General MARKHAM. I can best describe that by saying the big flood will require a distribution of about three million cubic second-feet. About a million will be carried within the river banks themselves. About a second million can be taken care of in the levee system, below the bluffs. About a million, being the third million, must be diverted to the west, down into the Atchafalaya. We have three million feet for the big flood, a million inside the banks, a million over the banks, and a million to the west. Senator OVERTON. I wanted to bring out how important it is to go on with this work. General MARKHAM. It is undoubtedly very important, sir. Senator OVERTON. And from the standpoint of economy, as well as of safety, it is advisable to proceed with that work as rapidly as possible. General MARKHAM. As fast as the banker can provide the money. FURTHER STATEMENT OF MAJ. GEN. B. D. FOULOIS, CHIEF OF THE AIR CORPS Senator CAREY. General Foulois, you testified about a conference that you attended at the Post Office Department. Was it your understanding when you left that conference that the Army would immediately begin to carry the mail? General FOULOIS. No, sir; I had no such knowledge at that time. Senator CAREY. And you had no such knowledge until you heard of the order? General FOULOIS. No, sir. Senator CAREY. You stated that the Army was prepared to carry the mail. Did you mean it was prepared then, or that it would require some time to prepare? General FOULOIS. I do not think there was any definite discussion as to time, but I figured in the discussions with Mr. Branch that normally we would need some time to redistribute our planes and probably change radio and instruments. There was no specific time set up. Senator CAREY. Did you have in mind any time it would require? General FOULOIS. I estimated roughly a week to 10 days, and so informed Mr. Branch, before leaving. Senator CAREY. What was the time that elapsed between the time the order was issued and you began? General FOULOIS. About 10 to 11 days, including all schedules. Senator CAREY. You spoke of going to the War Department to consult with General Drum, or was that just to advise him of this conference? General FOULOIS. I went to advise him of it and in order to consult with him, if he wanted to discuss it. Senator CAREY. You had no opportunity to consult with him until after the order was issued? General FOULOIS. I consulted with him. I was there when the newspaper men came and announced the order was out. Senator CAREY. You had no opportunity to really consult with either General Drum or General MacArthur? General FOULOIS. Only as stated above. REDUCTION OF OFFICER PERSONNEL FURTHER STATEMENT OF GEN. HUGH A. DRUM, DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF Senator SHEPPARD. I wanted to ask a question about the reduction of the officer personnel by 250 officers. I want to know if it is possible to do that between now and the 30th of June, and what the effect will be on the condition of the Army. Senator COPELAND. Where does that appear in the bill? General DRUM. Page 11, beginning with line 8. Senator SHEPPARD. I wish to ask if that can properly be put into effect by June 30, 1934. General DRUM. I know, speaking the view of the Chief of Staff, as we have discussed this point, that he feels that the reduction cannot be made efficiently and with entire justice in such a short period of time; that at least 3 months more will be needed, and it would be more desirable to have 4 or 5 months in which to accomplish that reduction. The report of the House committee indicates that the reduction should be made by the retirement of officers who have disabilities, and that these disabilities are such that they would not be able to perform full field service. It does not reduce the number of officers in the Army. It permits an equivalent number to be brought in of young men. Senator COPELAND. West Point graduates? General DRUM. It would probably include some who are not West Point graduates. The House committee report mentions graduates of the Air Corps School. It also permits vacancies that exist in the Medical Corps to be filled. The accomplishment of the provisions of the law would require the Surgeon General of the Army to make a study of the physical condition of the officers of the Army, make recommendations as to what officers should be retired under this provision. Those officers would have the legal right to appear before a retiring board and have a hearing. That hearing gives them every right to present their side of the case, and it is a long procedure. To accomplish it by July 1 is impracticable, in the viewpoint of the Chief of Staff, and in my own viewpoint. Does that answer your question, Senator Sheppard? Senator SHEPPARD. Yes. Senator CAREY. Should those officers be retired, if you were given a certain time? General DRUM. It is a question, Senator Carey. Maybe some should and maybe some should not. We have a normal procedure in the Army by which officers who are physically unfit for service shall be retired. Senator CAREY. You retire them, anyway? General DRUM. Yes, sir. That is supposed to be the law. Senator RUSSELL. Do you not have examinations every 6 months? General DRUM. Every year. Senator SHEPPARD. You have a system now to retire officers when they should be retired, according to the standard you have established? General DRUM. Yes, sir. Senator SHEPPARD. In view of that fact, would not this be an injustice to hasten the retirement of that number of officers, after they have rendered faithful service, which would redound to the advantage of younger men who would come in as junior officers? General DRUM. Speaking personally, but not representing the Chief of Staff, my view is that there would be no serious injustice. I think this would probably reach those men who are physically ineffective to the extent that they would be incapacitated for field service. It involves a complicated study of age against activity. Some of us claim that there are now a number of officers of such age in certain grades that they cannot perform their functions. Senator SHEPPARD. But this proposed wholesale retirement of 250 officers