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available for the purposes set forth in this act; and such governmental agencies are hereby authorized and directed to furnish such facilities, including personnel, equipment, medical, surgical, and hospital services and supplies as the director may deem necessary and advisable in carrying out the provisions of this act, in addition to such governmental facilities as are hereby made available.

"In order to standardize the character of examination, medical care, treatment. hospitalization, dispensary, and convalescent care, nursing, vocational training, and such other services as may be necessary for beneficiaries under this act, the director shall maintain an inspection service, with authority to examine all facilities and services utilized in carrying out the purpose of this act, and for this purpose, with the approval of the President, may utilize such other Government or private agencies as may be deemed practicable and necessary. The head of the inspection service shall report to the director, in the manner the director may prescribe, the result of each examination of facilities and services and shall recommend to him methods of standardizing such facilities and services.

"When, in the opinion of the director, the facilities and services utilized for the hospitalization, medical care, and treatment for beneficiaries under this act are unsatisfactory, the director shall make arrangements for the further hospitalization, care, and treatment of such beneficiaries by other means.

"In the event that there is not sufficient Government hospital and other facilities for the proper medical care and treatment of beneficiaries under this act, and the director deems it necessary and adviasble to secure additional Government facilities, he may, within the limits of appropriations made for carrying out the provisions of this paragraph, and with the approval of the President, improve or extend existing governmental facilities or acquire additional facilities by purchase or otherwise. Such new property and structures as may be so improved, extended, or acquired shall become part of the permanent equipment of the Veterans' Bureau or of some one of the now existing agencies of the Government, including the War Department, Navy Department, Interior Department, Treasury Department, the National Homes for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, in such a way as will best serve the present emergency, taking into consideration the future services to be rendered the veterans of the World War, including the beneficiaries under this act.

"In the event the Government hospital facilities and other facilities are not thur available or are not sufficient, the director may contract with State, municipal, o, private hospitals for such medical, surgical, and hospital services as may be requireds and such contracts may be made for a period of not exceeding five years and may be for the use of a ward or other hospital unit or on such other basis as may be in the best interest of the beneficiaries under this act.

"The President is hereby authorized, should he deem it necessary and advisable for the proper medical care and treatment of beneficiaries under this act, to transfer to the director the operation, management, and control of specifically designated hospitals now under the jurisdiction of the Public Health Service. Such hospitals, when transferred, shall be used exclusively for beneficiaries under this act and shall be under the operative control of the director for such period of time as the President may prescribe."

There is authority under the above-quoted sections for this bureau to accept the transfer of Camp Sherman and to use it as a training center, as it is plain that the director is empowered to use governmental facilities now under his control, and, if they be insufficient, to acquire additional governmental facilities, and if the last be insufficient he is empowered to acquire facilities by purchase or otherwise, and such new property shall become a part of the permanent equipment of the Veterans' Bureau, etc. The word "facilities" as used in the above sections is sufficient to include a camp suitable for hospital and vocational-training purposes.

3. The next question relates to the right of the director to repair and alter existing buildings at Camp Sherman in order to make them suitable for training purposes.

In the original vocational rehabilitation act of June 27, 1918, section 8, appropriations were made for the general purposes of the act, among which were mentioned "for renting and remodeling buildings and quarters, repairing, maintaining, and equipping same." Additional appropriations were made by acts of July 19, 1919, and November 4, 1919, for carrying out the purposes of the original act. The question arose as to whether or not burial expenses of deceased trainees could be paid from these supplementary appropriations. The comptroller (26 Dec., 536) held that they could not, but that such appropriations could be used for the general purposes of the act, among which were for renting and remodeling buildings and quarters, repairing, maintaining, and equipping same."

The sundry civil bill approved March 4, 1921, made an appropriation “for an additional amount for carrying out the provisions of the act entitled 'An act to provide for the vocational rehabilitation, etc.,' approved June 27, 1918."

Under the decision of the comptroller above mentioned and section 8, act August 9, 1921, any balance of this appropriation may be used for the purpose of repairing and alteration of existing structures at Camp Sherman in order to make them suitable for vocational training.

COST OF DECENTRALIZATION.

Mr. WOOD. I am a little curious to know, and I think the public would like to know, how much this decentralization scheme will have cost the Government when it is completed.

Col. PATTERSON. You mean in starting these new district offices? Mr. WOOD. Yes.

