ANNUAL REPORTS OF SUPERVISING INSPECTORS, STEAMBOAT-INSPECTION SERVICE. APRIL 26, 1912.-Ordered to be printed. Mr. CRAWFORD, from the Committee on Commerce, submitted the following REPORT. [To accompany H. R. 22343.] The Committee on Commerce, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 22343) to require supervising inspectors, Steamboat-Inspection Service, to submit their annual reports at the end of each fiscal year, having considered the same, report thereon with a recommendation that it pass without amendment. The bill has the approval of the Department of Commerce and Labor, as will appear by the following House report, which contains a communication from said department approving this bill: [House Report No. 480, Sixty-second Congress, second session.] The Committee on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 22343) to require supervising inspectors, Steamboat-Inspection Service, to submit their annual reports at the end of each fiscal year, having considered same, report it to the House with the recommendation that it do pass. The desirability of this legislation is fully set forth in House Document No. 377, Sixty-second Congress, second session, said document being as follows: DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND LABOR, SIR: I have the honor to submit herewith for the consideration of the House the inclosed letter, dated December 8, 1911, to the department, from the Supervising Inspector General of the Steamboat-Inspection Service, concerning the need of amendatory legislation with respect to the date of making annual reports by the several supervising inspectors, and I desire to say that the recommendation contained in the letter referred to is approved by this department. Respectfully, The SPEAKER HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. CHARLES NAGEL, Secretary. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND LABOR, The SECRETARY OF COMMERCE and Labor, Washington, D. C. Washington, December 8, 1911. SIR: This bureau has the honor to submit the following resolution adopted by the Board of Supervising Inspectors, Steamboat Inspection Service, on January 24, 1911, and approved by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor on March 8, 1911: Resolved, That this board recommends that the following bill be presented to the Congress of the United States for adoption: "A BILL To require supervising inspectors, Steamboat-Inspection Service, to submit their annual. reports at the end of each fiscal year. "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That section forty-four hundred and ten, Revised Statutes of the United States, be, and it is hereby, amended to read as follows: "SEC. 4410. Each supervising inspector shall report, in writing, at the end of each fiscal year, to the Supervising Inspector General, the general business transacted in his district during the year, embracing all violations of the laws regulating vessels, and the action taken in relation to the same; all investigations and decisions by local inspectors; and all cases of appeal, and the result thereof. The board shall examine into all the acts of each supervising inspector and local board, and all complaints made against the same, in relation to the performance of their duties under the law, and the judgment of the board in each case shall be entered upon their journal; and the board shall, as far as possible, correct mistakes where they exist.' "This act shall take effect and be in force on and after the first day of July, nineteen hundred and twelve." And this bureau recommends that the proposed bill be presented to Congress by the department for adoption. The present annual reports of this bureau consist of a summary of the operations of the service for the fiscal year, with an appendix containing general statistics, a statement of vessels inspected, a detailed statement of casualties and violations of law, etc., for the calendar year ending six months preceding the end of the fiscal year for which report is made. A list of officers licensed during the calendar year is also published, under the provisions of sections 4410 and 4411, Revised Statutes. It is desirable and practicable that all of these reports be made by fiscal years, which is the almost universal custom. A copy of the annual report of this bureau for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1911, and of the list of licensed officers for the calendar year 1910, and a copy of the laws governing the Steamboat-Inspection Service, containing on page 11 sections 4410 and 4411 referred to herein, are herewith inclosed. Respectfully, GEO. UHLER, Supervising Inspector General. O SALE OF OLD POST-OFFICE PROPERTY AT PROVIDENCE, R. I. APRIL 26, 1912.-Ordered to be printed. Mr. WETMORE, from the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, submitted the following REPORT. [To accompany H. R. 13774.] The Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 13774) entitled "An act providing for the sale of the old post-office property at Providence, R. I., by public auction," have had the same under consideration and report it back without amendment. The report of the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds of the House of Representatives on this bill is reprinted herewith. [House Report No. 515, Sixty-second Congress, second session.] The Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds, to which was referred the bill of the House (H. R. 13774) to provide for the sale of the old post-office property at Providence, R. I., by public auction, respectfully reports the same with the recommendation that the bill do pass with the following amendment: After the word "receipt," line 7, page 2, insert the following: "Provided, That said building and site shall not be sold for any sum less than two hundred thousand dollars." Section 10 of the act of Congress approved June 6, 1902 (32 Stat., 310), authorizing the construction of a new Federal building at Providence, R. I., further authorizes the sale of the old Federal building and site in that city at an upset price of $300,000. Under this authority the property was duly advertised for sale, but no offers were received, as the price fixed was much in excess of the market value of the property. The building is located in what was formerly a district occupied