The railroad grant was for agricultural lands only excluded specifically the mineral lands and granted lieu selections for mineral lands, if found. It was plainly the intent of Congress that the railroad company was not to obtain the mineral lands, and it would seem, therefore, that as a matter of fundamental law, the title to these lands does, and should, remain in and for the Government. At the present time when all the world is engaged in a search for oil, I feel that no legitimate effort should be spared to retain the title to these lands where it legitimately and rightfully belongs, that is, in and for the Government. While it is probable that the Attorney General, in view of his opinion in the Southern Pacific case, will feel that no further action can be taken it does seem to me that Congress can and should take some steps to see that the Railroad Land Grant Act is carried out as was originally intended. House Joint Resolution 419 was not enacted and no further action appears to have been taken by the Department of Justice in reference to the litigation referred to or to the naval petroleum reserve lands involved. The Navy Department is still vitally interested in this matter and it would welcome and cooperate in any action that may be instituted to reestablish and clear the Government's title to the mineral lands involved in the case above referred to. As to the areas in naval petroleum reserve no. 1 that were occupied and exploited by Pan American Petroleum Co. and Pan American Petroleum & Transport Co., the Government, pursuant to a joint resolution adopted by the Senate and House of Representatives and approved by the President February 8, 1924 (43 Stat. 5) brought suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California to cancel two contracts for oil storage, two leases, and for an injunction and an accounting. The Supreme Court, in an unanimous decision (273 U. S. 456) sustained the Government's contention. It declared the two contracts null and void, canceled the two leases thereby returning 31,051 acres of land to the control of the Navy Department, and gave judgment for the sum of $13,013,151.76, which was paid into the Treasury of the United States. Suit was also brought by the Government against Pan American Petroleum Co. in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California to cancel three leases, known as the E, G, and I leases covering 661 acres in sections 1 and 2, T. 31 S. R. 24 E. in navel petroleum reserve no. 1, and for an accounting for the value of oil and gas products illegally extracted. The Supreme Court (287 U. S. 612) declined to review the decision of the United States Circuit Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit (55 F. (2d) 753) canceling the E, G, and I leases, returning the land to the control of the Navy Department, and giving judgment for the sum of $9,277,666.17. By compromise agreements arrived at pursuant to Public Resolution No. 6 dated May 3, 1933 (48 Stat. 30) practically all of the principal sum of this judgment has been covered into the Treasury of the United States as follows: May 14, 1935, $5,500,000; retained income tax, $191,214.28; April 14, 1937, $3,000,000; total, $8,691,214.28. Thus it will be seen that with the exception of the section 16 and 36 cases referred to there is no further litigation pending that involves naval petroleum reserve no. 1. Only 429 acres are under lease for the purpose of operating offset wells to prevent drainage and seven and one-half sections or 4,662 acres are owned by the Standard Oil Co. of California. The enactment of the bill S. 1131 would authorize the Secretary of the Navy to proceed with negotiations to acquire a part or all of these seven and one-half sections and thus eliminate the danger of drainage from future operations. о HEARING ON S. 2049 TO AUTHORIZE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, The committee met at 10:30 a. m., Hon. Carl Vinson (chairman) presiding. The CHAIRMAN. Let the committee come to order. The hearing this morning is on Senate bill 2049. The clerk will report the bill and read the report of the Department thereon. (The clerk read the bill and the report of the Department, as follows:) [S. 2049, 75th Cong., 1st sess.] AN ACT To authorize the establishment of a naval air station on San Francisco Bay, California, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Navy is authorized to establish a naval air station on San Francisco Bay, California, which shall be composed of Benton Field as transferred from the War Department to the Navy Department by Executive Order Numbered 7467, dated October 7, 1936, and land heretofore or hereafter acquired by the Navy Department under the provisions of the Act of June 24, 1936 (49 Stat. 1901). SEC. 2. The Secretary of the Navy is further authorized to construct, install, acquire, and equip at said naval air station such buildings and utilities, technical buildings and utilities, landing field and mats, and all such utilities and appurtenances as are necessary for the operation, maintenance, and repair of landplanes and seaplanes, including ammunition storage, fuel and oil storage, and distribution systems therefor, roads, walks, aprons, seaplane ramps, docks, runways, sewer, water, power, station and aerodrome lighting, telephone and signal