The CHAIRMAN (interposing). Do you mean, Colonel, that the arrangements which have been made for deliveries are such that there will be uniforms for 1.000.000 men ready by the 1st of September? Col. PIERCE. The arrangements that have been made and will be made. The CHAIRMAN. I mean based upon your present deliveries and on information that anyone now has, is it expected that the uniforms will be furnished the 1st of September? Col. PIERCE. I think so; but that subject is being looked into carefully this morning at the General Munitions Board, where they have their supply committee who are investigating the deliveries and the quantities on hand, and will be able to report, we hope, by to-morrow morning as to the status of the matter. Mr. Rosenwald indicated to me this morning that he thought we would be able to equip the men. Secretary BAKER. That may not be complete equipment and there might be a shortage in some particular items of the uniform. The CHAIRMAN. I am asking these questions because it is common talk that I have happened to hear that conditions are such that the department will not be in position to equip 1,000,000 men by the 1st of December in these camps, and therefore the matter has been broached of deferring the calling of the men to the colors, even after they are drafted. Now, we ought to have accurate information about that, because we are bound to be questioned about it. Secretary BAKER. And yet we can not give you any more accurate information than we have, which is this: That with certain items the deliveries are not as rapid as it was expected they would be. I refer particularly to one item which was brought to my attention especially the item of blankets. Apparently, the weavers of blankets have not been able to weave as many blankets as we expected to be woven. The suggestion has been made, however, that by adopting a blanket nearly like the regulation Army blanket it might be possible to supply the blankets necessary for all the men; and that question is now being investigated by a search of the market to find out whether substitute blankets sufliciently good can be procured, and it is thought they can. Now, that is true of other items of uniform and supply. Mr. SISSON. Mr. Secretary, I do not know the attitude of the other Members of Congress and of this committee, but up until a day or two ago we were proceeding upon the theory it would be utterly impossible before about the 1st of February to get equipment for more than 1,000,000 men, and from the hearings we have had my understanding was that if we could get the equipment necessary in the way of small arms, rifles, etc., for 1,000,000 men by the 1st of February we were meeting the plans and demands of the General Staff. Secretary BAKER. Of course, this explanation is necessary. We are doing vastly more than our most optimistic estimates permitted us or justified us in predicting we would be able to do when we were here before. The industry of the country had responded in a splendid way, and by various devices of one kind and another vastly more has been found possible to be done than we then thought in the slightest degree possible. Mr. SISSON. My question is not even in the nature of a criticism. Secretary BAKER. I perfectly understand that. Mr. SISSON. It may perhaps be in the nature of commendation, because you are doing more, but it is necessary, as suggested by the chairman in his question a moment ago, that we have such accurate and as near as possible detailed information, as to be able to remove any different idea or opinion from the Congress or from the country generally. The CHAIRMAN. These figures are based upon the pay, subsistence, equipment, and maintenance of two million and some odd thousand men? Maj. WELLS. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Was there deducted the money already appropriated on account of the first 1,000,000 men? Maj. WELLS. Yes, sir. The appropriations for those items we asked will carry us up to the 30th of December. The CHAIRMAN. They were to carry you up to the 30th of June, and they were based on an army of 1,000,000 men. Mr. SHERLEY. They carry you to the 1st of January on the basis of 2,000,000 men, and to the first of July on the basis of 1,000,000 men, do they not, roughly? We were figuring on, or we were appropriating for, 1,000,000 men, or, rather, such average of 1,000,000 men as would be in the service up to July 1, 1918. Maj. WELLS. I inquired of the Quartermaster General particularly with reference to that point, and I was assured by him that the appropriations already made for pay and subsistence had been deducted from these estimates for these 2,000,000 men. The CHAIRMAN. We appropriated, upon the estimates of the department, $2,355,000,000 to supply, equip, pay, and subsist an army of 1,000,000 men in the field for a year. We reduced the pay and subsistence by about 