appointed for that purpose, and the particular building in conteinplation will provide 112 rooms which will make it possible, if it were available at this time, to distribute the cadets two in a room.

I might say that the members of the Military Affairs Committee of the House, upon their visit to the academy last spring, were shown a cadet room arranged for three cadets to live in the room, and I think I am correct in saying that they agreed that the conditions were next to impossible. All the rooms in the cadet barracks are distinctly arranged for two cadets. There are two alcoves, each sufficient to provide for one bed, and where three live in a room it is accomplished by lashing one bed as a second story, like a steamer bunk, on top of the other and having one cadet sleep over the other. The necessary arrangement of tables for study occupy practically the rest of the floor space, and the whole scheme is a very bad one from the standpoint of study, and also, in the opinion of the surgeon, from the standpoint of hygiene, so that it is urgently necessary to provide some additional accommodations, and this is merely a step in that direction.

Mr. CANNON. You are asking for half a million dollars to house how many cadets?

Col. STUART. This will provide 112 rooms, which would take care of 224 cadets.

The CHAIRMAN. This matter was presented to the House Committee on Military Affairs, was it not?

Col. STUART. As I remember it, it was, and the report of this board was submitted. What was the further action--a committee of Congress was appointed to look into the subject was it not?

Maj. CARTER. That passed out. Under an act of Congress approved on August 11, 1916, a board of officers was appointed by the War Department to look into the matter of necessary increased accommodations for the increased corps; that is to say, the number of cadetships had been increased to 1.332 as against something over half that number prior to that time. This board of officers made its report to the Congress-that is, to the Military Committee of the House and to the Military Committee of the Senate, through the War Department. The report was to be made prior to the first Monday in December, and it was received by the committees of Congress about that time; at least, it was in the War Department early in November of that year.

The CHAIRMAN. Do you know why they do not follow the recommendations of the board?

Maj. CARTER. That is indefinite. There was a hearing by the superintendent before the committee of the House, and, as I recall now, speaking from memory, one of the committees of Congress inserted in the Military Academy bill a proviso for the appointment of a new board, a committee of Congress, as I remember, to look into that.

Col. STUART. That is my memory.

Maj. CARTER. When the bill was finally passed that was dropped out. The appropriation bill for the current fiscal year does not provide any increased facilities for the increased corps beyond providing for a new laundry-that one item.

Col. STUART. The status of the affair is that Congress has provided for the increased Corps of Cadets, but to date nothing has been done,

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aside from the provision for the new laundry; nothing has been done toward providing any accommodations for this increased number of men. As a matter of fact, a considerable part of that increase has now been accomplished, the men are actually there, and but for the premature graduation of the present first class, due to the war, the conditions would be very much worse at the academy.

Mr. BYRNS. Do I understand that you are not provided to take care of the cadets by putting three in a room?

Col. STUART. As a matter of fact, it will be necessary to have some 80 rooms occupied by three cadets, since these barracks can not be built instantly. There are more than two cadets per room even with the premature graduation of the first class, which gets rid of one whole class. There will still be about 80 rooms that will have to be occupied by three cadets this year, and during the next academic year the condition will be much worse.

Mr. CANNON. What is the size of the room?

Col. STUART. Fifteen by 22 feet. The general arrangement of the room is split by an alcove extending out about 8 feet from the end and the alcove containing the beds. The front part is for the cadet study; light and table are provided there. That part, exclusive of the alcove is about 14 feet by 15 feet.

The CHAIRMAN. What accommodations is it expected will be provided by the $444,000?

Col. STUART. It provides for the construction of a building containing 111 rooms which would provide two in a room for 222. That would bring the total capacity-two in a room-up to 896. If the proposed scheme is to be carried out it will be necessary to construct some one unit of that scheme, and the entire plant includes the construction of a new barracks building which would have the same capacity as the present north barracks. These additional accommodations provide for the construction on the south of the area of the old barracks so there are two domitory units to be provided to take care of the total increase. This is the smaller one of the two.

