Mr. GARY. It appears that the annual appropriation for 1950 was $11,300,000.

There was an estimated deficiency of $10,200, making a total of $11,310,200. The estimate for the fiscal year 1951 is $13,868,200.

PURPOSE OF APPROPRIATION

Just what does this appropriation cover?

Mr. CORNWELL. Mr. Trexler will testify on that, Mr. Chairman. Mr. TREXLER. Mr. Chairman, this appropriation is made available for the purchase, repair, installation, storage, and distribution of all supplies and equipment required for the postal service not provided for in other appropriations; for the personal services of employees in the District of Columbia engaged in the filling and packing of requisitions received from the field service for operating supplies, and for the salaries of 17 traveling mechanicians.

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES

Mr. GARY. How many employees are paid from this item?
Mr. TREXLER. There are 78 employees on the field roll.

DEFICIENCY IN 1930

Mr. GARY. For what was the deficiency?

Mr. TREXLER. The deficiency is to cover the provisions of Public Law 428.

Mr. GARY. Can you not absorb this amount of $10,200 for this year out of an appropriation of $11,000,000.

Mr. BURKE. Might I say that is a personnel item. It is true it is only a small part of the total appropriation, but most of this appropriation is for facilities, supplies, other than personnel. I do not think that the percentage would aptly apply to the total appropriation. Mr. STROM. Further than that, Mr. Chairman, there is a limitation in this appropriation for the personnel, which limitation must be increased, even though additional funds are not provided.

Mr. GARY. I think it has already been increased. I do not see how Congress can pass laws increasing salaries and not expect the departments to pay them. That is something over which the departments have no control.

INCREASE IN 1951

Mr. GARY. Why are you asking for an increase for 1951 over 1950? Mr. TREXLER. The increase covers $1,750 for a net increase in authorized positions, $4,150 for the cost of automatic promotions; $850 for increase in overtime and holiday pay; $50 for increase in terminalleave payments; $5,500 for increase in travel; $14,700 for increase in contractual services.

Mr. GARY. What does that cover?

Mr. TREXLER. That covers all repairs to equipment which are made outside the department on a contract basis.

Mr. GARY. What equipment do you have?

Mr. TREXLER. Typewriters, adding machines; anything we have to have repaired.

Mr. GARY. You do not handle the automotive equipment; do you? Mr. TREXLER. Not in this item; no, sir.

There is an increase in supplies and materials of $103,500.

Mr. GARY. What is that due to? Is it because of increase in cost? Mr. TREXLER. Increase in business mainly.

Mr. GARY. In the volume of business?

Mr. TREXLER. Yes, sir.

The cost of new equipment, which is nonrecurring, is $8,798,000, from which we must subtract $6,375,300, which was the cost of the similar equipment in 1949, making a net increase of $2,422,700, and an additional $5,000 for Public Law 428 for the entire fiscal year 1951.

NEW EQUIPMENT FOR 1951

Mr. GARY. What kind of new equipment are you putting in? Mr. TREXLER. Mr. Chairman, during the war, and for several years after the war, we were seriously handicapped. We were a nondefense agency during the war and, as you understand, there were many, many items of equipment that we could not purchase, although we could have made very good use of it in the postal service.

We had to defer purchasing those items. After the war was ended we attempted, or started, to buy those items of equipment. It took us several years to catch up with the backlog because the prices had increased so tremendously that we had a hard time meeting competition from the commercial world.

Some of the items of equipment were not being manufactured for a couple of years, so it is just during the last 2 years that we have been able to get on a firm basis, as far as purchasing for installation in the postal service the necessary equipment, is concerned.

Mr. GARY. Can you tell us what the situation is as to mail bags? Mr. TREXLER. That comes under the mail equipment shop appropriation.

Mr. GARY. Then it is not included under this item?

Mr. TREXLER. No, sir.