cannot be efficiently accomplished by the end of this fiscal year? General DRUM. No, sir. Senator RUSSELL. How much time do you think would be required? General DRUM. Until October, at least. Senator HAYDEN. The only advantage in bringing about the retirement of 250 senior officers is that it would aid the flow of promotions from below. General DRUM. Yes, sir. Senator SHEPPARD. General Drum, what would have been your answer if you had been asked, before the Executive order was issued, if the Army could take over the task of carrying the mail? General DRUM. My personal answer? Senator SHEPPARD. Yes. Senator COPELAND. Is it quite fair to ask the General that question? General DRUM. My answer would have been, sir, that the Army could and would carry the mail even at a loss of personnel; that the Army expects to meet such emergencies. In my own personal viewpoint, there is no more risk in carrying the mail than there is in the ordinary military flying. I feel that if we had had to accomplish any military combat operations under the weather conditions that we have had during the past 3 or 4 weeks, our casualties would have been greater. Senator COPELAND. Gentlemen, we are very much obliged to you. MARCH 12, 1934.. STATEMENT OF LT. COL. ORVEL JOHNSON, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY OF THE R.O.T.C. ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES, AND CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE ON MILITARY TRAINING IN THE SCHOOLS, COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES OF THE AMERICAN COALITION OF PATRIOTIC, CIVIC, AND FRATERNAL SOCIETIES Colonel JOHNSON. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, my name is Orvel Johnson; I am a lieutenant colonel of infantry, of the Officers' Reserve Corps, of the Army of the United States. I am the executive secretary of the R.O.T.C. Association of the United States, and chairman of the committee on Military Training in the Schools, Colleges, and Universities, of the American Coalition of Patriotic, Civic, and Fraternal Societies. These organizations are nonpartisan and nonsectarian; both are composed of civilians. I appear on behalf of them. The American Coalition is composed of 98 affiliated organizations, with a combined membership estimated at approximately 4,000,000 persons, with a special interest in, and a deep concern for our present constitutional form of government, and the perpetuati ue American ideals and institutions which have grown up under its provisions. We do not com etcre you gentlemen, for the purpose of suggesting or discussing legislation for the Military Establishment as that subject is, of course, assigned to another committee of the Senate, nor, do we come to take up matters of an administrative character within the jurisdiction of the War Department. We appear before you to give you the benefit of our study and deliberations; to aid you, if possible, by the presentation of the views of this vast number of thoughtful, patriotic citizens, who are motivated by the earnest desire to serve the best interest of their government, and that alone. We do not assume it is necessary or desirable to discuss the more intricate details of the needs of the Army, or any of its civilian components and training activities for we are fully aware your committee and each of its members are conversant with such matters. Within our membership ranks are to be found representative citizens of practically every walk of life, ranging all the way from the humble toiler to officials high in Government affairs; they represent various political and religious faiths, and yet we come with a united opinion; with a common plea and for a single purpose--that of the preservation of the peace and tranquillity of the Nation, and the life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness of each of its citizens. We most respectfully petition your honorable committee and the Senate of the United States to provide an amount of funds for the Army, National Guard, Organized Reserves, Reserve Officers' Training Corps (R.O.T.C.), citizens' military training camps (C. M.T.C.), and National Rifle Practice, at least equal to such amounts as were provided for the present fiscal year. We are particularly interested in the building up and continuation of mi'itary education in the R.O.T.C. and urge that you provide sufficient funds to continue the training of the present number of such students, without reduction in the number of Regular Army officers and enlisted men now assigned to the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. In support of the special interest in the R.O.T.C., we desire to call to your attention the very important fact that in the future mobilization of the defense forces of the country, the time element has been so greatly reduced as to practically prevent the training of officer personnel, after the declaration of war, especially, for the first phase of mobilization. You are familiar, of course, with the further fact that under the present plans, the needed materials for war would be so rapidly acquired as to make absolutely necessary an increasingly large number of Reserve officers at the outbreak of hostilities. To make effective, and to take advantage of the nearly perfect mobilization plans of the War Department, the training of officer personnel in time of peace is imperative. The time having come when no man, with any degree of certainty, can say we shall have peace among the great world powers for another year, and that our great President may not be forced to rely upon the strength, efficiency, and morale of our Army and Navy before another Congress shall have convened, it is manifestly incumbent upon this Government to maintain a Navy of full treaty strength and an Army without the loss of a single man, below its present numbers, or any reduction in its efficiency through the lack of training facilities or essential equipment. We firmly believe that were you to limit the War Department appropriations for 1935 to the amounts set out in the Budget estimates, the land forces would be greatly reduced and weakened. We also believe to further cut down, or weaken our military