were reserved, and the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized, in addition to the rules and regulations authorized by the act of June 4, 1897 (30 Stat. 11), and acts supplemental thereto and amendatory thereof, to prescribe and enforce rules and regulations necessary to carry out the purpose of this act, including the right to forbid persons other than forest officers and those authorized by the municipal authorities from entering or otherwise trespassing upon such reservations. Any violation of this act or of regulations issued thereunder shall be punishable as is provided for in section 50 of the act entitled "An act to codify, revise, and amend the penal laws of the United States, approved March 4, 1909" (35 Stat. L., p. 1098), as amended by the act of Congress approved June 25, 1910 (36 Štat. L., p. 857).

The Committee on the Public Lands, while fully appreciating the force of the suggestions above set forth in favor of general legislation on this subject, is of opinion that such a proposal involves broad questions of policy on which wide differences of opinion will probably be developed and on which it may be deemed expedient to hold extended hearings, and is unanimously agreed that relief urgently needed for the public works of a city should not be delayed pending the study and discussion involved in the consideration of the proposed general law.

The city of Boulder is growing rapidly and finds it necessary to considerably improve and enlarge its water system. It has already voted $50,000 of bonds and is anxious to begin the extension of its pipe lines before cold weather sets in.

CONGRESS

255

COMMISSIONED PERSONNEL FOR THE ARMY UNTIL JUNE 30, 1920.

AUGUST 22, 1919.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed.

Mr. KEARNS, from the Committee on Military Affairs, submitted the following

REPORT.

[To accompany S. 2622.]

The Committee on Military Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (S. 2622) to provide necessary commissioned personnel for the Army until June 30, 1920, having considered the same, report thereon with a recommendation that it do pass with the following amendment:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof the following:

That until June 30, 1920, the Secretary of War is authorized and directed to maintain such commissioned personnel in addition to officers of the permanent establishment as in his judgment may be necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Military Establishment: Provided, That adaitional officers so maintained shall be selected, so far as practicable, from officers and enlisted men who served during the emergency and are applicants for appointment in the permanent establishment; Provided further, That after October 30, 1919, the total number of commissioned officers in active service shall at no time exceed 18,000: Provided further, That no officer on the active list shall be aetailed for recruiting service or for duty at schools and colleges, not including schools of the service, where officers on the retired list can be secured who are competent for such duty: And provided further, That 1,200 officers shall be assigned to the Air Service, of whom not less than 85 per centum shall be duly qualified fliers.

A similar bill (H. R. 7878) was reported by the committee on July 31, 1919, and is now on Union Calendar No. 58 of the House. Since the said bill was reported the War Department has prepared a table to show the distribution to be made of the officers authorized by this bill.

The table is as follows:

Memorandum for the director of operations.
Subject: Distribution of the 18,000 officers.

AUGUST 19, 1919.

1. The responsible head of each organization of the Military Establishment was called upon to submit an estimate of the minimum number of officers required to function his organization under the abnormal conditions that will obtain during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1920. The aggregate of these estimates is 24,693.

HR-66-1-vol 2-8

2. To meet the conditions of the S-2622 this number has been scaled down to a total of 18,000 officers tentatively distributed by services as follows:

Officers for duty as inspectors and instructors of the National Guard, recruiting, on duty with colleges and universities, and all other detached duties not otherwise specifically provided for by law, the detached period of which is generally more than one year. Referred to in the national defense act as additional officers and the detached officers' list.............

Total....

1, 200 3, 314

292

270

113

443

123

2 149

68

22

485

2192

2 145

3 44

2

285

16

1,081

18,000 Owing to changing conditions it is not possible to estimate accurately the maximum strain in any one of these organizations. This phase of the situation is also affected by the undeterminable and varying dates when sick and wounded officers who now number over 1,800, many of whom will require long continuous treatment, will become available for duty. Therefore, this distribution among the services can not be made rigid.

1 Band leaders will be temporarily charged to the line organizations to which the band belongs.

2 In addition to officers now provided by additional officers and detached officers' list, no additional authorization for these services would result in a very great drain of the line of the Army, for which no extra officers are provided for by this table.

For care and disposal of property, settlement of claims and settlement of United States claims abroad, principally in Europe

8. The 18,000 officers have been distributed by grades as follows:

HENRY JERVEY,

Major General, United States Army,
Assistant Chief of Staff,
Director of Operations.

Under the law passed by the last Congress the forces to be provided on a peace-time basis were those authorized by the national-defense act of June 3, 1916. That act provides an Army of approximately 225,000 enlisted men and 11,750 officers. It is, therefore, proposed by this legislation to carry in the Military Establishment, in addition to the regular force, about 6,250 temporary officers until June 30, 1920. It is estimated that there will be 29,000 or 30,000 sick and wounded officers and men to be taken care of during the current fiscal year.

The number of officers in the Medical Department authorized by the national-defense act of June 3, 1916, is entirely inadequate to take care of the great number of sick and wounded officers and men who will require medical attention in our various military hospitals during this fiscal year. The legislation proposed in this bill will materially increase the number of those officers and will enable the sick and wounded of our armies to have proper medical attention.

There is no provision in the national-defense act for the Air Service. The national-defense act made the Aviation Service a branch of the Signal Corps. The Army appropriation bill for the fiscal year 1920 maintains until June 30, 1920, the Air Service as a separate and distinct branch of the Army. Twelve hundred officers are provided under this legislation for that service.

No provision in the national-defense act provides for a Tank Corps, or a Motor Transport Corps, or a Chemical Warfare Service. These various branches of our Army were developed during the recent war, and a large number of officers will be required to maintain them until an Army reorganization bill can be passed.

In addition your Committee on Military Affairs has been informed that the value of military stores, supplies, and equipment, including quartermaster, ordnance, and medical stores, is said to be at least $5,000,000,000. It will require a considerable force to protect this valuable material, and naturally officers will be required to command the forces that will be detailed to watch and safeguard this Government property.

In view of all the circumstances, your committee feels that the legislation proposed in the House amendment to the Senate bill ought to pass.

O