QUARTERMASTER CORPS GARAGE.

The CHAIRMAN. The next item is "For a Quartermaster Corps garage, $10,000." Please explain that item.

Col. STUART. The proposed barracks building in the item which we have just been discussing occupies the space where there was an old boiler house which used to be a central heating plant for the small group of buildings there. That old house and plant was taken for a Quartermaster's garage for the storage of Quartermaster's vehicles of various kinds. That, as I say, is on the site of the proposed barracks building. If the barracks building is built it will be necessary to destroy the present accommodations for vehicles that exists at that point. This is to provide for similar accommodations elsewhere.

TEMPORARY MESS ACCOMMODATIONS.

The CHAIRMAN. The next item is for "Temporary mess accommodations, $6,500."

Col. STUART. The number of cadets which can be foreseen with certainty will go beyond the capacity of the present messing ar

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rangement before any new construction can be carried out to take care of them. To make it possible to mess the number of cadets that we can foresee it will be necessary to mess, it will be necessary to utilize about one-half of the basement of the present west academic building for dining-room space. This is directly across the road from the mess-hall building and is the only place from which meals could reasonably be served from the present kitchen. It is proposed to arrange part of the basement of the academic building for a temporary dining room to take care of this excess. The cost is the Quartermaster's estimate for making temporary use of the building.

ENLARGING CAMP GROUNDS.

The CHAIRMAN. The next item is "For enlarging camp grounds, $10,000."

Col. STUART. That, again, is necessary to take care of the increased number of cadets. It has been necessary this summer now actually going on to take in what was the old parade ground for the annual encampment and to make temporary provision for a part of the corps on that ground. The camp has been laid out temporarily there, but is without lighting facilities, without draining, without water supply, and without toilet arrangements. So the actual increase in space occupied has necessarily already taken place. The CHAIRMAN. When is the camp established?

Col. STUART. From the 14th of June, usually, until the 28th of August.

The CHAIRMAN. You could not use this money to any advantage this year-that is, for this year's camp?

Col. STUART. The space has been actually occupied temporarily in a manner.

The CHAIRMAN. On the 28th of August they will go back into the barracks?

Col. STUART. Yes, sir; but provision is necessary for a camp for next year.

EIGHT SETS MARRIED OFFICERS' QUARTERS.

The CHAIRMAN. The next item is "For eight sets married officers' quarters, $120,000."

Col. STUART. That, again, is a part of the item estimated by the board which considered the necessary increase in accommodations at the Military Academy and with the enlargement of the corps of cadets it will be necessary to have more instructors; at least under normal conditions it will be. That is a provision for 8 of the 40 sets that were considered by the board.

The CHAIRMAN. What is the character of these quarters?

Col. STUART. These quarters are to be eight sets, to be a single building of the apartment type, both for economy of construction and to economize space, which is very important.

The CHAIRMAN. What accommodations are to be provided in each quarters?

Col. STUART. In these eight sets of married officers' quarters-I have seen the plans, but I can only speak from memory-they provide a dining room, a combination parlor and living room, a small

study, two bedrooms, as I recall, and the necessary bath and toilet facilities. In the attic are the combined servants' quarters for all the eight sets. Each apartment is on a single floor, and has, roughly, that grouping of rooms.

The CHAIRMAN. For an apartment of that moderate size, that is a pretty good average price, exclusive of the ground, $15,000?

Col. STUART. Those estimates are based, as a matter of fact, upon the quarters that have previously been constructed and have cost more than that. That is the estimate of the quartermaster.

The CHAIRMAN. You have a lot of quarters now that nobody can ever fill, I mean that no ordinary family can ever fill; that is, the quarters are entirely too large for the average officer. Is not that true?

Col. STUART. I can not undertake to dispute that some of the quarters that have been built are needlessly large. In comparing them, I was thinking of the quarters on Kinsley Hill. That is, the old set, if you remember, up on the upper level, near the post, a red brick building with a slate roof.