establishment, in the face of present world-wide and national conditions, would be to invite disaster. This nation is groaning under burdens resulting from the lack of national preparedness 20 years ago. If unpreparedness constituted a national blunder in 1913, as it certainly did, we suggest to you it would be little less than national suicide under present conditions; at a time when every possible human effort has been put forth to bring about world-wide disarmament without success; at a time when peace treaties are treated as mere "scraps of paper" and practically every peace society in this and other lands is frankly predicting, and expecting, another world war-even more terrible than the last one-in the near future. The United States is the greatest treasure chest in the history of the world with the result it is all but universally hated throughout the world and yet it is forced to assume world leadership, in spite of the fact that in military strength it is far below all world powers and many of the lesser nations. A further reduction in our armed forces, either in men, efficiency, or equipment, at this time, would constitute, we believe, a long step in the wrong direction; a step every enemy of the nation is seeking to bring about. It is the constitutional obligation of all citizens to defend the Nation against all enemies if lawfully called upon so to do, and, it is equally the constitutional obligation of the Government to make every reasonable effort to protect the life and liberty of all its citizens. This is precisely what we would have you do, and we are confident it cannot be done by further weakening the Military Estab lishment. We are certain you have no other thought than the proper defense of the United States against all her enemies, from within or outside her borders. In 1920, the Congress adopted the National Defense Act, which constitutes our first national military policy; a policy commonly referred to as the most economic and democratic ever devised by man, and so it is gentlemen, but are we not year by year, drifting further and further away from that degree of national defense it was designed to afford us? Are our people being allowed to believe they are more secure than they really are? In face of present conditions, we fear such may be the case. Unless the Defense Act is to be fully vitilized it should be promptly amended or repealed for it would be a sad mistake to permit American citizens to lean on a broken crutch. In conclusion, we desire to point out that in any future war our entire population will become involved in the dangers and sufferings heretofore limited to the soldiery alone. Major developments will follow in such rapid succession time will not admit of preparations then, at any price, which can and should be made in advance in peace time-such as the training of a sufficient number of officers. For the courtesy of your patient hearing of our petition, we thank you sincerely. RESERVE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION OF THE UNITED STATES, Hon. ROYAL S. COPELAND, on War Department Appropriations, Washington, D.C. GENTLEMEN: The object of our association is to support and assist in the development and execution of a military policy for the United States which will provide adequate national defense. Our purpose in appearing before your committee is to bring out certain facts bearing on the Organized Reserves, which comprise a part of our national defense forces. The studied and authoritative opinion of a majority of our foremost military experts, of our association, and of patriotic organizations throughout the country, is that our minimum requirements for our land defense forces are in general: (a) A Regular Army of not less than 14,000 officers, and 165,000 enlisted men. (b) A National Guard of 210,000 officers and men, with 2 weeks' annual field training, and 48 armory drills each year. (c) An Officers' Reserve Corps of 120,000 active officers, with 14-day active duty field training for not less than 30,000 of such officers every year. (d) Reserve Officers' Training Corps units in all educational institutions desiring same, sufficient to commission at least 8,000 new Reserve officers annually. (e) Citizens' military training camps for not less than 50,000 trainees annually distributed among Basic Red, White, and Blue courses. (f) Annual national rifle matches and civilian marksmanship activities, fostered by the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice. At the time of the enactment of the National Defense Act, Congress made provision for a Regular Army of 280,000; a National Guard of 490,000; an Officers' Reserve Corps of indefinite strength; periodic replacement of Reserve Officers and the building of a corps of officers by the Reserve Officers' Training Corps; voluntary training in citizenship with basic military education at the Citizens' Military Training Camps; and development of proficiency in the use of the rifle by the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice. The provisions of this act, year by year, lost their intended effectiveness by reductions in appropriations, until today the strengths and activities authorized are but 50 percent of those originally contemplated. No The Budget Estimates for the fiscal year 1935 do not provide for the minimum strengths and training recommended by the Chief of Staff in his 1935 Annual Report to the Secretary of War. No provision is made in the Estimates for an increase of officer and enlisted personnel of the Regular Army: none for an increase in the National Guard, with only 36 armory drills provided for. provision is made to train the 30,000 Reserve Officers recommended funds only being estimated for 12,000 Reserve Officers; while the Reserve Officers' Training Corps estimates will permit but 6,000 Reserve Officers to be commissioned from this source. Provision is made to afford training in the Citizens' Military Training Camps to only 14,000 trainees, while the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice is alloted only sufficient funds to maintain a skeleton organization which precludes the restoration of the Camp Perry National Rifle Matches. |