Col. PATTERSON. I am not prepared to answer that question because I am the medical man of the bureau and have not figured administrative costs other than medical. Col. Forbes, Mr. Wood wants to know what you think this decentralization will cost us. Do you want to know what it will cost the Government to do this decentralization?

Mr. Wood. Yes.

Col. PATTERSON. To accomplish it?

Mr. Wood. That is it.

Col. FORBES. We can not give you that until we know how much the freight is going to cost for shipping this material out.

Mr. Wood. I did not know but that you had made an approximate

estimate.

Col. FORBES. We have an approximate estimate on that, but it is not quite complete.

Mr. Wood. If you can, I wish you would put that estimate in the

record.

The CHAIRMAN. That does not give you the right to erect buildings. Col. FORBES. We are not erecting any buildings there.

The CHAIRMAN. Well, I think you are.

Col. FORBES. No, sir; we have not erected a building there.

The CHAIRMAN. That is a matter that must be construed, and we will look into it.

Col. FORBES. There has not been a new building erected on the premises; we are using the community group of buildings already there.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1921.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT.

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY.

STATEMENT OF MR. F. F. WESTON, CHIEF DIVISION OF PRINTING AND STATIONERY.

STATIONERY, ETC.

The CHAIRMAN. You are asking a deficiency appropriation of $40,000 for stationery. Tell us what you want with it, how you arrived at it, and whether it is in addition to the appropriation that is made and placed to the credit of the Public Printer.

Mr. WESTON. This does not relate to printing, but is the appropriation for stationery supplies. That means office supplies. Stationery is really a misnomer. This does not pertain to printing at

all, but it is for all sorts of supplies used by clerks, messengers, and laborers. The appropriation for this fiscal year is $446,500. That is $229,750 less than the appropriation was last year, and it is $180.221 less than the expenditures for stationery last year. I had undertaken at the beginning of the fiscal year to try and make that sum last the year through, and I told the Director of the Bureau of the Budget, in answer to his inquiry if any economies could be made, that I would endeavor to do that. That was in July of this year, but on the 23d of August there occurred a fire in the storeroom of the Division of Printing and Stationery which caused the destruction by fire and water of about $60,000 worth of supplies. After going over the stock and clearing it up and getting it rearranged, and saving out the parts that are usable, we have settled on the sum of $40,000 as the very least amount required to carry us through. There is some doubt about that. It will require good cooperation on the part of the bureau officers in Washington to come out with that amount. The CHAIRMAN. What is the character of supplies purchased? Mr. WESTON. As I say, they comprise a full complement of office supplies used by the employees, from the Secretary down. All of the articles you find on your desk here that are in any way connected with clerical work are stationery supplies.

The CHAIRMAN. You think that $40,000 will be as little as you can get along with?

Mr. WESTON. I am sure that amount will be needed, in view of all the circumstances.

Mr. SISSON. That is $20,000 less than you would have used?

Mr. WESTON. It is $20,000 less than we would have had but for the fire.

The CHAIRMAN. How much stock did you have on hand at the beginning of the fiscal year?

Mr. WESTON. About $160,000 worth, or in that neighborhood.
The CHAIRMAN. That would be added-

Mr. WESTON (interposing). All of it was not in that building. There is storage in two other buildings not affected by the fire. The expenditures for stationery for the first four months of this fiscal year totaled $314,719.23. At that ratio, this amount would not carry us through the year, but we buy supplies at the beginning of the year with the expectation that a good many of them will last the year through. In other words, when we order some supplies, we buy a year's stock.

The CHAIRMAN. What was the character of the material or supplies destroyed?

Mr. WESTON. A great deal of it was paper. There was one carload of blotting paper that had just arrived, that was entirely destroyed by water. It did not burn much. It was put up in bundles and turned moldy instead of drying out. One other principal loss was in twine which was right in the path of the fire. The twine was in bulk, in barrels and boxes.

The CHAIRMAN. Is twine an article that is used up rapidly?

Mr. WESTON. Yes, sir; they use a great deal of twine throughout the department. There were lesser losses on a great number of articles, rubber bands particularly. While these did not actually burn and the water did not affect them, the heat was so great that they were good for nothing. They would break right in two.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1921.

MINTS AND ASSAY OFFICES.

STATEMENT OF MR. RAYMOND T. BAKER, DIRECTOR OF THE MINT.

NEW YORK ASSAY OFFICE WAGES OF WORKMEN AND OTHER EMPLOYEES.

