Mr. JENSEN. And you are going to spend $50,000 just to convert it to living quarters, with most of the work being on the inside. Mr. THOMPSON. I might add that this vessel initially cost the Army $533,000 to build, and it will be well worth the expense necessary to put it in operation. Mr. JENSEN. It would be interesting to see the specifications of the contract which you give out to these people. Mr. NORRELL. What was the date you got this vessel from the Army Department--the exact day, month, and year? Mr. THOMPSON. I cannot tell you specifically, with certainty; it was between June 5th and June 10th. Mr. NORRELL. Of this year, 1950? Mr. THOMPSON. Yes. Mr. NORRELL. What was the Army doing with the vessel when you acquired it? Mr. THOMPSON. The Army had declared it surplus to their requirements and turned it over to the Seattle Port of Embarkation to dispose of. Mr. NORRELL. Was it in use by anybody? Mr. THOMPSON. No; it was not. Mr. NORRELL. Was it in good shape at that time? Mr. THOMPSON. It was in reasonably good condition. Mr. NORRELL. Have you used it since that time? Mr. THOMPSON. It was used on the June trip to the Pribilof Islands. Mr. NORRELL. You have used it 2 or 3 months, have you? Mr. THOMPSON. It has been operating a little over a month. Mr. NORRELL. You got it in June? Mr. THOMPSON. Yes. After the fire, in June. Mr. NORRELL. Then you have used it about a month? Mr. THOMPSON. Yes. Mr. NORRELL. What would a vessel like that cost at the time you got it? Mr. THOMPSON. I do not know. When it was built 5 years ago it cost the Army $533,532, according to the records of the Army. Mr. NORRELL. When you acquired it did you know repairs should be done to get it in shape? Mr. THOMPSON. We knew that repairs or alterations would have to be made if it were to be put in suitable condition for our use. But this was an emergency situation. We had to have a vessel to transport supplies to the islands for the sealing season. Mr. NORRELL. Did this committee authorize you to acquire a boat last year? Mr. THOMPSON. Yes; the authority was incorporated in the appropriation bill. Mr. NORRELL. How much money did we provide? Mr. THOMPSON. There was no money limitation on the bill; it had to be for replacement of another vessel. Mr. NORRELL. What have you done with the vessel that is being replaced? Mr. THOMPSON. It is laid up, moored at the dock, completely gutted by the fire which occurred in June. Mr. NORRELL. Will you describe just briefly what needs to be done to this vessel, without going into too much detail? Mr. THOMPSON. This vessel has accommodations for a crew of 20 now, and in connection with our proposed operation the number will be 15; that is, officers and crew members. It has no passenger accommodations whatever, except in a small forecastle. We propose to build quarters for officers on the boat deck. We propose to enlarge the forecastle by moving out some refrigerating equipment and making space available for crew quarters, and also to provide for passengers, because we must transport quite a number of natives whom we pick up in the Aleutian Islands during summer operations. We intend to convert the main deck into staterooms. At the present time there are officers quarters, living quarters for the officers, and we do not need accommodations of that size. We do need some rooms for the number of passengers that we transport. Mr. NORRELL. So it is a kind of overhaul rather than strictly a repair job? Mr. THOMPSON. No; it is for alteration rather, than overhaul. Mr. THOMPSON. Yes. BUILDINGS AND FACILITIES DESTROYED BY FIRE ON ST. GEORGE ISLAND, ALASKA Mr. NORRELL. One other thing, while I am on this subject: What was it on the Islands that burned down and which you are trying to get money to replace? Mr. THOMPSON. Well, the fire there on June 8 destroyed the tank house, the barrel house, the salt house, the machine shop, garage, and cement house, all of which were grouped together near the landing on St. George Island. I do not have exact description of the buildings, but I have some pictures here which I think might give you some idea of the size of the structures. These buildings were put up there entirely for the purpose of preparing and curing sealskins. Mr. NORRELL. What kind of tank house is that? Mr. THOMPSON. That is a house in which there are three tanks, probably 12 to 15 feet in diameter, in which the seal skins are placed in sea water for 18 to 20 hours to wash the skins and set the blubber. Mr. NORRELL. You do not mean the kind of tank that is used in war? Mr. THOMPSON. No; they are salt-water tanks. Mr. NORRELL. What do you use the barrel house for? Mr. THOMPSON. After the skins are washed and blubbered, they are salted for about 10 days. Then they are taken out and packed in barrels. There are about 60 skins to the barrel. Mr. NORRELL. What are you doing now? Mr. THOMPSON. We have moved the supplies out of the warehouse and we are using that as the salt house; and we have the regular supplies that went north on this Army vessel outdoors with a canvas covering, and the tank houses are now setting out in the open and the skins are exposed to the weather. Our operations are going on as best we can on a makeshift basis. Mr. NORRELL. Why should we furnish such facilities as this; why should this be done by the United States? In other words, why should we operate these vessels? 