communications, and other essentials, including the necessary bulkheading, dredging, grading, and filling, the removal and remodeling of existing structures, and installations and buildings and accessories for quartering and subsisting officers and enlisted personnel. SEC. 3. There is authorized to be appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, such sums as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this Act, but not over $14,500,000: Provided, That this authorization shall be in lieu of the authorization for the appropriation of not more than $15,000,000 contained in the Act of June 24, 1936 (49 Stat. 1901): Provided further, That any money heretofore or hereafter appropriated under the authority of said Act shall be available to carry out the purposes of this Act. Passed the Senate April 19, 1937. EDWIN A. HALSEY, Secretary. [No. 227] TO AUTHORIZE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A NAVAL AIR STATION ON SAN FRANCISCO BAY, CALIF., AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES (H. R. 6106). MR. VINSON OF GEORGIA NAVY DEPARTMENT, Washington, March 24, 1937. The SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR MR. SPEAKER: There is transmitted herewith a draft of a proposed bill to authorize the establishment of a naval air station on San Francisco Bay, Calif., and for other purposes. The purpose of the proposed legislation is to authorize the Secretary of the Navy to establish a naval air station on San Francisco Bay, Calif., which shall be composed of Benton Field as transferred from the War Department to the Navy Department by Executive order dated October 7, 1936, and land heretofore or hereafter acquired by the Navy Department under the provisions of the act of June 24, 1936 (49 Stat. 1901); and to further authorize the construction, installation, acquisition, and equipping of buildings and utilities, landing fields and mats, and other utilities and appurtenances necessary for the operation, maintenance, and repair of landplanes and seaplanes. The act of June 24, 1936, authorized the acquisition of certain lands at Alameda, Calif., for use as a naval air station and further authorized the appropriation of not more than $15,000,000 to be expended thereon. Since the enactment of that act the Navy Department has acquired Benton Field. The authorization contained in the act does not authorize the expenditure of any of the $15,000,000 on the Benton Field tract. As the Navy Department desires to develop the two tracts as one project, looking forward to the establishing of one naval air station, it now seeks authority so to do, including authorization for the necessary appropriations. It is to be noted that the authorization for the appropriation of not more than $14,500,000 takes the place of the previous authorization for the expenditure of not more than $15,000,000 which was contained in the act of June 24, 1936, and, accordingly, a net saving of as much as $500,000 may result from the enactment of this legislation. The Navy Department recommends the enactment of the proposed legislation. The proposed legislation is in accord with the program of the President. Sincerely yours, CLAUDE A. SWANSON. The CHAIRMAN. We will hear Admiral Cook at this time. STATEMENT OF REAR ADMIRAL ARTHUR B. COOK, CHIEF, BUREAU OF AERONAUTICS, NAVY DEPARTMENT The CHAIRMAN. Admiral, you are the Chief of the Bureau of Aeronautics. Admiral Cook. Yes, sir. The CHAIRMAN. Before the Admiral begins to testify, for the benefit of the members of the committee who were not on the committee during the last session of Congress, I would like to explain some of the circumstances back of the pending bill. Congress passed the act approved June 24, 1936, authorizing the Government to accept from the city of Alameda a tract of land, and, in addition thereto, so many acres of land, approximately 885 acres, of submerged land, for the purpose of the Navy developing thereon a naval air station. It was the understanding of Congress, and the bill so states, that the property should be delivered to the Government free of any encumbrance. In the enrolling of the bill by the enrolling clerks, the word "encumbrances" was left out, and so at this session of Congress we have corrected that error, and the act now stands just as it was intended to be in the first instance and as it was when it passed the House and Senate, providing that the land should be delivered to the Government free of all encumbrances. Since that time, the War Department has transferred, in compliance with Executive order, to the Navy approximately 200 acres of ground adjacent to the Alameda site, known as Benton Field. Now, this proposed bill is to amend the act of June 24, 1936, so as to make available the sum of money that we had appropriated for the Alameda site to be spent on both pieces of property. That statement is correct, is it not Admiral? Admiral Cook. Yes, sir, except as to acreage details. The total acreage of the Alameda site is 929 acres, of which 95 acres are dry land. The total acreage of the Benton Field site is 1,075, of which 176 acres are dry land. The CHAIRMAN. Admiral, we will be glad to have you make any statement with reference to this matter that you desire to submit. Admiral Cook. With you permission, Mr. Chairman, I will review briefly the naval air