Senator HAYDEN. That is, the Beach Patrol? Admiral WAESCHE. The Beach Patrol, Port Security duty, and administrative work on shore. (The letter referred to by Senator Hayden follows:) LETTER FROM THE ACTING SECRETARY OF THE NAVY Hon. CARTER GLASS, Chairman, Committee on Appropriations, United States Senate. MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: It is requested that the language under the appropriation "Salaries, Office of Commandant, United States Coast Guard, 1943," as carried in the Second Supplemental National Defense Appropriation Act, 1943, reported to the House of Representatives, October 8, 1942, be amended as follows: Under the heading "Coast Guard" on page 6, line 9, substitute for the word "fifty-five" the words "one hundred and fifty." It was hoped that the House Appropriations Committee would remove the limitation on the number of enlisted men authorized to be detailed to duty at Coast Guard Headquarters, as recommended by the Navy Department and approved by the Bureau of the Budget, in view of the previous elimination of any such restrictions with respect to enlisted men of the Navy and the Marine Corps; particularly as that committee in its report on title VIII, Naval Appropriation Act, 1942, dated June 3, 1942, prescribed a general policy on page 5 thereof that "The same procedure should obtain in both services, particularly when serving together." The House Committee on Appropriations, for apparently what appeared to it to be good and sufficient reason, continued the peacetime policy of limiting the number of enlisted men that may be detailed to duty at Coast Guard Headquarters to a specified number, and I, of course, am not disposed to question the action of the House committee. However, since the limitation is to be continued during the war, the ceiling prescribed should be such that the imposition of the limitation will not adversely affect the administration of the wartime functions of the Coast Guard, which will certainly occur, under existing conditions, if the number of enlisted men detailed to duty at Coast Guard headquarters is limited to 55. In view of the extreme difficulty in obtaining qualified civil service personnel under existing wartime conditions, it is imperative that some remedial action be taken such as the assignment to Coast Guard Headquarters, at least temporarily, of enlisted personnel in advanced age groups, enlisted men who are not physically fit for combat duty and retired personnel brought back to active duty. This action is necessary to insure the continuity of the service administration required for the efficient conduct of the affairs of the Coast Guard, which is now seriously threatened by the rapid depletion of experienced civil service men between the ages of 21 and 45 at Coast Guard Headquarters through the operation of the Selective Service System, and the excessive turn over among women civil service employees due to advancements, transfers, and resignations, and inability to obtain qualified replacements. The reason for the action of the House Appropriations Committee in continuing this limitation is not stated in its report on the bill, hence is unknown to me, but should it be based on any apprehension that the assignment of enlisted men to Coast Guard Headquarters would have any adverse effect upon the civil service employees, it would be wholly agreeable to insert a proviso in the language of the appropriation to meet any such misgiving. This could be accomplished by substituting in line 9, page 6 of the bill, as reported to the House, for the word "fifty-five" the words "one hundred and fifty, provided that this number shall be continuously reduced as qualified civil service employees become available for the performance of the duties of the enlisted men." Sincerely yours, JAMES FORRESTAL, Acting Secretary of the Navy. TOTAL NUMBER OF MEN IN THE COAST GUARD AND DIVISION AS BETWEEN SEA AND SHORE DUTY Senator HAYDEN. What is the total number of men in the Coast Guard? Admiral WAESCHE. Something over Senator HAYDEN. Then you are asking for a very limited number when you ask for 150 to be subject to this detail. Admiral WAESCHE. Very true, sir. you have, how many are per forming shore duty and how many are performing sea duty? Admiral WAESCHE. At the present time, I think it is approximately half and half. Of course, that includes a large number of men in training on shore who will eventually go to sea. Senator HAYDEN. The increase in the number of men performing shore duty must have been due largely to the beach patrol. Admiral WAESCHE. That is true, the beach patrol and port security. Senator HAYDEN. Are there any further questions? ICE BREAKING IN THE ILLINOIS RIVER Senator OVERTON. I have just one question. How are you gettingalong with the ice breaking in the Illinois River? Admiral WAESCHE. We will be all prepared to keep the Illinois River and connecting waterways open, provided we do not have too heavy a winter. We are building four ice plows, and they will