66th CONGRESS, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. 44 1st Session. ERECTION OF MEMORIALS AND ENTOMBMENT OF BODIES ARLINGTON MEMORIAL AMPHITHEATER. OCTOBER 1, 1919.-Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed. Mr. GOULD, from the Committee on the Library, submitted the following REPORT. [To accompany H. R. 8032.] The Committee on the Library, to which was referred the bill (H. R. 8032) to provide for the erection of memorials and the entombment of bodies in the Arlington Memorial Amphitheater in Arlington National Cemetery, Va., having considered same, report thereon with amendments, with a recommendation that it pass.. The bill was introduced by the chairman of the Committee on the Library at the request of Hon. Newton D. Baker, Secretary of War, and chairman of the Arlington Memorial Amphitheater Commission. A similar bill in the form introduced was passed by the Senate during the third session of the Sixty-fifth Congress, but failed of passage in the House before the close of the Sixty-fifth Congress. In consideration of the bill the following letter from Secretary of War Baker to Hon. James L. Slayden, then chairman of the Committee on the Library, was read before the committee: Hon. JAMES L. SLAYDEN, Chairman Committee on the Library, House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. JANUARY 27, 1919. MY DEAR MR. SLAYDEN: The Arlington Memorial Amphitheater is approaching completion and will probably be dedicated in the near future. It is a beautiful and stately structure, fitting the purpose for which it was designed, and is undoubtedly one of the handsomest marble buildings in this country. The regard in which this memorial will be held in future years and centuries will be determined largely by the attitude of the present generations. Tablets and inscriptions will be placed in its halls and upon its columns, bodies will be entombed within its walls, thousands who have served in arms their country's cause will be interred about it on the hills of Arlington, and many will have the last rites of burial conducted at their funerals in the mortuary chapel which forms a part of the building. The commission charged with the erection of this memorial is impressed by the thought that it should be safeguarded against encroachment by unworthy objects and that the honor of being memorialized therein should be kept distinctive and supreme. A bill having this object in view has been approved by the commission, with direction that the Congress be requested to enact it into law as promptly as may be prac ticable. The purpose of this measure is to exclude from the building all personal H R-66-1-vol 2—18 memorials except such as may be specifically authorized by Congress. It provides that all applications for such authorizations shall be submitted through a special commission composed of the Secretary of War and the Secretary of the Navy and that no person's name shall be considered for this honor within 10 years after his death. In this manner all such questions will be removed from the embarrassment of political considerations, the future will be protected against the overwrought emotions of the present, and opportunity will be afforded by the perspective of time to form mature judgment and well-considered public opinion in regard to the service of the deceased. The proposed commission will constitute also a repository of records relating to the history of the memorials which may be authorized from time to time and will have complete data relative to others which may be suggested but not approved. In order to insure propriety and harmony of character and design, it is provided that all special memorials when authorized shall be subject to the approval of the proposed commission, which will have the benefit of the advice of the Commission of Fine Arts. Partisan politics and the natural bias of interested parties will thus be prevented from outweighing considerations of the true relative merit of the services of any individual. It is believed that if such a plan in the erection of memorials had been established from the beginning many cases of incongruous and ill-advised legislation authorizing the erection of monuments would have been avoided. Inasmuch as the commission will necessarily incur some expenses of a routine nature not otherwise provided for, the bill authorizes the expenditure of a small amount during the next fiscal year for this purpose. I inclose a draft of the bill, with the request that you introduce it in the House of Representatives. I am sending a similar request to the chairman of the Senate Committee on the Library. I believe it important that this measure should be affirmatively acted upon by Congress at the present session. Very truly, yours, NEWTON D. BAKER, Secretary of War, Chairman Arlington Memorial Amphitheater Commission. Attention is called to the fact that in considering this bill the committee saw advisable to omit that part of section 2 reading as follows: * * * The commission shall keep full and accurate records of all its proceedings and transactions in regard to proposed memorials submitted for its consideration, and is authorized to employ such assistance as may be necessary to enable it to discharge properly the duties imposed upon it. And in section 3: * Applications for such authority shall be submitted in all cases through the commission created by this act. Also