station situation on the west coast. With regard to the present lay-out, there are now only two naval air stations on the Pacific coast. Oue is the naval air station at Seattle. This station is effective and valuable strategically, but, because of its great distance from normal peacetime fleet operating areas and its comparatively indifferent weather for training purposes, as well as certain physical limitations, it is not being developed as a major air station capable of providing full service at all times for both patrol planes and carrier land planes in large numbers. It is designed for the normal basing of two patrol plane squadrons and a Naval Reserve unit, with provision for temporary service of additional planes in emergency. The other west coast naval air station is at San Diego. This station. at present takes the entire load of training and basing west coast overhaul of all ship-borne aircraft in the fleet, together with four patrol plane squadrons. The station is very seriously overcrowded, to the point of interference with both the effectiveness and the safety of flight operations. The following aircraft operate from there: When the Yorktown and Enterprise join the fleet within the next year to year and a half, there will be added 156 carrier planes, increasing to 638 the number of planes operating out of San Diego. When the Wasp and more patrol plane squadrons joint the fleet in 2 to 3 years and additional planes are provided for new cruisers, the load on San Diego will increase to at least 741 operating planes unless an additional major west coast naval air station has been provided. The congestion which exists at San Diego at present, due to operating a total of 482 planes during certain periods of the year, not only constitutes a hazard but forces planes to fly as far as 50 miles in order to reach the necessary separate operating areas for bombing, gunnery, and so forth. There are not sufficient hangars for these planes, which results in many of them being kept out in the weather with consequent deterioration. The overhaul facilities at San Diego are totaly inade quate for the necessary overhaul involved, with the result that it is necessary to ferry planes to the east coast for overhaul and back to the west coast on completion. This is naturally an expensive opera tion. When the Yorktown and Enterprise report it will be impossible to operate freely the 638 planes involved. It will be necessary to curtail training, with a resultant very serious loss in military and combat efficiency. The question of housing at San Diego is also very acute, as is indicated by the following figures: The designed capacity of the present barracks is 940 men. The tesigned seating capacity of the present mess hall is 400, so that it requires four seating and over an hour for one meal. There are quartered in the present barracks 2,018 men. There are quartered in a condemned wooden building, 74. There are messed in the present mess hall, 2,167. The total number of men now assigned to San Diego (these figures are exclusive of the Yorktown and Enterprise) is 3,814. It will be seen from the foregoing that even after crowding more than 2,000 men into barracks designed for 940, there still remain nearly 800 men for whom no berthing is available and who are placed on commuted rations and live in the city of San Diego. This expedient is undesirable both from the military and the morale standpoints. When the Yorktown and Enterprise report to the west coast, there will be added nearly 1,000 more men. The 1938 appropriation bill contains an appropriation for the erection of a new barracks at the Naval Air Station, San Diego, with a designed capacity of 842, and for a mess hall with a seating capacity of 1,460. The new barracks and mess hall will serve as an appreciable relief to the situation as it exists at present. They are, however, a cure for the current situation rather than a provision for the future. They cannot help with respect to the additional personnel of the Yorktown, Enterprise, and Wasp squadrons and the new patrol-plane squadrons; and no amount of building provision can reduce overcrowded air conditions. The new naval air station at Alameda is designed to meet these positive and urgent needs. The selection of this area for the new station followed full consideration in the Navy Department of strategic and logistic factors, from both peacetime and wartime viewpoints. It is roughly midway between San Diego and San Francisco, within reasonably close touch with the fleet's normal peacetime operating areas, and excellent as a third point from which the functions of the fleet aviation can be fully exercised in offshore search and attack in wartime. The bill now under consideration is not an authorization for this station. The authorization already exists. The bill merely proposes to take advantage of changed conditions by permitting the Benton Field site, which adjoins the Alameda site, to be included in the development at less cost to the Government and with a much better resultant air station. The original Alameda site consisted of approximately 929 acres, which was offered to the Navy by the city of Alameda at a cost of $1, and which was authorized to be accepted for the Government by Act No. 780, passed by the Congress and approved by the President on |