Mr. SHERLEY. I was just taking the Ordnance Department as an illustration. You could take The Adjutant General's office, the Surgeon General's office, or any other office. Now, they submitted the number required, and that was done without any supervision?

Mr. SCOFIELD. There was no particular supervision, upon the theory that in this emergency the bureau chief knew the conditions in his bureau better than anybody else.

Mr. SHERLEY. My question is not implying whether it should or should not be, but I am trying to get at the facts.

Mr. SCOFIELD. That is the fact. It has not been supervised with a view to cutting down the number. The conditions are such now that it is pretty difficult to make an estimate that really has the value of an accurate estimate.

INCREASES IN SALARIES.

The CHAIRMAN. The Secretary, in his memorandum about these promotions, states that the Judge Advocate General had rendered an opinion that there were no legal objections to making the appointments as proposed and the consequent promotions. The act of March 4. 1913, reads as follows:

That no part of any money contained herein or hereafter appropriated in lump sum shall be available for the payment of personal services at a rate of compensation in excess of that paid for the same or similar services during the preceding fiscal year, nor shall any person employed at a specific salary be hereafter transferred and hereafter paid from a lump-sum appropriation a rate of compensation greater than such specific salary, and the heads of departments shall cause this provision to be enforced.

How does the Judge Advocate General get around that?

Mr. SCOFIELD. The Judge Advocate General's Office, or the acting Judge Advocate General, considered the proposition in connection with the comptroller's decisions upon the law. He did pass upon the legal effect of this.

The CHAIRMAN. I know what the intention of Congress was. I do not know what the comptroller has decided. Here is an act passed four years ago, and I know what was meant and intended and what abuse it was directed at. Has this question been submitted to the comptroller?

Mr. SCOFIELD. No, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Under the law you are entitled to get his opinion in advance, and he is the only one to give it.

The CHAIRMAN. No; he considered something different. He held that a clerk getting $1,200 a year could be promoted to $1,400 a year when he was on a lump-sum appropriation if the statement was made that the duties to be performed were of a substantially different character.

Mr. SCOFIELD. That is it exactly.

The CHAIRMAN. This provision specifically prohibits the transfer of a person from a specific position or a statutory position to a lumpsum appropriation at a greater compensation than was paid him on the statutory roll.

for?

General, have you a detailed estimate of this force you are asking Gen. MCCAIN. A detailed explanation?

The CHAIRMAN. A detailed statement of the places required.

Gen. MCCAIN. No, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. You made one up, did you not?

Gen. MCCAIN. I made a lump estimate of 550 employees that we needed in addition to those in my office.

The CHAIRMAN. At a cost of how much?

Gen. MCCAIN. We put them in at $550,000, but it was estimated that they would cost about $1,100 apiece, and that would be $575,000. The amount of money put in was put in by the Secretary's office. I made the estimate of the number of employees.

The CHAIRMAN. Without stating the compensation desired?

Gen. MCCAIN. Yes, sir. We put in the number of additional employees needed in our force, and the compensation was put in in the Secretary's office.

The CHAIRMAN. If I understand it, you did not attempt to indicate the character of the clerical services you required, but you estimated that you needed 550 individuals?

Gen. MCCAIN. Yes, sir; and I intended, if I got them, to assign them to different parts of the office as the work required.

The CHAIRMAN. Is the clerical work required of these clerks of a particularly difficult character?

The

Gen. MCCAIN. Yes, sir; we have all sorts of work, and it is all changing. You take, for instance, the question of officers. clerks must keep the status of the officers, the commissions and qualifications of officers, and of candidates for office. They must keep a statement of services, and draft orders, and memorandums of all descriptions for information on military questions. There is such a variety of subjects that come up there that I would not know how to detail to you what we would expect of them. It is changing all the time, but the work of the office requires the very highest clerical capacity.

MONDAY, JULY 16, 1917.

OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL.

STATEMENT OF COL. W. T. WOOD, RETIRED.

TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES.

The CHAIRMAN. What do you ask for, Colonel?

Col. Woop. We have an appropriation of $16,000 and we ask for $12.250 more.

The CHAIRMAN. Why is that asked?

Col. Woop. Because of the increase of work. requiring more clerical help.

This office has been allowed six additional clerks, at an authorized annual pay of $7,000. These clerks are actually employed and we desire to retain them. The deficiency estimate to carry us to June 30, 1918, is based upon the following items:

Pay six additional clerks at the authorized rate...
Increase of pay, old clerks____.

$7,000 1,650

Pay three clerks, at $1,200 each, to audit accounts of American National
Red Cross, this work having recently been assigned to the Inspector
General's Office by the War Department--

3, 600

Total_--_-

12, 250

If the increase in pay of the old clerks, amounting to $1,650, is not approved, then the money required to June 30, 1918, would be:

Pay six additional clerks at the authorized rate.
Three auditing clerks for Red Cross accounts_

Total.

$7,000 3,600

10, 600

In further explanation of the above it is stated that for the pay of all employees of the Inspector General's Office to June 30, 1918, we require:

For the pay of clerks.

Total

$28, 250

For the pay of messengers (there being no increase in the pay or number of messengers) _____

2, 160

30, 410

$16,000
2,160

18, 160

12, 250

There has already been appropriated for clerks.
For messengers.

Total

Leaving the deficiency, as shown above, of__

The CHAIRMAN. You have at present $16,000?

Col. Wood. Yes, sir. That does not include six $1,000 temporary clerks allowed us out of the $900,000.

The CHAIRMAN. You want them continued?

Col. Wood. Yes, sir. We want three more clerks, and we want to make promotions in our own force.

The CHAIRMAN. What promotions do you want to make? How much will that be?

Col. WOOD. The promotions amount to $1,650.

The CHAIRMAN. What are those promotions?

Col. Wood. One clerk from $2,000 to $2,250. He is our chief clerk. Another clerk from $1,600 to $1,800; another clerk from $1.400 to $1,600; another clerk from $1,400 to $1,600; two $1,200 clerks to $1,400, and two $1,000 to $1,200.

The CHAIRMAN. You propose to increase the compensation of everybody in your office?

Col. Wood. No, sir. We are doing that in accordance with a letter which we have from the Secretary of War that it was better to increase the pay of some of our old clerks than to get in a whole lot of

new ones.

The CHAIRMAN. This proposition is to increase the compensation of 11 clerks?

Col. WOOD. We have 18 clerks.

The CHAIRMAN. Congress did not intend to have this money used to promote people. It intended to give this money for additional services.

Col. Wood. We have this letter from the Secretary of War's office. The CHAIRMAN. Is it considered that a person who is now receiving $1,400 and is to be increased to $1,500 comes within the terms of this order?

Col. WOOD. We have lost three of the old clerks.

The CHAIRMAN. How did you lose them?

Col. WOOD. Two of them went to France and one was appointed. a captain quartermaster in the Reserve Corps. We have to promote a few men in that way. That accounts for one man jumping so high-the service he is now going to render.

The CHAIRMAN. You are asking an increase in the compensation of the chief clerk from $2,000 to $2.250?

Col. Wood. We never had a chief clerk before. It is the only bureau in the War Department that has not a chief clerk. The pay of our clerks after this is done will be: Chief clerk, $2,250; two clerks at $1,800 each; three clerks at $1.600 each; three clerks at $1,400 each; four clerks at $1,200 each; and five clerks at $1,000 each. Then there are the three Red Cross men, $1,200 each, $3,600. They ought to be pretty good men.

The CHAIRMAN. In the estimates submitted by the Inspector General for this fiscal year he asked for a chief clerk at $2,000 a year. Now, under this emergency he is asking to increase this man, instead of $200, $420?

Col. WOOD. That is on account of his increased duties. There [exhibiting] is a copy of the estimate we made.