69887-50-pt. 1-9 Mr. THOMPSON. The Pribilof Islands operation is a Government operation. We conduct the sealing operations because the seals are protected under a treaty and Canada gets one-fifth of the take. Mr. NORRELL. Could you not get along until next spring and get the replacement in the regular appropriation bill? Mr. THOMPSON. The construction season on the Pribilof Islands is very short, and if we do not get started on this reconstruction as soon as possible we will not have these facilities replaced in time for the 1951 sealing season. Mr. FENTON. How does this vessel compare with the old one? Mr. THOMPSON. In size it is almost 20 feet longer and the cargo capacity is almost 100 tons more which will give us the expansion that we have needed for some time in the operations. Mr. FENTON. This alteration would include radar? Mr. THOMPSON. We had to put in a new radio. Mr. FENTON. The Army had stripped it? Mr. THOMPSON. A lot of equipment had been taken off. Mr. FENTON. That is included in this amount? Mr. THOMPSON. It is included in the $50,000. Mr. FENTON. That pays for everything-the $50,000? Mr. THOMPSON. Yes. We will have to put in new boom equipment on the vessel in order to handle the cargo that we will have to handle but that is included in this estimate. Mr. FENTON. What was the net take on the islands last year? Mr. THOMPSON. We turned in to the Treasury over and above all expenses to the Government about $1,300,000 from Pribilof Islands operations. That is not all at St. George. St. George, where the fire occurred, is smaller than St. Paul. The average take is about 15,000 sealskins on St. George, and in terms of net return to the Government, over and above expenses, the take is worth about $300,000. Mr. FENTON. That is over and above expenses? Mr. GARDNER. Yes. Mr. KIRWAN. If there is nothing else we thank you very much, gentlemen. Mr. THOMPSON. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. SUBCOMMITEE ON CIVIL FUNCTIONS, DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY APPROPRIATIONS COL. W. E. POTTER, ASSISTANT CHIEF OF ENGINEERS FOR CIVIL WORKS G. L. BEARD, CHIEF, PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT DIVISION, CIVIL WORKS MAINTENANCE AND IMPROVEMENT OF EXISTING RIVER AND ICE HARBOR LOCK AND DAM, SNAKE RIVER, WASH. Mr. KERR. Colonel Potter, I notice in the first item here for Ice Harbor you request a supplemental appropriation of $4,000,000. We will be glad to hear you on that as to the justification for it. Colonel POTTER. Ice Harbor is a dam on the Snake River. It is one of four that are authorized-Ice Harbor, Lower Monumental, Little Goose, and Lower Granite. These four dams will take navigation from the Columbia River to Lewiston, Idaho, a distance of 140 miles, and the total estimated navigation benefits are $1,166,000 annually from this project. Beyond that, it provides for power in a rather steep river which has a considerable power potential. It provides for the installation of a powerhouse which will ultimately include five units, each at 65,000 kilowatts. The initial installation will be three units. Power benefits are estimated to be $2,990,000 annually from the 3-unit installation at Ice Harbor. There has been some work done on this project already. We have had $820,000 for planning purposes, and the planning and design have gone ahead to the stage where we can start work immediately. With the $4,000,000 available to continue design and to initiate the work proposed in this supplemental estimate, we will be able to bring the first unit of 65,000 kilowatts into service in August of 1955, the second unit in December of 1955, and the third unit in April of 1956. It may be possible to bring each of these units in, about 8 months soonif everything should work out just right; that is, if the land should be acquired without difficulty, if the generators and water wheels can be produced at the right time, if there are no unusual floods. Our er, goal is to bring the first unit in late in 1954, if possible. However, due to the problems that inevitably arise in the construction of any large project, we feel we should only commit ourselves at this time to bring it in in August of 1955. This is not a speed-up schedule. Under a speed-up schedule they might possibly be brought in sooner, but probably at an increase of cost. The power benefits from this project average $1,000,000 per unit per year. In other words, with the three units proposed at first, the anual power benefits are very close to $3,000,000. Mr. KERR. You mean $3,000,000 of power yearly? Colonel POTTER. Yes, sir; $3,000,000 of power benefits. Mr. RABAUT. One million dollars each? Colonel POTTER. Yes, sir. In addition, the entire system has a potential navigation benefit of $1,166,000 for the Snake River, and the system will provide for better irrigation to 126,000 acres. Mr. TABER. You mean the whole Snake River project? The work we propose to do with this $4,000,000 is the kind of work you find initially in the beginning of any job; $400,000 will be for a continuing contract for manufacturing the turbines. To manufacture turbines and water wheels of this size takes several years, depending on the workload of the people who make them. Two million nine hundred thousand dollars will be used for initiating a continuing contract for the construction of the powerhouse, spillway, and fishways, $300,000 will be used for access roads and project buildings, and $200,000 will go to land acquisition initially, and $200,000 is proposed for initiating a contract for railroad relocations. The total cost of the project is $89,458,000. After this year we will need: for 1952, $23,000,000; for 1953, $26,000,000; for 1954, $22,000,000; and for 1955, $13,638,000. Mr. SCRIVNER. How much in 1952? Colonel POTTER. $23,000,000. Mr. RABAUT. It will be complete by 1955? Colonel POTTER. It will be completed in 1955, with the first power unit to come into service in August 1955 or sooner. The urgency of this project is the power. At the present time, the power system in the Pacific Northwest, which is the location of a great many defense plants and other important national installations, is now operating at close to its peak capacity. Mr. TABER. How close? Tell us about that so that we can get some idea. Colonel POTTER. The curve of its possible production and the curve of what it produces almost overlap. I would like to go into that a little deeper. Mr. RABAUT. You mean even when you get this? Colonel POTTER. Right now, sir. If figures mean anything, the installed peak capacity now of the power plants, both Federal and non-Federal, is about 3,600,000 kilowatts. It is estimated that by 1956 the demand for power will be about 8,000,000 kilowatts. There exists a proposed construction schedule for bringing in power in the Pacific Northwest to keep close to the demand. The dates I have given you to bring power into service at Ice Harbor is the schedule |