COAST GUARD STATION, BEAVER BAY, MINN. JUNE 2, 1937.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. WARREN, from the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 5040] The Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 5040) to provide for the establishment of three Coast Guard stations on the north shore of Lake Superior, having had the same under consideration, report it back to the House with amendments and, as so amended, recommend that the bill do pass. The amendments proposed by your committee are as follows: 1. Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the following: That the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to establish a Coast Guard station at or near Beaver Bay, Minnesota, at such point as the Commandant of the Coast Guard may recommend. 2. Amend the title so as to read as follows: A bill to provide for the establishment of a Coast Guard station at or near Beaver Bay, Minnesota. These amendments are proposed by the Treasury Department and the bill, as amended, has the support of the Department and of the Bureau of the Budget, the latter advising that the bill, as thus amended, is in accord with the program of the President. The bill, as originally drawn, provides for the establishment of three Coast Guard stations on the north shore of Lake Superior at or near Hovland, Beaver Bay, and Two Islands, all in the State of Minnesota. The effect of the amendments recommended by the Treasury Department and by your committee is to limit the provisions of the bill to the establishment of but one Coast Guard station at or near Beaver Bay, Minn. Your committee is advised that the need for Coast Guard stations along the northern coast of Lake Superior, embracing the three localities specified in the bill, was the subject of a careful study by the Commandant of the Coast Guard which developed the following information: Hovland, situated about 20 miles east of Grand Marais, Minn., is approximately midway between the existing Coast Guard station at Grand Marais (North Superior Coast Guard Station) and the United States-Canada boundary. It lies within 6 miles of the vessel lane between Port Arthur and Duluth, and traffic to and from the Portage Ship Canal which passes south of Isle Royale would be visible from this location. Approximately 12 fishing boats operate out of Hovland and immediate vicinity. Two Islands lies approximately 30 miles west of Grand Marais (North Superior Coast Guard Station). This location is about 6 miles from the lane of traffic between Grand Marais and Duluth, and 13 miles from the vessel lane between Port Arthur, Isle Royale, and Duluth on which there is extensive traffic about 9 months of the year. Fishing boats operate along this section of the coast wherever there is an eddy, bay, or other place to launch a boat, which averages a distance of about every half mile. Beaver Bay is situated 55 miles northeast of Duluth, and is centrally located between the existing Coast Guard stations at Duluth and Grand Marais. A Coast Guard station at this point would be within operating distance of the lanes of marine commerce between Duluth and Superior, Wis., and the eastern portion of Lake Superior. Approximately 38 fishing boats operate in the general region of Beaver Bay. Stretching from Duluth, Minn., to Grand Portage, Minn. (near the United States-Canada boundary), is a distance of approximately 150 miles, with only one Coast Guard station (that at Grand Marais) providing protection to marine commerce and activities and for conducting the law-enforcement duties of the Coast Guard. The entire coast line between Two Harbors, Minn. (25 miles northeast of Duluth), and Grand Portage is composed of solid rock, with no shelter to shipping except at Two Harbors and Grand Marais. Along this section of the coast approximately 275 fishermen earn their livelihood by fishing from small boats, usually two men to a boat, which are equipped with outboard motors. The boats operate along the entire coast, with concentrations largely in the vicinity of the locations specified in the bill. The prevailing winds during the winter months are from the north and northwest, which keep the coastal waters free of ice, and during which period fishing for herring is carried on about 3 miles offshore. Often, when winter storms suddenly approach, these fishermen are caught offshore and unable to land their boats under their own power, or even to row back to the shore against heavy winds. In April 1935 three fishermen lost their lives in such circumstances in this region. The protection contemplated by the bill under notice is primarily for the fishermen operating along the north coast of Lake Superior who have urged that the Government provide means for rendering assistance to them in time of storm and when disabled. The Coast Guard, in considering the great amount of marine commerce flowing between Duluth and Superior and points east, the comparative