The CHAIRMAN. That is merely because there is more work.
Col. WOOD. More work, and more important work.

The CHAIRMAN. Is this class of employees on the seven-and-onehalf-hour basis?

Col. WOOD. They are right now. They have been working more than that. Our work has not yet commenced. Our work is inspection work. Until the Army is increased it will not increase very much. We are having a lot of investigations to make of complaints about irregularities and frauds at the construction of the cantonments. We have to investigate those.

The CHAIRMAN. That is field investigation largely?

Col. Wood. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. There has been no order issued that the hours of service shall be different for these clerks?

Col. WOOD. No, sir; it only depends on the business of the office. For a while they had to be there from half past eight 8 until 5 o'clock. Just now we have the same hours we had before. We expect to go back to that as soon as the troops come in. The Red Cross investigation next year will take a good many, because it averages about $4,000,000 a year, and next year will probably be $100,000,000. That is all we need this year-three.

The CHAIRMAN. You are proposing to promote every one of your old clerks?

Col. WOOD. I believe that is correct.

The CHAIRMAN. How does that come within the terms of the order of the Secretary?

Col. WOOD. They are all doing more important work, sir.

MONDAY, JULY 16, 1917.

OFFICE OF THE JUDGE ADVOCATE GENERAL.

STATEMENT OF COL. BLANTON WINSHIP.

TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES.

The CHAIRMAN. You are asking for what?

Col. WINSHIP. We are asking for 15 clerks and 2 messengers.
The CHAIRMAN. You have now how many clerks?

Col. WINSHIP. We are asking for 2 clerks of class 3, $3,200-they are $1,600 clerks; 2 clerks of class 2, $2,800; 5 clerks of class 1, $6,000; 6 clerks at $1,000 each, $6,000; and 2 messengers at $1,680. That is a total of $19,680. We already have 21 regular clerks of these same classes.

The CHAIRMAN. You have 21 clerks of those grades?

Col. WINSHIP. Yes, sir. Now, we have already taken on-would you like to know about that?

The CHAIRMAN. The ones you have taken on are part of these additional clerks?

Col. WINSHIP. No, sir; those are regular clerks, and we have asked for 17 of these others. Of those 17 additional clerks we have taken on one at $1,200, 5 at $1,000, and 2 assistant messengers.

The CHAIRMAN. Now, is it the purpose of the Judge Advocate General's office to promote the clerks there?

Col. WINSHIP. No, sir; we had not contemplated that at all, and that has not been done.

The CHAIRMAN. Does your increased work grow out of the draft? Col. WINSHIP. No, sir. The draft work, of course, is handled by the Provost Marshal General. That is a separate and distinct proposition from the Judge Advocate General's office.

The CHAIRMAN. This is different from the Provost Marshal General's office?

Col. WINSHIP. It is not connected with it in any way whatever. It is entirely separate and distinct from that. There is no use speaking of the increased volume of work?

The CHAIRMAN. If you have a statement of that, we will be glad to have it.

Col. WINSHIP. The volume of correspondence within the last three months has been trebled, and the court-martial cases have been doubled, and, of course, they have continued to increase.

MONDAY, JULY 16, 1917.

SIGNAL OFFICE.

STATEMENT OF COL. GEORGE S. GIBBS.

TEMPORARY EMPLOYEES-CLERKS-DRAFTSMEN.

The CHAIRMAN. What are you asking, Colonel?

Col. GIBBS. The Signal Office, due to the increase in the air service particularly, has to be tremendously expanded, and there was in H. R. 5236 a provision for taking on such clerical force as would be needed to take care of the expansion due to the air service, but was stricken out from that bill, which leaves the Signal Office without any provision for expansion in the way of clerical help.

The CHAIRMAN. Have you made an estimate which is included here?

Col. GIBBS. Yes; there is an estimate that was gotten up at the time when it was known there would be a large increase, but when it was not known there would be such a tremendous increase.

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