Senator RUSSELL. In addition to the $9,880,000 of emergency funds that were received, from the various sources, carried over from previous years, can you furnish this committee any figures showing the approximate cost of the upkeep of all of the Civilian Conservation Corps camps that were under the supervision of the Soil Conservation Service?

Mr. COLLIER. The total Army cost, or the Federal expenditures involving the supervisory cost?

Senator RUSSELL. I would like to have the supervisory cost. I imagine the supervisory cost is included in these items you have testified to.

Senator O'MAHONEY. You mean whatever cost comes out of this appropriation for this bureau?

Senator RUSSELL. And also the cost incurred through the expenditure of emergency funds.

Senator O'MAHONEY. You mean the funds expended under the direction of this bureau.

Mr. COLLIER. We can furnish a statement on that.

Senator RUSSELL. At the last hearing on this item last year, it was developed that the cost of the Emergency Conservation Work Erosion camps to December 30, 1935, had amounted to $73,491,685. I should like to have you pick that up at December 30, 1935, and bring it down to date, or as near to date as possible.

Mr. COLLIER. That, of course, includes all of the Army costs, and it would be an estimate on our part.

Senator RUSSELL. How did you secure this statement last year? Mr. COLLIER. That was estimated on their cost of maintaining & camp per year.

Senator RUSSELL. Then just make up another estimate on that. Mr. COLLIER. Yes.

EMERGENCY CONSERVATION WORK EXPENDITURES IN CONNECTION WITH CAMPS UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE SOIL CONSERVATION SERVICE

On page 398 of the Senate Agriculture Department appropriation hearings for 1937, the costs in conjunction with the Emergency Conservation Work camps under the supervision of the Soil Conservation Service, to December 30, 1935, were estimated at $73,491,685, including all War Department costs. For the period January 1, 1936, to June 30, 1936, the additional cost in conjunction with the Emergency Conservation Work camps of the Service is estimated at $37,468,477, including all War Department costs. For the entire fiscal year 1937, the total costs in conjunction with the Emergency Conservation Work camps of the Service, including all War Department costs, are estimated at $65,923,888. For the fiscal year 1938, it is impossible to make even a reasonably accurate estimate inasmuch as the number of camps to be available to the Service for that year has not yet been finally determined.

The number of camps assigned to the Soil Conservation Service by States and camp periods is as follows:

In addition to the costs in conjunction with the Emergency Conservation Work camps paid out of Emergency Conservation Work funds. The Soil Conservation Service will have spent during 1937 $932,250 from regular funds for the salaries of supervisory personnel for Emergency Conservation Work camps not located on regular projects of the Service. Also financed from regular funds was the considerable cost of planning for the work of camps working on regular projects of the Service, which, however, cannot be segregated from other costs involved on such projects, and the overhead costs involved in coordinating giving general direction to all of the camps.

Senator O'MAHONEY. Are persons who are employed on administrative staffs, stationed at projects, carried on the pay roll of the projects, or are they carried on the pay roll of the administrative office?

Mr. COLLIER. They are carried on the pay roll of the projects.

Senator O'MAHONEY. They are carried on the pay roll of the project? Mr. COLLIER. Those stationed locally at the projects.

Senator O'MAHONEY. There are no persons carried on the local project staff who are really working in the regional office? Mr. COLLIER. No.

Mr. MYER. They are not, except in those cases where they are detailed. Occasionally we call upon a man who possesses special technical qualifications. They are sometimes detailed for a short period of time, a temporary detail.

Mr. COLLIER. The work of the project staff is confined to the project and the supervision of the C. C. C. camps in that vicinity.

Senator O'MAHONEY. What authority does a regional office exercise independent of Washington?

Mr. GOODACRE. You mean in conjunction with administrative matters?

Senator O'MAHONEY. You have your principal office in Washington, and you also have these various regional offices.

To what extent are the regional offices independent of Washington, and how far does their independent authority extend?

Mr. GOODACRE. In connection with administrative work they make what are called certain open-market purchases, and up to $50 for each purchase, they can also make certain emergency purchases. They make purchases of certain small equipment, and materials and supplies, up to $1,000. That is their only authority, insofar as procurement is concerned.

Senator TOWNSEND. They make those purchases without advertising for them, do they?

Mr. GOODACRE. No, none of them are made without advertising. That is, they get informal bids on items costing less than $50.

Senator TOWNSEND. What do you mean by informal bids?

Mr. GOODACRE. Up to purchases amounting to $50, they get bids by telephone, but do not issue formal invitations to bid, but for anything over $50, the bid has to be by invitation.

Mr. COLLIER. In addition to their administrative work, they handle the pay rolls, the personnel and accounting records, and so forth, and they have charge, in general, of the technical inspection of work of the projects, and of seeing that the correct standards of work are maintained throughout the region.

Senator O'MAHONEY. Directing it from Washington through the various representative regions.

Senator RUSSELL. I believe you stated it would not be possible to advise the committee as to how much emergency funds were likely to be carried over into the next year?

Mr. COLLIER. Our present knowledge indicates that there will not be any material amount.

Senator RUSSELL. You have allocated them all for expenditure within the current year?

Mr. COLLIER. That is correct.

Senator O'MAHONEY. How much do you have now unexpended? Of course, you have less than 2 months left in the present fiscal year.

Mr. GOODACRE. I could not tell you what the present unobligated balance of emergency funds is.

Senator TOWNSEND. Can you furnish that for the record?

Mr. GOODACRE. They are spread out in all the projects, and in any number of individual allotments, and I do not have the current unobligated balance in mind, but I can obtain that for you.

Senator RUSSELL. Now, in employing ordinary labor on these various projects in these various demonstration areas, in your field operations, where they are compensated out of funds carried in your regular appropriation, do you pay the so-called security wage, or do you pay the same wage required by the Classification Act?

Mr. COLLIER. It is the prevailing local rate of pay in Government bureaus.