333 per cent, but we put back the item of transportation. We reduced pay and subsistence one-third. Now, then, while you are only estimating for this additional million men for a year, you are asking for double the sum provided for the first million men. Are you prepared to explain why the estimates are doubled? Secretary BAKER. Are you figuring on the total? The CHAIRMAN. They are doubled, because you are asking for over $5,000,000,000. Secretary BAKER. But you are dealing with the quartermaster's items for subsistence and pay in one item, but in the $5.000.000,000 you are dealing with a large ordnance program and a lot of other things. The CHAIRMAN. We appropriated for the ordnance estimated in the other bill. Secretary BAKER. But it was not included in the $2,000,000,000. The CHAIRMAN. Yes. You had $609,000,000 for ordnance. Secretary BAKER. This item for ordnance here is over $2,000,000,000. The CHAIRMAN. So far, under the law, you are only authorized to call out 1,500,000 men? Secretary BAKER. I am not sure of that. I think we are authorized to call the Regular Army, the National Guard, and the National Army at war strength, with the necessary recruiting units and reserves to keep them at war strength. The CHAIRMAN. Has the law been construed in that way, or is additional legislation necessary? Secretary BAKER. That is the Judge Advocate General's construction of the law. The CHAIRMAN. So that, under the law as it stands, you can call from time to time the men required to make up this army of 2,033,000 men? Col. PIERCE. Yes, sir. The 2,033,000 enlisted men include line of communication troops and replacement troops. Mr. SISSON. Of course, as to the number of replacement troops. required, that is based upon experience? Col. PIERCE. That is based upon experience in the field. We have to have 90 men behind the line for every 400 men in the line, and even more than that during active operations. We must be ready to shove men right into the line to replace men who are lost. Mr. SISSON. But it is problematical, of course, as to when they will go into the line? Secretary BAKER. It is an estimate. Mr. SISSON. It all depends upon the exigencies of war as to whether a large or small number of extra men must be provided. The CHAIRMAN. The first call issued, Mr. Secretary, was for how many men? Secretary BAKER. Five hundred thousand. The CHAIRMAN. That would bring up the 1,000,000 men? force of the Army to Secretary BAKER. Much more than that. We fill the Regular Army and National Guard to war strength. We have the National Army of 500,000 men, and then 187,000 men were added to that to fill the Regular Army and National Guard to war strength. The CHAIRMAN. What is the strength of the Regular Army and of the National Guard? Secretary BAKER. The Regular Army will be 313,000 men. Secretary BAKER. Now, to that are to be added miscellaneous troops, engineers, forestry troops, dock builders, railroad forces, etc., aggregating 146.000 men. That makes a total of 470,000 men in the Regular Army. The National Guard, leaving out the miscellaneous troops, will be 417,800 men. The CHAIRMAN. Are you in a position to state just what is contemplated? Secretary BAKER. The emergency military legislation directs the President to use the Army, consisting of the Regular Army and National Guard increased to and maintained at war strength, which will be, respectively, with the various miscellaneous special units, for the Regular Army, 470,185 men, and for the National Guard 456,800 men, and the National Army of selected men of 500,000, increased by certain reserves, line of communication troops, etc., to 656,360 men, these also to be maintained at war strength, and for the purpose of maintaining these troops, replacement units for all forces are contemplated by the military legislation, and the number of men necessary to be drawn for such replacement purposes for these three branches of the Army aggregate 450,000 men. The total of these amounts to 2,033,345 men. In addition to these, the emergency military legislation authorizes the President to call out an additional army of 500,000 men by the selective draft, and to maintain it, but these estimates do not include provision for this last-named army of 500,000 men, should the President determine to call it out. TRANSPORTATION OF TROOPS. (See pp. 337, 595.) The CHAIRMAN. Have you included in these estimates transportation for these troops out of the United States? Secretary BAKER. Yes, sir; over-seas transportation is included. The CHAIRMAN. I understood that the Navy was to take care of that, and that, as a part of the arrangement that has been made, the Navy is compelled to bear certain expenses for which you get the money? Secretary BAKER. I do not know whether that item is duplicated. The original plan was to have the transportation of these troops in ships that we chartered The CHAIRMAN (interposing). Some of which you operated? Secretary BAKER. Yes, sir; we operated them all. Now, it is the intention to have the Navy operate the transport system, and whether we have duplicated estimates for coal and crews for those ships, I do not know. The CHAIRMAN. You have gotten money for that purpose already. Secretary BAKER. Who got it? The CHAIRMAN. You got it. Secretary BAKER. We have not enough. The CHAIRMAN. You started off with it. Secretary BAKER. Yes, sir; and we are using it. We are paying the charters of some 12 or 14 ships which we are using to transport troops now, and in addition to that we are using money rapidly in transporting engineer troops and special troops on passenger ships. The CHAIRMAN. The statement made here by the Navy is that certain work of transportation that the Army usually does and that it intended to do and for which we made appropriations has been turned over to the Navy, and they are now asking money to enable them to carry on that work. Secretary BAKER. The Navy has not yet transported a soldier anywhere for the Army. The Navy has not carried a soldier anywhere except Marines that they carried on their own ships. It is intended that the Navy shall operate those ships which are to be troop transports. Those ships up to the present time have been out of repair, and the War Department is paying for their repair, and it is our intention to pay the cost of their operation. If the Navy wants to take the cost of their operation off our shoulders then we ought not to have that estimate, but it ought to go to the Navy. The CHAIRMAN. Of course, appropriation for the cost of the operation of the transports ought not to be made for both departments. Secretary BAKER. No, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Inquiry was made as to whether the War Department was not paying for the subsistence of the men on those ships, for instance. They said no, that the Navy would have to subsist the men that were being transported, and they requested an appropriation for that purpose. Secretary BAKER. Of course, that is inconceivable, Mr. Fitzgerald. When those ships leave the dock they are supplied by the Quartermaster's Department or by the chief at the port of embarkation. They are fully supplied. The CHAIRMAN. Even if the vessels were operated by the Navy the War Department would still subsist the men on the voyage? Secretary BAKER. Surely. Mr. SISSON. Whatever amount would be paid for the soldiers' equipment, rations, and supplies would be taken care of by you? Secretary BAKER. Yes, sir; surely. Mr. SISSON. Then the question of transportation would be a question to be raised between the two departments, and if they have the money for the transportation then the item of transportation could come out of here; but if not, this transportation item would remain? Secretary BAKER. To the extent that we used those particular transports which are manned and officered by the Navy that would be so; but in addition to those transports we are using regular liners for the transportation of a great many special troops. Mr. SISSON. Ships with which the Navy has nothing to do? Secretary BAKER. Ships with which the Navy has nothing whatever to do. CONVERSION OF NATIONAL GUARD CAMPS INTO CANTONMENTS. (See pp. 406-420, 568, 904.) Mr. CANNON. Mr. Secretary, in reference to the 32 cantonments, I understand that you are eliminating some of the wooden cantonments and substituting tents with sufficient capacity to equal the cantonments you eliminate. Now, you stated, as I understood you, that those tents would go with the troops that go across the ocean? Secretary BAKER. I would not like to say that those tents would go, Mr. Cannon. The point is this: The National Guard, instead of going into wooden and more or less permanent cantonments, are going into tent construction. There will be a substantial number of wooden buildings to be constructed at each National Guard cantonment, such as storehouses, mess halls, hospitals, etc. If the canvas is in good enough condition to go abroad, some of it may go with them, and some of it may be kept for the reserve troops. Mr. CANNON. How does the cost of the tent material compare with the cost of the wooden material? Secretary BAKER. If you were going to use it for the same length of time, the wood would cost less, but in view of the fact that the National Guard troops will only be used on this side a fraction of the time which the new army which is to be trained from the raw material will require, it is thought an economy will be effected by putting the National Guard into canvas. Mr. CANNON. And it can be done as rapidly? Is the material in existence now for the canvas tents? Secretary BAKER. Yes; to some extent, and we hope to have enough. At the outset we thought we could not get it at all, but we now think we can. We first thought we would have very great |