by wholesale houses, but in recent years some of the surrounding buildings have remained vacant. The lot on which the building stands comprises 8,040 square feet and is situated at the corner of Weybosset and Custom House Streets, and the upset price of $200,000 will realize for the property, if sold, more than $24.75 per square foot. Property in this vicinity has sold within the last year or two for $18 per square foot and taxable values range from this figure to $45 per square foot, most of the property having a 2 SALE OF OLD POST-OFFICE PROPERTY AT PROVIDENCE, R. I. taxable value of from $20 to $30 per square foot. The building on the old Government site is antiquated and in very bad repair. Persons familiar with the situation state the building is a detriment to the sale of the property, especially in view of the fact that it is unfit for any commercial purpose and would require a large outlay of money to put it in habitable condition. The roof of the building is almost gone, and the structure is partially flooded during heavy rainfalls. The lighting, heating, and sanitary arrangements are wholly unfit for use, according to a report by the custodian. All evidence your committee has been able to gather relative to the property shows that the building is practically worthless, and that the principal proceeds that the Government may derive from the sale of the property must come from the value placed on the site. While the new building at Providence may not be adequate for the needs of the Government service 10 years hence, or even within a shorter period, still the site of the old building would not be a satisfactory one on which to provide additional facilities, as it is in a low and undesirable part of the city, the basement floor being below high-water mark and frequently wet. In addition, it would require between $125,000 and $150,000, according to an estimate from the Treasury Department, to repair the old building. The undesirability of the location and the large amount needed to put the building in habitable condition are set forth in a letter from the Secretary of the Treasury, dated April 1, 1912, to the chairman of the committee. A report of the custodian of the new building, dated December 17, 1909, among other things, says: "Business men with whom I have talked, and also real estate men, claim that the building is really a detriment to the sale of the land, as it is of such size, construction, and arrangement as to necessitate tearing down altogether, or if changed so as to afford natural light (an element which in its present condition is woefully lacking), would require very great expense. "My familiarity with the building convinces me that to devote it to any modern business purpose would require a large outlay of money to put the basement in proper shape, as the building is built on made land, formerly tide flowed, and water now comes into the cellar, so much so as to require an automatic cellar drainer to keep it reasonably dry. "A complete new heating system would be required throughout the building, as well as ventilation, elevators, and plumbing. This last would be a very considerable feature. "While the structure is of granite, the materials in the walls can not be made of very much use if the building were torn down, and if not torn down the cutting of the walls to afford the necessary light could hardly be achieved without some architectural disfigurement. "In view of all these considerations, and basing my opinion upon the ideas of men familiar in a business and technical way with property of this nature in this part of the city, I am of the opinion that the Government will hardly realize from the property more than a reasonable value for the land itself." It is very evident, from the diligent investigation made by your committee, that the upset price of $300,000 placed on this property by the act of Congress, approved June 6, 1902, is largely in excess of the real value of the property, and as there is no way by which it can well be utilized for Government purposes without a large expenditure of money for imperative repairs, which expenditure is not required to meet immediate needs of the Government service, and as the upset price of $200,000 seems to be in keeping with other real-estate values in the vicinity of the building, your committee is of the opinion that the bill, as amended, should pass. TO PROTECT MIGRATORY GAME AND INSECTIVOROUS BIRDS OF THE UNITED STATES. APRIL 26, 1912.-Ordered to be printed. Mr. MCLEAN, from the Committee on Forest Reservations and the Protection of Game, submitted the following REPORT. [To accompany S. 6497.] The Committee on Forest Reservations and the Protection of Game, to whom was referred the bill (S. 6497) to protect migratory game and insectivorous birds of the United States, submit the following favorable report thereon: For many years the necessity and importance of effective protection for the bird life of this and other nations has been apparent to ornithologists and all others who have interested themselves in the subject. The several States of the Union have enacted many laws prohibiting and regulating the killing of birds, but the strong temptation pressing upon every State to secure its full share of edible game birds during the spring and fall migrations has rendered harmonious and effective State supervision impossible. Game commissioners and other officials representing 43 of the 48 States of the Union, together with some of the leading ornithologists of the country, appeared before your committee, and their testimony, based upon years of experience and practical observation, was conclusive to the fact that State control of migratory birds must, from the very nature of the surrounding temptations and conditions, end in failure. Conceding the necessity of Federal regulation and the willingness of Congress to exert its power to prevent the extermination of the useful migratory birds, the question of the extent and nature of that power was at once raised and very carefully considered by your committee. The nations of Europe have for many years been alive to the necessity of the protection of bird life by treaties, regulations, and international declarations and conventions. As early as 1873, the Congress of Agriculturists and Foresters moved, "that the Imperial Austrian |