Mr. GARY. What kind of equipment is covered under this item? Mr. TREXLER. Letter boxes, typewriters, adding machines, canceling machines, all miscellaneous equipment used in a post office. It covers complete installations of equipment, cases and tables, office machines, and experimental equipment.

REPLACEMENT OF LETTER BOXES

Mr. GARY. Concerning the letter boxes, during the war you discontinued use of a lot of letter boxes in Richmond. The postmaster cut down the number of collection points because of the shortage of gasoline.

He took those boxes down to preserve them and stored them in the basement of the post office so that they could be used after the war. Then, later on, you took that equipment and shipped it overseas for the use of the Army.

We had a great deal of difficulty in getting new boxes. Would this item cover the replacement of equipment such as that?

Mr. TREXLER. It does. But I want to make one observation. We did not ship any letter box equipment overseas, Mr. Chairman. That letter box equipment was declared surplus. It was taken off the streets of Richmond and was declared surplus.

I would like to say that we were about 4 years behind in the letter box situation, as of, say, 1946, because we could not purchase any boxes during the war.

The first year after the war we were unable to make a contract. The second year we made a contract for a limited number of boxes. Then the steel strike intervened and it took more than 2 years for the contractor to deliver the boxes that were ordered in early fiscal 1946.

Since that time, the purchasing agent has located several other sources of supply for letter box equipment.

The situation now is well under control with respect to all boxes except the collection boxes. They are manufactured by the contractor who had the first contract I am speaking about. He has notified us that he is going to start delivery against this year's orders of collection boxes sometime next week which indicates he has all his old orders finally cleaned up. The other contractors, who were brought into the picture in the last few years, are making good deliveries.

So, as a general proposition, the letter-box equipment is in very good shape, although there is still room for improvement so far as collection boxes are concerned. We are making every effort to get letter-box equipment to those offices having further need for boxes, as quickly as we can.

We have put some boxes, probably not enough, to meet the postmaster's requirements, but we have put some boxes in every post office having city delivery service.

OBLIGATIONS

Mr. GARY. What do your obligations amount to?
Mr. TREXLER. For the first 6 months, $7,002,507.

BREAK-DOWN OF MAJOR ITEMS OF NEW EQUIPMENT

Mr. CANFIELD. Mr. Trexler, during the current year you have approximately $6,500,000 for new equipment. You are asking for approximately $9,000,000 for new equipment for the new fiscal year, 1951. Inasmuch as that is a rather large item, I think that you should give us, for the record, a break-down, by major items.

Do you have that?

Mr. TREXLER. That is all covered in the 3-year table, Mr. Canfield. It shows by the various items how much we expended for 1949, what our estimate is for 1950, and our estimate for 1951.

Mr. CANFIELD. Is this table in your record?

Mr. TREXLER. Yes, sir; and it covers all the major items.

Mr. CANFIELD. This table is in the justification. It is not in the record.

Mr. Chairman, do you not think this information should be incorporated in the record?

Mr. GARY. I will ask Mr. Strom to insert a table of that kind into the record.

Mr. STROM. We will be glad to do that.

You desire major break-downs; is that right?

Mr. GARY. Yes.

Mr. STROM. We will furnish that.

(The information requested, subsequently furnished, is as follows:)

Mr. CANFIELD. Mr. Trexler, you tell us that 61 percent of the typewriters in use in the postal service on July 1, 1948, were manufactured prior to 1938. How many typewriters do you now have in use?

Mr. TREXLER. As of July 1, 1948, we had 19,729; 11,967 of those are more than 12 years old.

Mr. GARY. Is that for the entire Department?

Mr. TREXLER. That is for the field service. The Department typewriters are not included. That is covered by the Chief Clerk's appropriation.

Mr. CANFIELD. Do you desire to replace one-sixth of these typewriters for the fiscal year 1950?

Mr. TREXLER. Yes, sir.

Mr. CANFIELD. How many do you intend to replace in 1951?

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