all of sections 6 and 7, as follows: SEC. 6. That the commission herein created is authorized to expend the sum of $3,000, or as much thereof as may be necessary to defray its expenses during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1920. SEC. 7. That all acts or parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act are hereby repealed. It is the opinion of the committee that it is not necessary for the Arlington Memorial Amphitheater Commission to employ additional clerical help to carry out the provisions of this bill, and, accordingly, the appropriation requested was eliminated. The committee also decided that it would not be advisable to make all applications for the authority to entomb bodies of deceased members of the Army, Navy, and Marine Corps, and for the erection. of inscriptions, tablets, busts, etc., in this memorial, to be first submitted to the Arlington Memorial Amphitheater Commission for approval, as such authority should remain with Congress. INSPECTION AND REGULATION OF SHIPPING BOARD VESSELS. OCTOBER 1, 1919.-Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed. Mr. GREENE of Massachusetts, from the Committee on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries, submitted the following REPORT. [To accompany S. 633.] The Committee on the Merchant Marine and Fisheries having had under consideration S. 633 report the same to the House with the following amendment with the recommendation that it do pass: In line 6, insert a comma after the words "United States"; and follow this with the words "passed at the first session of the Forty-third Congress"; and insert another comma after the word "Congress. Title 52 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, and acts amendatory thereof, provide for the regulation and inspection of steam vessels used and operated in the waters of the United States. There can be no good reason why the merchant ships of the United States, carrying cargoes and passengers as private ships, should not be subject to the same provisions and regulations as similar ships in private hands, and the sole purpose of this legislation is to make such ships subject to these regulations. It does not change in any way any of the provisions in this title that should be changed, but, if should be done by separate legislation. so, this The Shipping Board and the Secretary of Commerce are strongly in favor of this legislation, as will appear from their letters herewith printed and made a part of this report. For these reasons your committee submit this favorable report and urge the passage of this bill as amended. UNITED STATES SHIPPING BOARD, DUNCAN U. FLETCHER, Chairman Committee on Commerce, Senate Office Building, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR SENATOR: Replying to your recent inquiry relative to the views of the Shipping Board with respect to Senate bill 633, extending the provisions for the regulation of steam vessels to vessels owned or operated by the United States Shipping Board, I beg to say that it is the unanimous opinion of the Shipping Board and the several heads of its operating division that the bill is one which should be passed. The board sees no reason why its steam vessels should be exempt from the rules and regulations of the Steamboat-Inspection Service; on the contrary, it is the belief of the board that the subjection of its vessels to such inspection will make for efficiency of upkeep and management. Inasmuch as the officers and engineers of the vessels are licensed by the SteamboatInspection Service they are much more amenable to the discipline of the inspectors if they realize that they are under the control of the Inspection Service and responsible to them for misconduct or neglect of duty. Very truly, yours, EDWARD N. HURLEY, Chairman. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, MY DEAR SENATOR: Your communication of May 24, inclosing copy of S. 633, extending the provisions for the regulation of steam vessels to vessels owned or operated by the United States Shipping Board, and for other purposes, and requesting me to furnish the committee with such suggestions as I may deem proper touching the merits of the bill and the propriety of its passage, was duly received. The proposed legislation would have the effect of settling the question of the jurisdiction of the United States Steamboat-Inspection Service of this department over vessels owned and operated by the United States Shipping Board, which jurisdiction is at present in doubt, it never having been definitely settled whether they were public vessels of the United States or not. The vessels of the United States Shipping Board have, however, always been inspected and certificated by the United States Steamboat-Inspection Service, but certain features of equipment and requirements have many times been exempted at the request of the United States Shipping Board, such exemptions being noted in the record of inspection. This, as you will see, is not good practice and results in criticism. Personally, I see no reason why these vessels should not be compelled to comply with the requirements of the SteamboatInspection Service, as are any other vessels of the merchant marine. I think the bill should be enacted into law. Yours, very truly, Hon. DUNCAN U. FLETCHER, WILLIAM C. REDFIELD, Secretary. Committee on Commerce, United States Senate, Washington, D. C. O |