a former field clerk, Quartermaster Corps, a warrant officer of the Regular Army: Provided, That in determining length of service for longevity pay and retirement he shall be credited with and entitled to count the same military service as now authorized for warrant officers, including service as field clerk, Quartermaster Corps, and all classified service rendered as a clerk of the Quartermaster Corps: Provided further, That the limitation in the Act of June 30, 1922, on the number of warrant officers, United States Army, shall not apply to the appointee hereunder.

FEBRUARY 18, 1928.

Hon. JOHN M. MORIN,
Chairman Committee on Military Affairs,

House of Representatives, Washington, D. C.

DEAR CHAIRMAN MORIN: Inclosed you will find a copy of H. R. 11105, “A bil to provide for appointing Robert J. Burton, a former field clerk, Quartermaster Corps, a warrant officer, United States Army," which I introduced in the House of Representatives under date of February 16, 1928.

The facts in the case are briefly as follows: When Gen. William H. Hart was appointed Quartermaster General in August, 1922, he desired that Mr. Burton, who had been on duty with him in various offices in the Philippines, the United States, and in France, accompany him to Washington for duty there; he was then a field clerk, Quartermaster Corps, and it was found that under the law he could not be assigned to the office of the Quartermaster General while holding that grade; therefore, at General Hart's suggestion, Mr. Burton resigned as a field clerk to accept the position of executive assistant in the office of the Quartermaster General. It was believed at that time that he could be reinstated in the grade of field clerk on request to the Secretary of War. After the death of General Hart, Mr. Burton asked for such reinstatement. The request was approved and recommended by General Cheatham, the Quartermaster General, but was not favorably considered by the War Department, due to an opinion of the Judge Advocate General which was unfavorable to making reinstatement. Field clerks were appointed warrant officers by act of Congress with the benefit of retirement, etc. Mr. Burton, through his willingness to serve where desired, lost these benefits through no fault of his own. He is now endeavoring to obtain legislation that will give him the same benefits accorded to other field clerks and to which in equity and justice he is entitled.

Senator Tyson introduced a bill similar to H. R. 11105, which was referred to the Senate Committee on Military Affairs. The committee requested a report from the War Department on Senator Tyson's bill, but as the report is unfavorable in all probability the matter will rest in the Senate committee.

Unless this legislation is passed for Mr. Burton, it seems to me that a rank injustice will have been done him and that his reward for trying to serve where he could most advantageously to his superior will be the denial of rights to which he is entitled.

I shall be most grateful for any consideration your committee may give H. R. 11105.

Sincerely yours,

Mr. WAINWRIGHT. We will hear from Colonel Bash.

M. C.

STATEMENT OF COL. L. H. BASH

Mr. WAINWRIGHT. Give your name, please.

Colonel BASH. L. H. Bash.

Mr. WAINWRIGHT. You are an active colonel in the Army; you are on the active list?

Colonel BASH. Yes, sir; in the Quartermaster General's Depart

ment.

Mr. WAINWRIGHT, Proceed, Colonel.

Colonel BASH. I have no interest in this case. I am not interested at all in the bill. It just so happens I do not represent the War Department. This old gentleman, Mr. Burton, whom I have known as a very high-class employee of the Government for 37 years, is, I believe, entitled to the favorable consideration of this committee. I know all about his case and Mrs. Kahn, knowing that I knew about the case, asked me to come up here and tell you about it.

I first knew this man Burton as a soldier and he then became what was known as a quartermaster field clerk. At that time Gen. William H. Hart became very fond of this man and took him around the country with him from about 1916 until the time he was made

Quartermaster General, which was along about 1922. At the time General Hart was made Quartermaster General I was in charge of the transport service at Brooklyn and was serving alongside of General Hart with this man Burton. I knew the old man very, very well. I know what type of man he is. He is a very fine type.

When General Hart was made Quartermaster General, which necessarily brought him to Washington, he brought Burton with him. and then ran up against a provision of the law that field clerks, being part of the field service, could not serve at the seat of the Government. Consequently that forced Burton to resign his position as quartermaster field clerk, and much against his will. He asked me at the time what he should do. I told him, "General Hart is now your boss and you have got to do what he says; you have to resign to stay with him." So Burton did. Finally, however, Congress passed a bill in 1926, wanting to wipe out this field class, making all the field clerks. warrant officers, which automatically gave them the privilege of retiring. When Burton tried to get in on it he found out he was out on a limb, so to speak. He could not be transferred, nor could he be reinstated in his old job as field clerk to take advantage of the legislation enacted by Congress.

Mr. WURZBACH. You say that was in 1926?

Colonel BASH. Yes, sir.

Mr. WAINWRIGHT. Why did he resign?

Hart

Colonel BASH. He resigned because his boss ordered him to. wanted to keep him here in Washington in the office of the Quartermaster General, but there is a basic provision of law that no member of the field force can serve at the seat of Government here in Washington.

Mr. WAINWRIGHT. So that he could not come here as a field clerk? Colonel BASH. He could not come here as a field clerk.

Mr. WAINWRIGHT. When he did and in order to come here he had

to resign?

Colonel BASH. Yes, sir; he had to resign.

Mr. WAINWRIGHT. Did he then go on the civil service?

Colonel BASH. He got a job under the civil service. They called him an executive assistant, or gave him a title of that kind. Mr. WAINWRIGHT. So that he was purely a civilian employee? Colonel BASH. Yes, sir; which he still is at this moment. The old man has had a pretty hard time following General Hart around the country. He had a little home here in Washington and lost that because he could not complete the payments. His wife has also been sickly.

Mr. WAINWRIGHT. How old is he?

Colonel BASH. He is 67.

Mr. WAINWRIGHT. How many years was he in the Army?

Colonel BASH. I have the exact time here. Between 10 and 12. Mr. WAINWRIGHT. When was he appointed field clerk and when did he resign?

Colonel BASH. He resigned on September 7, 1922. I have not the date of his appointment, but he was in the Army 10 years as a soldier and enlisted man.

Mr. GARRETT. All of his service was confined to the Army?
Colonel BASH. All of his service, yes; 37 years.

Mr. HILL. Thirty-seven years?

37466-29- -4

Colonel BASH. Yes. That is counting his soldier service, his service as field clerk and the service in a field capacity.

Mr. WURZBACH. He was eligible for appointment as a warrant officer, was he?

Colonel BASH. No, sir; because he had resigned when he came on here to Washington.

Mr. WAINWRIGHT. That is all. The hearing is closed.

(At 12 o'clock the subcommittee adjourned, subject to the call of the chairman.)