be completed before the ice season sets in. We are building one icebreaking vessel to be fitted with an ice plow and we have made arrangements with the army engineers who are building a river boat at the same plant. We are making arrangements with them to get the use of that boat for a second ice plow, and we have already made arrangements to charter two boats to take the other two plows. Senator OVERTON. They will be built in the immediate vincity? Admiral WAESCHE. They are being built out there in the Middle West, on one of the rivers. Senator OVERTON. By plants that have the time and the opportunity to build them? Admiral WAESCHE. That is true. SUFFICIENT FUNDS PROVIDED IN PRESENT BILL Senator OVERTON. Have you the necessary funds? Admiral WAESCHE. Yes, sir. Senator OVERTON. The appropriation is in this bill? Admirl WAESCHE. Yes, sir. Senator OVERTON. You desire no increase? Admiral WAESCHE. No, sir; we will not need an increase. TREASURY DEPARTMENT OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY STATEMENT OF MR. EDWARD F. BARTELT, COMMISSIONER OF ACCOUNTS, TREASURY DEPARTMENT EXPENSES OF ABSENTEE VOTING BY MEMBERS OF THE LAND AND NAVAL FORCES Senator HAYDEN. There is before the committee a supplemental estimate in Senate Document 264, dated October 7, which provides as follows: OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY "Expenses of absentee voting by members of the land and naval forces, 1943: To enable the Secretary of the Treasury to make payments to States as provided by Public Law 712, approved September 16, 1942, entitled 'An act to provide for a method of voting, in time of war, by members of the land and naval forces absent from the place of their residence,' the checks in payment thereof to be drawn in such form as may be requested by the Secretary of State or other duly authorized official of each State, fiscal year 1943, $1,200,000, of which not to exceed $5,820 may be expended for all salaries and expenses of the Treasury Department in the District of Columbia necessary therefor." This supplemental estimate is necessary to enable the Secretary of the Treasury to make payments to States, pursuant to the provisions of Public Law 712, approved September 16, 1942, entitled "An act to provide for a method of voting, in time of war, by members of the land and naval forces absent from the place of their residence.' The estimate is based on reports filed by the various States, indicating the amounts which will be required to carry out the purposes of the above-mentioned act. Estimates have not as yet been received from all of the States, but preliminary reports thus far received indicate the need for an appropriation of $1,200,000. The foregoing estimate of appropriation is required to meet contingencies which have arisen since the transmission of the Budget for the fiscal year 1943, and approval is recommended. METHOD USED IN ARRIVING AT ESTIMATE How did you arrive at the estimate of $1,200,000? Mr. BARTELT. Mr. Chairman, as soon as this act was passed we sent a night letter to each one of the States, calling attention to the act and requesting it to furnish the Secretary immediately with its estimate of the amount of expenses that it would incur under the act. Under section 10 (a) of this Public Law 712, the estimates submitted by the Secretary of the Treasury must be based upon the estimates of the secretary of state of the various States. Recognizing, however, that they had not yet received copies of the act to know its provisions and also recognizing the time limit, we asked that estimates be submitted on a tentative basis so that we would have something to submit to Congress. Following that we wrote each State a letter, in which we requested a schedule of the various items to be included in the estimate. RESPONSES RECEIVED FROM VARIOUS STATES We have received replies from 44 States; 2 of the States have indicated that they would not need any funds; 42 of them indicated that they would need $904,276. The other 4 States, namely, Louisiana, Mississippi, Michigan, and Rhode Island, we have not heard from. Our estimate of $1,200,000 is predicated upon the figures that the States submitted to us, to which we added an amount to take care of those States from whom we have not received reports. PAYMENTS TO STATES WILL VARY I would like to say, however, that the Treasury does not intend to make the payments necessarily in these amounts. Senator HAYDEN. That is one thing I wanted to ask, whether you had taken the trouble to ascertain whether taking a State where there may be a million votes, with 100,000 absentee voters, as against another State with a million voters and the same 100,000 absentee voters whether the expenses approximately equal each other. Mr. BARTELT. No, sir; they vary widely. VARIATIONS IN COST OF HOLDING ELECTIONS Senator OVERTON. It depends on the size of the ballot. Mr. BARTELT. It depends on a number of factors. As a matter of fact, when this bill was pending in the Congress, we made some