Mr. SHERLEY. For 12 months that would be $2,400,000?

Admiral HARRIS. Yes, sir..

Mr. SHERLEY. And you have $750,000?

Admiral HARRIS. Yes, sir.

Mr. SHERLEY. Which, added to the $1,500,000, would give you $2,250,000, or something like $150,000 short of your estimated expenditures?

Admiral HARRIS. That was an approximation, sir, and we believed that that would suffice. It is almost impossible to make any close estimate at this time.

The CHAIRMAN. You had, to start with, $4,100,000?

Admiral HARRIS. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. And that would give you altogether $5,600,000? Admiral HARRIS. Yes; $5,660,000.

The CHAIRMAN. And you say you have had expenditures

Admiral HARRIS (interposing). Of $200,000 and $300,000-$300,000 for the expenditures that we estimated on for the last period and this $200,000 additional made $500,000 a month.

CONTINGENT EXPENSES, BUREAU OF YARDS AND DOCKS.

The CHAIRMAN. The next item is "For contingent expenses and minor extensions and improvements of public works at navy yards and stations, fiscal year 1918, $2,700,000.'

Admiral HARRIS. Under the deficiency act of June 15 you appropriated $750.000 for contingent. You will recall that at that time it was difficult to forecast what the expenditures would be. Up to the present time to July-the expenditures have been $723,000, leaving a balance of $100,000. The appropiration in the naval bill was $75,000, and the appropriation in the deficiency act is $750,000, making a total of $825,000; the expenditures to July 1 were $723,000, leaving a balance of $100,000.

The CHAIRMAN. What have you done with that money?

Admiral HARRIS. I can give you the expenditures under that appropriation. At Boston there was an allotment for buildings, shelter for additional transportation facilities-that is, trucks, cranes, and so on $9,000; filling of pond at Squantum, Mass.-that is a Navy air station-$900. At Charleston, shelter for coal winches, building for disinfecting plant, building storage racks, sheet-metal shop shed, shelter for transportation facilities, latrine for workmen, and temporary building in connection with clothing factory, about $60,000. At Guantanamo the total is $22,000; temporary barracks, tanks, signals for range finding, etc. At Guam, $7,000; stockade for prisoners of war. At Key West, $12,000; temporary storage facilities. At Mare Island, $175,000; annex to electrical school, cables to radio station, building for school, building for storage-battery service, another building for electrical school, repair of damage to magazines we had an explosion out there, and that was a rather large item-and temporary storehouse for oil.

The CHAIRMAN. How much was the damage?

Admiral HARRIS. We have allotted $50,000 so far. Narragansett Bay, $4,500, for the extension of the ferry slip. New London, $4,000. We are establishing a submarine base up there and are putting in some temporary buildings and making some examinations for a

water supply. New Orleans, $35,000; gas tanks; dispensary quarters, Burwood, La.; removal of wreck, Santos Amaral-we had to get the bottom of the wreck out in order to get the dry dock over there, and that was a rather large item, $20,000; also protecting fence. New York, $155,000; incinerator; temporary shelter for transportation, Thirty-fifth Street, South Brooklyn: building for section bases, third naval district; shed for stores on city lots. The largest item there is for sheds for storage on city lots, $100,000, one along Clinton Avenue. We have built on city property and roofed over certain streets in the navy yard.

The CHAIRMAN. Opposite the wall?

Admiral HARRIS. Yes; that is right opposite the wall; right opposite the Clinton Avenue Wharf.

The CHAIRMAN. The market property?

Admiral HARRIS. No; this is a new project between the wall and the market property, which we must provide for out of these additional funds that we are asking for.

The CHAIRMAN. Where are these sheds?

Admiral HARRIS. There is one shed along the Clinton Avenue wall, the extension of Clinton Avenue, which has been closed, and the city has permitted us to fence that off, and we are using that entire property in and around the Wallabout Basin. Then we have sheds between the water front and the navy-yard gate, and the streets in the navy yard were wide enough to permit of the erection of temporary storehouses, which are now full of stores.

The CHAIRMAN. What is that big concrete structure that you are erecting there?

Admiral HARRIS. That is on Flushing Avenue on the site of the parade grounds of the Marine barracks.

The CHAIRMAN. What is it?