absence of shelter for shipping along the north coast of Lake Superior, the hazards to which the fishermen and other marine commerce are subject in this general Lake Superior region, and the fact that at the present time there is only one Coast Guard station along this 150mile stretch of rocky coast, recognizes the need for additional Coast Guard protection. The Coast Guard does not consider, however, that conditions at this time warrant the establishment of three Coast Guard stations along this coastal area, but does view as fully justified the establishment of a Coast Guard station at or near Beaver Bay, Minn. With a station established at this point, from which auxiliary service could be extended during the stormy season to the region of Two Islands, and from the North Superior station (Grand Marais, Minn.) to the region of Hovland, a reasonable measure of protection and service could be rendered, under present conditions, to marine commerce and activities in this general north-shore region. In addition to the study of the Commandant of the Coast Guard which has been outlined, your committee is informed that a board of officers of the Coast Guard made an independent study in 1936 of the needs of stations on Lake Superior. As a result of this independent study it was concluded that a station at or near Beaver Bay, Minn., was necessary to provide for efficient and systematically arranged Coast Guard protection in that area. In view of the need at this time for but one station, the Department of the Treasury has suggested the amendments set out at the beginning of this report and, as so amended, the Department recommends the enactment of the bill. As will be seen from the attached letter of May 22, 1937, from the Acting Secretary of the Treasury, your committee is advised that the proposed legislation, as thus amended, is in accord with the program of the President. Your committee, therefore, concurs in the views of the Treasury Department and recommends the passage of the bill at an early date. The letter of the Acting Secretary of the Treasury is as follows: TREASURY DEPARTMENT, Washington, May 22, 1937. Hon. S. O. BLAND, Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: Reference is made to your letter of February 26, 1937, enclosing copy of bill H. R. 5040 (75th Cong., 1st sess.) to provide for the estab lishment of three Coast Guard stations on the north shore of Lake Superior, and asking to be furnished the views and recommendations of this Department thereon. The need for Coast Guard stations along the northern coast of Lake Superior embracing the three localities specified in the bill, viz, at or near Hovland, Minn.; at or near Beaver Bay, Minn.; and at or near Two Islands, Minn.; was the subject of a careful study by the Commandant of the Coast Guard, as a result of which the following information and views are submitted: Hovland, situated about 20 miles east of Grand Marais, Minn., is approximately midway between the existing Coast Guard station at Grand Marais (North Superior Coast Guard station) and the United States-Canada boundary. It lies within 6 miles of the vessel lane between Port Arthur and Duluth, and traffic to and from the Portage Ship Canal which passes south of Isle Royal would be visible from this location. Approximately 12 fishing boats operate out of Hovland and immediate vicinity. Two Islands lies approximately 30 miles west of Grand Marais (North Superior Coast Guard station). This location is about 6 miles from the lane of traffic between Grand Marais and Duluth, and 13 miles from the vessel lane between Port Arthur, Isle Royale, and Duluth on which there is extensive traffic about 9 months of the year. Fishing boats operate along this section of the coast wherever there is an eddy, bay, or other place to launch a boat, which averages a distance of about every half mile. Beaver Bay is situated 55 miles northeast of Duluth, and is centrally located between the existing Coast Guard stations at Duluth and Grand Marais. A Coast Guard station at this point would be within operating distance of the lanes of marine commerce between Duluth and Superior, Wis., and the eastern portion of Lake Superior. Approximately 38 fishing boats operate in the general region of Beaver Bay. Stretching from Duluth, Minn., to Grand Portage, Minn. (near the United States-Canada boundary), is a distance of approximately 150 miles, with only one Coast Guard station (that at Grand Marais) providing protection to marine commerce and activities and for conducting the law-enforcement duties of the Coast Guard. The entire coast line between Two Harbors, Minn. (25 miles northeast of Duluth), and Grand Portage is composed of solid rock, with no shelter to shipping except at Two Harbors and Grand Marais. Along this section of the coast approximately 275 fishermen earn their livelihood by fishing from small boats, usually two men to a boat, which are equipped with outboard motors. The