Senator OVERTON. So you have to be careful in selecting your locations. You cannot select the very costly locations? General ROBINS. That is very true, sir. Senator ADAMS. All right. There is nothing else you want to suggest? Major HARDIN. No, sir. STAGING FIELDS IN ALASKA General ROBINS. There is only one other thing that I could testify on, Senator, in this $98,000,000 for bases. We went into the $94,000,000 for the Atlantic island bases. There is four and a half million dollars, I think, in there for Pacific bases-that is, bases in Alaska, which I testified on before the House committee, and you will find the testimony in the House hearings. Senator ADAMS. What are those bases? General ROBINS. They are staging fields for the Air Corps at Annette Island and at the mouth of the Yakutat River in Alaska. These two places are at the third point between Seattle and Fairbanks. They are 600 miles apart. It is about 600 miles from Seattle to Annette Island. Senator ADAMS. Are they inland bases? General ROBINS. They are on the coast. Annette Island is just south of Ketchikan, and the Yakutat field is about 600 miles farther up the coast, so that the planes can stage about 600 miles-600 miles from Seattle to the first field, and 600 miles to the next, and 600 miles to Fairbanks. Fairbanks is the base that is in the interior. Senator ADAMS. We have some Alaska problems coming up today. General ROBINS. And there is one other little item in there of a fill at Sitka which is to accommodate a garrison that is to be put there to protect the naval air base at that place. Senator ADAMS. Has Sitka a good harbor? BARRACKS AND QUARTERS STATEMENT OF LT. COL. G. T. LEWIS Senator ADAMS. All right, sir; will you give us your statement? Colonel LEWIS. Project No. 5, incandescent lamps-is that the one you have before you? Senator ADAMS. This is the matter of barracks and quarters. There is nothing in the bill on it. Colonel LEWIS. There are three items under this project, sir. They are initial equipment, an item of incandescent lamps amounting to $18,593; an item for purchase and installation of fire apparatus amounting to $2,330,902; and an item for warehouse equipment amounting to $16,505; or a total of $2,366,000. Senator OVERTON. Where is that in the bill? Colonel LEWIS. It is not in the bill. Senator HAYDEN. It is on the supplemental estimate which you have. PURCHASE OF INCANDESCENT LAMPS Col. ALBERT E. BROWN. It is requested added to the bill under the 30,000-pilot program. It is not in the fifth supplemental appropriation act as passed by the House of Representatives. Senator OVERTON. Why were not the incandescent lamps included in the beginning? What were they going to have in lieu of incandescent lamps? Colonel LEWIS. No provision is made for them in the construction itself. Senator OVERTON. No provision is made for lighting the buildings? Colonel LEWIS. No provision is made for the installation of bulbs. Senator HAYDEN. The contractor, in erecting a building, wires it and puts in the sockets; and after he gets through the Government has to buy the bulbs to make the lights work. Senator ADAMS. The general appropriation is not adequate to take care of that? Colonel LEWIS. No, sir. It is a small item, but it is additional. Senator ADAMS. I am wondering where we can draw the line. Col. ALBERT E. BROWN. Mr. Chairman, all these small items provide furnishings, supplies, and equipment for the schools being provided under the additional supplemental estimates under the 30,000pilot training program. The particular item for incandescent lamps is to provide lighting for the buildings, including barracks, mess halls, and so forth, that are being erected. If we do not make provision for such requirements, the funds will have to be met from funds previously appropriated for similar purposes, and we will have to come in later for supplemental appropriations to replace these diverted funds. These estimates are all based upon factors which experience indicates are the amounts necessary to provide the facilities for this program. FIRE APPARATUS Senator ADAMS. What about the fire apparatus? Colonel LEWIS. The item for fire apparatus includes the entire installation of fire trucks, hose, and extinguishers at the stations-the initial installations. Senator ADAMS. Why were they not included in the general appropriation? Colonel LEWIS. They are movable equipment, which is not normally considered part of the construction. It is not necessary to the construction or operation of the building itself. It is a fire-protective feature which is added after the buildings are constructed. Senator OVERTON. Do such items come under the construction contracts? Colonel LEWIS. No, sir. Senator ADAMS. I think we understand the situation. SIGNAL SERVICE OF THE ARMY STATEMENT OF LT. COL. JAMES T. WATSON, JR. Senator ADAMS. You have very large items in some of the other bills, have you not? Colonel WATSON. Yes, sir; relatively large. Senator ADAMS. The amount now requested is in addition! Colonel WATSON. Yes, sir. The funds included in this estimate are to provide for the initial requirements of the expanded pilot and technicians' training program. The new schools will not be ready for operation until the next fiscal year; therefore, as this is a supplemental fiscal year 1941 estimate, nothing has been included herein for maintenance. Of the $3,093,000 requested in this estimate, 99 percent is for equipment (telephone, radio, meteorological, and training). The balance is to provide for training film prints and miscellaneous items. BREAK-DOWN OF ESTIMATE The first item is $36,000 to provide prints of selected training film material. These prints are required for instruction of personnel at each of the new Air Corps schools. Approximately $681,200 is required for extension of wire facilities, broken down as follows: $110,200 for teletype equipment for use in connection with C. A. A. weather circuits; $219,000 for intercommunication equipment required in connection with the movement of aircraft at air