CONSOLIDATED LABOR GROUPS

Mr. CASE. I was interested in your testimony about this labor pool that you are developing, so as to have a certain class of labor for whatever branch might be located at any consolidated depot. Are you trying to consolidate depots in some way?

General GREGORY. In what we term jointly occupied depots we are attempting to consolidate certain functions. Formerly each supply service represented at one depot had its own labor group. Now we have consolidated these groups.

Mr. CASE. That applies only to a certain category of labor that can be shifted from one depot to another?

General GREGORY. Yes, shifted from one section to another of a jointly occupied depot.

Mr. CASE. That is, a Quartermaster employee might be qualified to be an Ordnance employee if he is not engaged in the technical end of the work?

General GREGORY. Yes, sir.

Also, the average strength of the Army for the fiscal year 1944 will be about 47 percent greater than it was for the fiscal year 1943, and we are asking for only an approximate 10-percent increase in the number of employees.

We have a number of places where we are now handling tonnage to much better advantage that we ever did before, because the operations have been gone over to such an extent that they are standardized much better than they were at first. We have certain other areas where the labor conditions are rather difficult, where the labor turnover is very large, and there the saving is not quite as great.

Mr. CASE. Do you anticipate continued improvements along that line?

General GREGORY. Oh, yes.

Mr. CASE. Could you give us any estimate that would warrant us in making any curtailment?

General GREGORY. No; I think the curtailment is in the fact that the amount we are asking for is much less than the anticipated tonnage increase during the next fiscal year.

Mr. CASE. You mean you are taking that into consideration in the request that you make?

General GREGORY. Yes, sir.

General RICHARDS. I would like to make a statement which may clear up several things.

In our estimates for the fiscal year 1943 we figured on a basis of 4,250,000 man-years. On the funds which you appropriated we actually supported roughly 5,000,000 man-years. We are now asking for around 7,300,000 man-years.

So those are the three major steps. We asked funds on the basis of 4,250,000 man-years; we actually supported 5,000,000 man-years during the fiscal year 1943, necessitating the transfer of some $596,000,000 to pay the Army, because we did not have enough money to pay that larger army; and now we are jumping up from the 5,000,000 man-year basis to a 7,300,000 man-year basis,

Mr. CASE. That refers to enlisted men?
General RICHARDS. Yes, sir.

With respect to transportation, we have actually taken curves and rates and projected them forward, so that it is being done on a fairly scientific basis. It has not been a guess matter. We have taken rates of expenditure heretofore and projected them scientifically forward with relation to the requirements of this larger-sized army. Mr. SNYDER. In other words, you expect the men you employwe will say civilians-will handle more tonnage than they did this year?

General GREGORY. We have that objective in mind, and we hope to accomplish it.

Mr. SNYDER. I believe that winds up your items, General. Do you have anything further to contribute for our consideration, or any suggestions to offer?

General GREGORY. No, sir.

Mr. SNYDER. It has been a real pleasure to have you with us, General, and these splendid officers you have in charge of the several branches of your organization. You always have been most cooperative, and we appreciate it. You are doing a great job, and you certainly have our hearty support and best wishes.

TUESDAY, JUNE 1, 1943.

WELFARE OF ENLISTED MEN

STATEMENT OF BRIG. GEN. F. H. OSBORN, ACCOMPANIED BY COL. W. B. HAYES, MAJ. R. A. SPALDING, H. J. BRUHN, AND F. L. CROFT

Mr. SNYDER. The first project under the Quartermaster and Transportation Corps, is "Welfare of enlisted men," which General Osborn is here to justify. General, we should be pleased to have you tell us in a general way about what you have been doing and what you have in mind for the ensuing fiscal year.

General OSBORN. Our mission as defined by the War Department is to provide materials and personnel for commanding officers to assist them in maintaining the mental and physical stamina of their troops.

That includes their welfare, in the provision of athletic and recreational programs for their off-duty hours, and it also includes off-duty educational programs quite closely intermeshed with the regular training program.

Some 90 percent of the educational work that the men do off duty is to help them advance in the Army.

The program also includes service for information for the troops. It has been the experience of the Army that the men want information of what is going on, and they want real news, news from the home front, and we have been trying to supply them that information through various methods of imparting information, through films, radio, and Army papers, and all those services have been going on for 2 years, and this year we have introduced a new one; that is a daily news service for the troops overseas.

We found that the troops overseas sometimes are not familiar with what is going on in the world, and we have a small group of officers which gets out a daily news service for overseas posts.

SUMMARY OF PROJECTS

1

Mr. SNYDER. The estimate calls for a pretty big amount for a fighting Army. Suppose we insert the summary of projects sheet at this point.