The CHAIRMAN. There is a hill which runs to the south and there are quarters along that road.

Col. STUART. South of the old hospital are some ordinary quarters. Then there is the path which leads up a hill and joins a road. It is a part of that scheme of construction which was carried out. On that line there is a string of about six double sets of quarters. Those are practically identical with the sets of quarters that have been built at other posts like Fort Ethan Allen, Plattsburg, Fort Leavenworth, and one or two others. Those sets are practically identical with the standard sets of quarters at all the other posts, the same character of construction.

Mr. SHERLEY. You have a great number of items, all of them growing out of the same circumstance the enlargement of the attendance at West Point?

Col. STUART. Yes, sir.

Mr. SHERLEY. These matters are not emergency in the war sense at all, but are matters that would properly come before the Committee on Military Affairs dealing with the Military Academy bill, who are necessarily familiar, as we are not, with the whole academy situation. What reason is there why all of these matters proposed, with one or two exceptions, should not be taken up in connection with the regular bill, which could be considered and passed in December or early in January of next year?

Col. STUART. These matters have become an emergency by reason of the urgency of doing something in the matter of getting started with this construction. The cadets are there. The difficulty is that the cadets are there, and the endeavors of the authorities of the Military Academy have not as yet succeeded in getting anything done toward providing for them.

Mr. SHERLEY. Some of the items involve a consideration of the entire building program which has got to be undertaken at the academy in view of the very large increase that has and is going to take place there?

Col. STUART. Yes, sir.

Mr. SHERLEY. It is rather difficult for this committee to undertake to pass any real judgment on segregated items when you have such a big building program unquestionably ahead of you there.

Col. STUART. As I say, I should hate to abandon any position that I might take that would in this discussion serve to expedite the matter in any way, because the situation is urgent.

Mr. SHERLEY. This bill can not be reported for two or three weeks, and it will probably be over a month before it becomes a law. Col. STUART. Yes, sir.

Mr. SHERLEY. We are getting pretty close to the regular session. Col. STUART. Yes, sir. I do not know very much about how matters are handled in Congress, but the endeavor to get anything out of the regular Military Academy bill did not result in anything last year.

The CHAIRMAN. These items are part of a plan that contemplates an expenditure of $3,192,000?

Col. STUART. No, sir; $5,000,000. The first estimate was $3,000,000. The estimate which is now before Congress is $5,354,000.

The CHAIRMAN. There were submitted to Congress at the last session estimates aggregating $500,000 to carry out their plans, with a proviso that all the improvements should not exceed $3,192,000? Col. STUART. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. When did this amendment come in increasing the limit?

Col. STUART. That was accomplished by this board, of which I was a member.

The CHAIRMAN. There must have been a third board, this estimate, a supplemental report, and a third one.

Col. STUART. Yes, sir; one subsequent in which that question was handled, and the report of the preceding board was submitted by this board of which I was a member. There are comments on the report of the board. "After careful study of these estimates the board is of the opinion that they must be revised in several particulars," and the particulars are stated.

The CHAIRMAN. After the Military Academy bill passed the House without this provision in it the superintendent of the academy wrote a letter to the Secretary of War emphasizing his opinion of the importance of these items, and the Secretary of War transmitted that letter to Congress, with the request that the appropriation be made. Still, the two committees of the Senate and House having charge of this matter refused to be moved. Do you know why the committees declined to act?

Maj. CARTER. I think that possibly I can throw a little light on that. The matter came up nearly two years ago in a definite form, and a War Department board was appointed, consisting of several heads in the War Department and the superintendent of the academy. As a result of their deliberations a scheme was planned by which an expenditure of something over $3,000,000 was proposed. No action was received on that proposal. Subsequent to that Congress passed a law directing that a board of officers be appointed to go into this matter and make its report by the 1st of December, 1916. Such a board was appointed and went over the estimates of the old board— everything that we had in connection with the matter-and arrived at the conclusion that it would be necessary to increase the amount