fields; $247,000 for cable and wire facilities at the new fields; and $105,000 for range lines for control and safety of the range area and transmission of observation data for three new bombing ranges. The next item, totaling $1,038,300, is required for radio equipment, including transmitters, receivers, remote-control facilities, emergency power units, and radio range installations; $402,800 is required to provide meteorological equipment for 38 new stations. I have a breakdown of all of these items. Would you like to go into that? Senator ADAMS. No. Let us not go into the details. Colonel WATSON. This is all for initial equipment. Senator HAYDEN. This program means that we must start with the foundation of buildings, and we must draw plans and specifications, let the contracts, and all that. The materials you are talking about are things which would come in toward the end. Why do they have to be in this bill? Colonel WATSON. The schools will be in operation early in the next fiscal year. These funds are required to provide initial equipment which should be on hand prior to that time. As has been stated, this estimate provides only for initial equipment. Maintenance will have to be covered later. Senator HAYDEN. Is this under the 30,000-pilot program? Senator HAYDEN. My understanding is that we are now on a 7,000 basis, and that we are soon to go to 12,000, but that we shall not reach the 30,000-pilot basis until more than a year from now. Under those circumstances I do not quite understand why we have to have the fire extinguishers now, when the buildings have not even yet been built. Col. ALBERT E. BROWN. May I answer that question? IF FUNDS ARE PROVIDED NOW FIRST STUDENTS WILL ENTER IN AUGUST AND OCTOBER Colonel BROWN. As soon as funds become available, construction of the 36 flying schools and the two technical schools will com mence. It is anticipated that the technical schools will take their first students in August, and the flying schools will take their first students in October. In order to provide the light bulbs, fire extinguishers, and furnishings that must go in the buildings, it is necessary for every supply service of the War Department to present estimates for the purchase of those items of equipment which it is their responsibility to provide. The purpose of these estimates is to give to the purchasing agencies necessary funds so that they may go out and make contracts now. PURCHASE OF INCANDESCENT LAMPS Senator ADAMS. For the Air Corps of the Army you have $888,000,000. In that enormous sum why is there not included money to buy electric light bulbs and office equipment for the buildings? Col. ALBERT E. BROWN. The Air Corps funds are to purchase Air Corps equipment, primarily airplanes. The Quartermaster Corps buys light bulbs out of quartermaster appropriations, and it is buying vast quantities of light bulbs. It may look a little foolish, perhaps, to put a relatively small item in here for light bulbs, because it might be thought that we could absorb it; but experience has indicated that we cannot absorb it. The estimates have been very carefully gone over and we feel that the funds we are now asking will be essential to equip the schools which we hope to start operating early in the fiscal year. The estimates contain no maintenance funds at all. Senator BYRNES. That may be; but I still do not see why you could not absorb some of the items in this very large lump sum which we have made available. Col. ALBERT E. BROWN. It is possible that if some of the small items were taken out they could be absorbed, but the chances are that we should have to come in for deficiencies later in the fiscal year. Senator BYRNES. I imagine you will do that. Col. ALBERT E. BROWN. That may be. We have been running deficiencies in fiscal year 1941 funds with respect to practically all these appropriations. Senator ADAMS. I think we have the situation in mind. If you care to submit a written statement to go into the record, that will save going into the details. (The statement follows:) RECONSTRUCTION OF ALASKA RAILROAD STATEMENT OF OTTO F. OHLSON, GENERAL MANAGER, THE ALASKA RAILROAD Senator ADAMS. All right; will you please state your name and title? Mr. OHLSON. O. F. Ohlson, general manager, The Alaska Railroad. Senator ADAMS. You are interested in The Alaska Railroad item, are you not? Mr. OHLSON. Yes, sir. Senator ADAMS. Very well. Will you tell us your view of it? Senator OVERTON. Is there a controversy about it? If so, what is the issue? Mr. OHLSON. It is the issue of whether this change should be made in the terminus of The Alaska Railroad, as between Seward and the proposed new road from Passage Canal. Senator ADAMS. Do you have a map of it? Mr. OHLSON. Yes, sir. Senator ADAMS. The Alaska Railroad is a Government-owned railroad, is it not? Mr. OHLSON. Yes, sir; Government owned and operated. ESTIMATES PROVIDE FO BUILDING 14 MILES OF NEW LINE OF RAILROAD Senator ADAMS. The proposal made here, as I understand, is to build a new line of railroad? Mr. OHLSON. Yes, sir. Senator ADAMS. That starts where, at the coast? Mr. OHLSON. At Passage Canal. The length of the proposed line will be 14 miles, to connect at mile 66 with the present railroad. PRESENT RAILROAD AT SEWARD TO BE ABANDONED Senator ADAMS. What will become of the present railroad from there down to Seward? Mr. OHLSON. It is proposed to abandon that. Senator ADAMS. To abandon that? Mr. OHLSON. Yes, sir. Senator ADAMS. What is the reason for the proposal? What are the advantages? REASONS FOR ABANDONING OLD LINE TO SEWARD Mr. OHLSON. Because of the economy and greater expediency in service. It will shorten by 52 miles the distance from tidewater to the interior, will decrease operating expenses, and will save approximately $259,000 annually to the War Department, in freight charges, and a saving of $257,400 in railroad operating expense. CHARACTER OF NEW HARBOR TERMINUS Senator ADAMS. What is the relative character of the harbor at the terminus you now propose as compared with the existing harbor? |