studies, trying to prepare for this situation, and we found that there is quite a wide variation in the cost of holding elections, even as between counties in the same State. I have figures here which show just what we have received from the States. I have them classified according to the estimated number of ballots, the money they are asking for, and the unit cost. You may be surprised to learn that they vary from 25 cents a ballot to $5 a ballot. I think the estimate based upon a $5 cost per ballot must be a mistake. But, as I started to say, what we expect to do now is to follow up on this and learn more about the items that are in the estimates. As I say, we do not intend necessarily to pay the States exactly what they estimate. The law requires us to estimate on the basis of the estimates made to us by the States, but what we are going to do now is to follow up and try to get more information. In the case of the State that estimated $5 per ballot, naturally we will communicate with the State for more information. STATES WILL BE PAID FOR AMOUNT OF EXPENSES INCURRED Senator NYE. In final analysis, this is to level it off, and all the States will be dealt with about alike? Mr. BARTELT. Except that you will have to keep this in mind: Under the law we are required to pay to the States the amount of the expense that they incur. If some States are more extravagant than other States, or if some States have items of costs which other States do not have, nevertheless, we will be required to pay each State the amount of its expenses. We can't say, "Well, we are going to pay you so much per ballot." That I do not believe was the intention of the Congress as expressed in the act. Senator OVERTON. That could not be, could it? Because in some States they have more than one ballot, and in some States the ballots are much longer than in other States and the printing bill is more, and the postage is more. Mr. BARTELT. Moreover, in some States they are already set up for this kind of a proposition, whereas in other States they are not. Some states will probably have to buy equipment and things of that kind, and the expense that they incur on account of the purchase of that equipment will probably be in the amount we will be required to pay. Senator HAYDEN. My recollection is that, during the course of the debate on the bill it was stated that a little more than half the States had at the present time absentee-ballot laws. Mr. BARTELT. Yes, sir. Senator HAYDEN. That the remainder did not. Mr. BARTELT. Yes, sir. Senator HAYDEN. Naturally, a State that has up to now made no provision for absentee voting must go to a greater expense than one that has adopted the system. Mr. BARTELT. Yes, sir. ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF COST IN ABSENTEE BALLOTING Senator HAYDEN. What are the essential elements of cost? The Senator from Louisiana has mentioned the cost of paper and the printing of the ballots. What else is there? Mr. BARTELT. Under the law the applications for the ballots must be furnished by the Army and the Navy, but the States will have to prepare the ballots. They will have to have them printed, and then they will have to prepare instructions to the voters. They have to furnish the voters booklets containing instructions. Then they have to have certain envelopes PREPARATION OF INSTRUCTIONS Senator OVERTON. Are those instructions prepared here in Washington? Mr. BARTELT. No, sir. They are prepared by the States. Senator OVERTON. There is no uniformity about the instructions, then? Mr. BARTELT. No; except that which the act itself sets out. For instance, in section 6 of the act there is a provision as to the form of the official war ballot for the general election. The law sets up certain standards, but there is no uniformity with respect to the instructions. Some of them may be in greater detail than others. Then, as I indicated, they will have to have envelopes for the use of the voters. There will be postage. And the law requires also the publishing of lists of applicants for ballots. So, there will be quite a variety of expenses. Senator HAYDEN. That is publication in some local newspaper? Mr. BARTELT. Section 4 of the act reads: SEC. 4. (a) Each secretary of state, upon receipt of post-cards prepared pursuant to section 3, shall, from time to time, prepare for, and cause to be transmitted to each canvassing board or however the appropriate election official of that State may be denominated a statement containing the names and addresses of, and such other information appearing on the post-card as may be appropriate with respect to, the individuals making such requests who are subject to the jurisdiction of such board. (b) There shall be prepared by each canvassing board a statement showing the names and residence addresses as shown on the statement of the secretary of state. Such statement shall separately list such names and addresses according to each election district or precinct. Such statement shall be open to public |