Admiral HARRIS. That is a storehouse, and it is to have a capacity of about 800,000 square feet of storage and is to take the place of certain other buildings in the yard which will have to be removed in order to permit of the placing of new shipways and steel store yard. The CHAIRMAN. Is that to be a high building?

Admiral HARRIS. Yes; 11 stories. We have included that in this. although it is to be a permanent building.

The CHAIRMAN. That is on the marine barracks parade ground? Admiral HARRIS. Yes, sir. Everything we are doing under contingent is just temporary, and we are not providing for any perma. nent storage buildings of that sort.

The CHAIRMAN. You are putting up some structures in the city park, are you not?

Admiral HARRIS. We will come to that later; that is one of the receiving camps.

The CHAIRMAN. That does not come out of this?

Admiral HARRIS. No, sir. At Norfolk the expenditures have been $24,000 building for storage-battery service, storage shed for transportation, portable boilers for training station and mess hall training station. At Pearl Harbor, $18,000-pier for temporary submarine base, storage for lubricating oils for submarines, communication system with rifle range. At Panama, $7,000-storage facilities at Cristobal, repairing dock at Coco Solo, and tools at Coco Solo.

The CHAIRMAN. I thought we gave you three-quarters of a million dollars for a submarine base there?

Admiral HARRIS. Yes; but that was under the canal authorities, and this was in advance of that.

The CHAIRMAN. No; this was not under the canal authorities. Admiral HARRIS. Yes, sir; I think it is in the sundry civil bill. The CHAIRMAN. You mean the construction work?

Admiral HARRIS. Yes; these are temporary facilities for immediate needs, and they have nothing to do with the permanent base. The CHAIRMAN. How much?

Admiral HARRIS. $7,000 is the amount we have spent down there. At Philadelphia the expenditures have been $80,000-temporar extension of foundry, shed for transportation, temporary building for ambulance, building for sterilizing equipment for mattress factory, shelter for gun carriages, and temporary ordnance storehouse. At Puget Sound, $12,000-temporary storage, locker rooms for additional mechanics; that is because of the increase in force. San Francisco, pipe line from Goat Island to Key Route Pier, the reason for that being that we only have one pipe line, and that is about to be removed; it is an old 4-inch line, and there is danger of its failing at any time.

The CHAIRMAN. Is that where your training station is on Goat Island?

Admiral HARRIS. Yes, sir; extension of refrigerating plant, owing to increase in number of men, and signal and observation station, the total at San Francisco being $28,000. At San Diego, $3,000, miscellaneous allotments which have been made there. Washington Navy Yard, $41,000; lean-to at car shop; lean-to at primer-loading shop; locker rooms for additional workmen and additional floors, instrument-repair shop. We are asking for $2,700,000.

The CHAIRMAN. What do you propose to do with that?

OPERATING BASE AT HAMPTON ROADS, REFRIGERATING AND STORAGE PLANT.

Admiral HARRIS. Down in the Hampton Roads district we want to provide a refrigerating plant, a storage plan. There are no facilities that are now sufficient in that vicinity-that is, for frozen meats, vegetables, and perishable supplies. The estimate on that is given at $300,000.

The CHAIRMAN. Where is that-at the new place?

Admiral HARRIS. That would be at the new place.

The CHAIRMAN. I thought we gave you the money for that? Admiral HARRIS. That is for the base itself, but this is something we will require.

The CHAIRMAN. The provision is for a naval operating base and for the equipment of the same, $1,600,000.

Admiral HARRIS. Well, we did not estimate on that in there; we did not expect to take that from that amount of money.

The CHAIRMAN. What are you going to do with that money? Admiral HARRIS. We expect to rebuild the present building, and we have to put in some piers to get to deep water, do some dredging, bulkheading, and filling behind the bulkheads; also construct roads and sewers.

The CHAIRMAN. But you already have roads and sewers?

Admiral HARRIS. But there will be some extensions necessary; we have got certain sewers there, but we have not by any means everything that will be required.

The CHAIRMAN. That was one of the arguments made in favor of the place.

Admiral HARRIS. If you purchased a lot near which there is a trunk-line sewer you have got to connect up that sewer; you have to put in some laterals, and the mere fact that there is a sewer in the street does not means that you are done with your expense for drainage and sewerage.

Mr. GILLETT. How much all together do you ask for that?

Admiral HARRIS. We ask for $2,700,000 for the rest of the year on contingent.

Mr. GILLETT. For Jamestown?