(The statement referred to is as follows:)

3,489, 312 805, 650 30, 550 -13, 227, 621

3,719, 253 1,789, 649 37,500

Colonel HAYES. No, sir; that is not double. About $5,800,000 out of the $13,000,000 was obligated for the equipment of facilities such as service clubs, day rooms, libraries, and so forth, that the engineers built, that we had not previously estimated for. Also overtime for civilian personnel was an increased factor not estimated for. General OSBORN. In addition to that increase, we had a larger number of men overseas, and we found, having a larger number of men overseas, that the equipment they needed was somewhat larger in athletic and recreational material than was estimated.

Colonel HAYES. We have had repeated requests from task force commanders overseas in isolated positions for additional equipment for their men and as a result our estimates prepared for athletic and recreation equipment for overseas troops was increased by about $5,900,000. We did not figure on equipment for such requests.

Mr. POWERS. That is what I was trying to find out. You account in those two items for nearly $11,000,000.

Colonel HAYES. Yes, sir. Another $1,500,000 was obligated for radio equipment and books for men overseas.

Mr. POWERS. That is what I have been trying to find out.

SUPPLIES AND MATERIALS

BOOKS AND READING MATERIALS

Mr. SNYDER. Let's turn to the details of the estimate. On page 137 you have a 6%1⁄2-million-dollar project for supplies and materials. Most of it is for books and reading material. What is the allocation

in the current year for continental United States?

General OSBORN. That is approximately $3,500,000. (Discussion off the record.)

Mr. SNYDER. How does the number of men in continental United States during the fiscal year 1944 compare with the current fiscal year? General OSBORN. I think the current fiscal year was higher.

(Discussion off the record.)

Mr. SNYDER. What are you expending on item (d) this year?
General OSBORN. About 21⁄2 million dollars.

ATHLETIC EQUIPMENT FOR ENLISTED MEN IN CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES AND

OVERSEAS

Mr. SNYDER. Turn to the equipment project on page 138, and tell us what you are spending on item (a) this year.

General OSBORN. About 41⁄2 million.

Mr. SNYDER. For how many man-years?

General OSBORN. This year I should think about 5,000,000.

Mr. SNYDER. What are you spending on item (c)?

General OSBORN. This past year it was about $7,000,000.

Mr. SNYDER. You are asking next year for $11,000,000 plus; are you not?

General OSBORN. Yes, sir.

Mr. SNYDER. I wish you would give us some details as to this item. It seems very large, considering that our boys will be very busy fighting.

87353-43-15

General OSBORN. I will be glad to do that. The increase is based almost entirely on the projected increase in strength of troops overseas. The estimate of approximately $11,000,000 is for maintenance of and initial purchase of athletic and recreational equipment for overseas forces.

ATHLETIC EQUIPMENT FOR PRISONERS OF WAR

Mr. SNYDER. Do you think item (b) is justified?

General OSBORN. That is $1 per man-year for prisoners of war. That is a figure arrived at by the Provost Marshal General and put in our budget to provide for athletic and recreational material.

Mr. POWERS. It is the same as you allow for our own men in continental limits of the United States; is it not?

General OSBORN. No; our total expenditures for athletic, recreational, and educational material for our own men comes to about $3 per man-year.

Mr. POWERS. For athletic equipment alone you allow $1 per manyear in continental United States, the same as for prisoners.

General OSBORN. That is for athletic and recreational equipment. Mr. SNYDER. Do you imagine that our boys are being looked after in any such way? Have you any reason to say that?

General OSBORN. I have no reason.

Mr. POWERS. Is there not enough work that you can find for prisoners of war without putting money into athletic equipment for them?

General OSBORN. I do not have charge of prisoners of war. I have not been consulted on their care.

(Discussion off the record.)

RADIO EQUIPMENT FOR OVERSEAS FORCES

Mr. SNYDER. Tell us about item (f), please, on page 138. General OSBORN. That is for radio equipment for the overseas forces. That is a new item, and we did not have but a very small part of that last year. We found that the troops overseas need radios, and they depend on radios for news and information, particularly in isolated posts. We found, for instance, that all through the Aleutians the stations in Alaska did not reach the far Aleutian Islands and the only radio they were hearing was the Japanese radio, broadcasting in English, and they did not get any American news. We began putting up small radio stations, with a radius of just a few miles. We have five stations erected now, and we feel that with nine more going up we will provide radio for all the men in the Aleutians where they can get broadcasts in English. We are providing these stations with about 34 programs a week. It does not cost very much. But the radio renders a very important service.

Mr. POWERS. This money is to build radio stations to broadcast to our own men?

General OSBORN. It is to provide programs for them.

Mr. POWERS. It is not for small sets?

General OSBORN. In part, we have two items for small sets.

Mr. POWERS. How much is for big sets and how much is to establish radio stations.