The CHAIRMAN. The item in which you are interested is on page 81: "New York assay office: For wages of workmen and other employees, $25,000." Why do we have that come before us?

Mr. BAKER. Gentlemen, at the time the estimates were prepared in 1920 for the fiscal year 1922 it was not anticipated that certain functions of the New York Subtreasury would be transferred to the assay office upon the closing of the subtreasury. We did not anticipate that the influx of gold would continue. That influx of gold has increased and a great many deposits were received during the fiscal year at the New York assay office. I was before the committee at the time the budget was made up and was very happy to announce that I could probably cut my estimate from $170,000 to $145,000. The New York assay office has increased its volume of business and the number of deposits. This has caused an enormous amount of work necessary not only in receiving this bullion, but weighing, melting, and assaying it, in order that the depositors may not lose interest on their money, and that has necessitated working overtime, at nights, in the assay office. This has all been accomplished with an increase of only 21 additional men in our force.

Mr. BYRNS. Has any of the work of the subtreasury been turned over to you?

Mr. BAKER. Yes, sir. We have taken over payments of the checks and we handle payments in currency, as they did at the subtreasury. Mr. BYRNS. Does that necessitate an increased force?

Mr. BAKER. Yes, sir.

Mr. BYRNS. To what extent?

Mr. BAKER. I think we have probably three or four men.

Mr. WOOD. They have taken the place of how many men who had the same duties in the substreasury?

Mr. BAKER. I can not answer that question, Mr. Wood. Most of the men who were in the subtreasuries we have tried to find places for in other branches of the Government service. We took the men who were absolutely necessary in the work that we were to pursue in the New York assay office. I am adjusting the work in the assay office, having in view saving as much as possible. I closed the refinery down so that the men in the refinery could be utilized in the other departments whereby we could save that additional cost to the Government. It is only to-day that I have reopened the refinery. The CHAIRMAN. Outside of the assay office, the duties performed by the subtreasury were transferred, when the subtreasuries were abolished, to the Federal reserve banks?

Mr. BAKER. Most of them were, but we pay out in the New York assay office certificates. For instance, a man will come in for $3,000,000, and we will pay him in cash right there.

Mr. SISSON. That saves one transaction?

Mr. BAKER. One transaction in the handling. We pay our own depositors right there, whereas heretofore a check used to be issued and that check would be cashed at the subtreasury.

The CHAIRMAN. It costs less to pay them than to issue the check? Mr. BAKER. Yes, sir; and it is less work.

The CHAIRMAN. As a matter of fact, you prepared the checks before and the payments now-there ought to be economy exercised instead of more expense?

Mr. BAKER. That is true, but the majority of this expense is not on account of the subtreasury work.

The CHAIRMAN. On account of the large influx of gold you require so many more men and laborers?

Mr. BAKER. Yes, sir. I came before the committee and asked for a decrease in our appropriation because I thought at that time this influx of gold was not going to keep up, but it not only has kept up but has increased.

The CHAIRMAN. What is the unexpended balance of the $145,200? Mr. BAKER. I have not that figure at hand, but I can supply it. The CHAIRMAN. Please put it in the record.

NOTE. The balance at the close of November will be approximately $70,000.

Mr. BAKER. Yes, sir. I have had to get permission from the Secretary of the Treasury to exceed my apportionment in order to keep up with my work. The assay office made an estimate for $48,000 but $25,000 will be sufficient.

Mr. BYRNS. You propose to do this extra work with the same appropriation which you had last year? Mr. BAKER. Yes, sir.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1921.

INTERNAL REVENUE.

STATEMENTS OF MR. D. H. BLAIR, COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, MR. M. F. WEST, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, AND MR. E. W. CHATTERTON, ASSISTANT DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF THE INCOME TAX UNIT.

EXPENSES OF ASSESSING AND COLLECTING INTERNAL-REVENUE TAXES, ETC.

The CHAIRMAN. For expenses of assessing and collecting the internal-revenue taxes, etc., you are asking a deficiency appropriation of $2,630,000. For 1922 you had an appropriation of $29,600,000 for this purpose. I wish you would tell us why you need more money and what you have done with the money you have had.

COLLECTION OF BACK TAXES.

Mr. BLAIR. Our present organization under the appropriation "Collecting the war revenue," is on a basis of $29,600,000, the amount appropriated. We have been using what money we have, but the work is greatly in arrears and there is a great deal of taxes going to waste, so to speak, and we need additional money to collect them and to bring work current.

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