Admiral HARRIS. No, sir.

Mr. GILLETT. I mean, how much do you ask for Jamestown?
Admiral HARRIS. $300,000 for a cold-storage plant.

Mr. GILLETT. I mean everything at Jamestown.

Admiral HARRIS. There is nothing except that, sir; that is the only item under contingent there and it is for a cold-storage plant. If you do not give it, of course we will not put it in there.

The CHAIRMAN. This is a permanent improvement?
Admiral HARRIS. Practically so.

The CHAIRMAN. Why should it come out of your contingent expenses? How do you use money for a purpose like that?

Admiral HARRIS. If you do not give it to us we can not put it there. The CHAIRMAN. I understand that, but this fund could not be used for an item of this character, contingent expenses and minor extensions and improvements. These minor extensions have been pretty well defined, as I understand, and can you put up a big refrigerating plant, costing $300,000, as a minor extension or a minor improvement?

Admiral HARRIS. I think if you authorize it we can, sir, under these conditions.

The CHAIRMAN. Where is the line drawn?

Admiral HARRIS. Under the conditions now existing, if we needed a cold-storage plant and absolutely had to have it we would go ahead and build it, and we would feel quite sure we could justify it afterwards.

Mr. SHERLEY. But what would the auditor say? That is what we I want to find out.

The CHAIRMAN. We do not want to give you the money on the theory that you want to use it for one purpose and then use it for some other purpose, which we are trying to avoid.

Mr. SHERLEY. You are not asking any language enlarging the purposes for which this money can be expended, and what the chairman wants to find out is this: What are the restrictions on a contingent fund of this kind? Manifestly, you could not spend it for anything

Admiral HARRIS (interposing). We would consider that a contingent expense.

Mr. SHERLEY. But you do not have the last say. Has not the auditor made some decisions touching the purposes for which this contingent fund can be used?

Admiral HARRIS. Yes, sir; but I do not think that would be questioned under these conditions.

The CHAIRMAN. I hope it would; I hope the auditor is not going to violate his obligation rigidly to control all expenditures. He is our last hope, and if we are to lose him, I do not know just where we will get.

Admiral HARRIS. We discussed that item, and some of these other items that I am going to mention later on, and decided to lay them before you for your consideration.

The CHAIRMAN. You have always specifically estimated for items of this character, and these minor extensions and improvements were made up of such things as the extension of a railroad track, the putting up of some little shed, or something like that which was unforeseen. Here is what you said it was:

Contingent is used principally by us for unforeseen circumstances, that is, fires, or if a shoal shows up and a vessel grounds, to remove that, or something that is not estimated for.

We ought not to abandon the policy of estimating specifically for these major improvements and have them paid for out of this lump appropriation.

Admiral HARRIS. As I said, there have been unforeseen circumstances and

The CHAIRMAN (interposing). This is not an unforeseen thing; this is something that is being done with deliberation and is of a permanent character. We were told, when you asked for $2,800,000 for this naval operating base at the training station, that that money was going to get this property and fit it up for the immediate use of the Navy. I always had my doubts about it, but did not expect to have them confirmed so quickly.

Admiral HARRIS. It will fit it up for immediate use, and if you do not want to put this there you can put it somewhere else. They should have in that general vicinity cold-storage facilities, and the Army will be confronted with the same conditions on the Newport News side.

The CHAIRMAN. What have they at Norfolk?

Admiral HARRIS. They have very poor facilities, the supply department reports.

The CHAIRMAN. What have they?

Admiral HARRIS. I think they rent storage-I will inquire into that-from some of the breweries; I believe the Anheuser-Busch has some cold storage which they rent.

NOTE. No cold storage is now rented at Norfolk. The only plant of any appreciable size is the Anheuser-Busch cold-storage installation. Two weeks ago an effort was made to rent temporarily a part of this plant for the storage of butter and eggs. Only a small portion of that desired could be obtained. The CHAIRMAN. How many men have they in training there? Admiral HARRIS. Now.

The CHAIRMAN. Ordinarily.

Admiral HARRIS. Ordinarily about 1,400 or 1,500 men; but if we put 10.000 men in training at Hampton Roads and have all of these patrol boats and the enlarged fleet there we have not sufficient facilities in that vicinity for cold storage.

Mr. SHERLEY. Before we get to the merits of your estimate I would like to go back to the question of where the item should be