boats operate along the entire coast, with concentrations largely in the vicinity of the locations specified in the bill. The prevailing winds during the winter months are from the north and northwest, which keep the coastal waters free of ice, and during which period fishing for herring is carried on about 3 miles offshore. Often, when winter storms suddenly approach, these fishermen are caught offshore and unable to land their boats under their own power, or even to row back to the shore against heavy winds. In April 1935 three fishermen lost their lives in such circumstances in this region. The protection contemplated by the bill under notice is primarily for the fishermen operating along the north coast of Lake Superior who have urged that the Government provide means for rendering assistance to them in time of storm and when disabled. The Coast Guard, in considering the great amount of marine commerce flowing between Duluth and Superior and points east, the comparative absence of shelter for shipping along the north coast of Lake Superior, the hazards to which the fishermen and other marine commerce are subject in this general Lake Superior region, and the fact that at the present time there is only one Coast Guard station along this 150-mile stretch of rocky coast, recognizes the need for additional Coast Guard protection. The Coast Guard does not consider, however, that conditions at this time warrant the establishment of three Coast Guard stations along this coastal area, but does view as fully justified the establishment of a Coast Guard station at or near Beaver Bay, Minn. With a station established at this point, from which auxiliary service could be extended during the stormy season to the region of Two Islands, and from the North Superior station (Grand Marais, Minn.) to the region of Hovland, a reasonable measure of protection and service could be rendered, under present conditions, to marine commerce and activities in this general north-shore region. A board of officers of the Coast Guard when making a study in 1936 of Coast Guard needs on Lake Superior, entirely independent of the present investigation, concluded that a station at or near Beaver Bay, Minn., was necessary to provide for efficient and systematically arranged Coast Guard protection in that area. In view of the above, the Department recommends the enactment of legislation to provide for the establishment of a Coast Guard station at or near Beaver Bay, Minn., and that, for such purpose, the title and text of bill H. R. 5040 be amended to read as follows: A BILL To provide for the establishment of a Coast Guard station at or near Beaver Bay, Minnesota. "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to establish a Coast Guard station at or near Beaver Bay, Minnesota, at such point as the Commandant of the Coast Guard may recommend." I am advised that the proposed legislation in bill H. R. 5040, thus amended, is in accord with the program of the President. Very truly yours, COAST GUARD STATION, ST. AUGUSTINE, FLA. JUNE 2, 1937.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. PETERSON of Florida, from the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 5140] The Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 5140) to provide for the establishment of a Coast Guard station at St. Augustine, Fla., having had the same under consideration, report it back to the House with amendments and, as so amended, recommend that the bill do pass. The amendments proposed by your committee are as follows: (1) Page 1, line 4, after the word "at", insert the words "or near". (2) Amend the title so as to read: A bill to provide for the establishment of a Coast Guard station at or near Saint Augustine, Florida. The purpose of the first amendment is to afford a reasonable latitude of judgment by the Commandant of the Coast Guard in deciding upon the most advantageous location for the station, and the amendment to the title of the bill merely conforms to this change. The purpose of the bill is to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to establish a Coast Guard station at or near St. Augustine, Fla., at such point as the Commandant of the Coast Guard may recommend. The proposal has been the subject of a careful study by the Coast Guard. This study reveals that at the present time the nearest Coast Guard station to the northward of the location of the proposed station at St. Augustine is at St. Simon Island, Ga., a distance of appoximately 100 miles, and to the southward the House of Refuge at Flagler Beach, Fla., a distance of approximately 40 miles. Shipping between Savannah, Ga., and Jacksonville, Fla., and points south pass close by St. Augustine. This port is a center for the shrimp industry, and approximately 200 boats engaged in this activity operate out of the harbor of St. Augustine. The value of their cargoes amounted to approximately $532,000 during the year 1936. All traffic along the |