eral Staff Corps, at $1,800 per annum. He has been dropped as translator and librarian and transferred to clerk in the same grade. That was due to the fact that the man, on account of infirmity, who hal held the position for a long time, could not fill it any longer, and he was demoted and another man has been performing that work; and there is no increase in pay or numbers.

Mr. BYRNS. Then, in addition to your present force you ask for three watchmen at $720 each, whom you say are for the War College? Col. GRAVES. Yes; watchmen for the building.

Mr. BYRNS. Then, you ask for an increase of salary for one laborer who now draws $660 to $720, and one laborer at $600 to $720, and two assistant messengers who are now drawing $720 to be made messengers at $840 each.

Col. GRAVES. Yes. One of those messengers has been in the service 50 years and the other one is a man who was a soldier in the Indian wars. He has not been in the Government service all the time, but he has a medal of honor for his work, and they are both of them just about through their work, and it seemed to us appropriate that they should have this little increase.

Mr. BYRNS. Colonel, why is it that you need more watchmen at the War College?

Col. GRAVES. The officials at the War College think they should have during the night at least two men there, because there are no troops or anything of that sort around the building, and it is a very large building. They want two men there from the time the force leaves at 4.30 until 8.30 next morning, and for that reason it seemed necessary for proper protection of the building to have this number. of men there.

Mr. BYRNS. You have how many there now?

Col. GRAVES. Three watchmen.

Mr. BYRNS. And this would provide six watchmen for the War College?

Col. GRAVES. Yes, sir.

Mr. STAFFORD. Can you state your present force and the salaries that they are receiving?

Col. GRAVES. One chief clerk, at $2,250; 3 clerks, at $2,000-this does not include the Coast Artillery; 6 clerks, at $1,800; 9 clerks, at $1,600; 12 clerks, at $1,400; 16 clerks, at $1,200; 10 clerks, at $1,000. Mr. STAFFORD. And your employees?

Col. GRAVES. One captain of the watch, at $900 per annum; 6 watchmen, at $720; 1 gardener, at $720; 1 packer, at $840; 1 chief messenger, at $1,000; 3 messengers, at $840 each per annum-this is an increase of two this year; 15 messengers, at $720; 1 laborer, at $720; 1 laborer, at $720; 1 laborer, at $600; 5 charwomen, at $240 each per annum.

Mr. BUCHANAN. Colonel, I would like to ask you relative to these two men you want a promotion for. You say they have been in the employ of the Government for 50 years, one of them, and the other one has not been in the service so very long, but is a veteran of the Indian wars. As I understand you, their days of usefulness are about over.

Col. GRAVES. Well, they are getting pretty old, and one is very deaf, and you naturally feel a certain amount of sympathy for them.

Mr. BUCHANAN. Is not their present salary a pretty good pension, and that is virtually what it is, is it not?

Col. GRAVES. No; I could not say it is a pension, because they are there for duty and do duty.

Mr. BUCHANAN. But they can not do much work and they are getting over $50 a month now, are they not?

Col. GRAVES. Yes, sir; they are getting $60 a month.

Mr. BUCHANAN. Is not that a pretty good pension?

Col. GRAVES. It is a pretty good pension, but these are old men and faithful Government employees, and we are up against that proposition all the time.

Mr. BUCHANAN. You understand that if you increase their salaries now it will only be a year or two before they can no longer render any service at all, and they will still be on the pay roll, and it would certainly be regarded as a pension then.

Col. GRAVES. I do not think we could do that. I do not think we could pay them unless we kept them there and made them stay around and available for duty.

Mr. BUCHANAN. That would just be a formality, and they would go through the form of performing some duties. We have such men in every Government department.

Col. GRAVES. They have to clean the rooms and they do their part. One of them is very deaf. One of them is a colored man and the other is a white man.

Mr. BUCHANAN. They are probably both of them 70 years of age? Col. GRAVES. Oh, I expect they are. I do not know exactly, but I suspect they must be 70, at least. One of them was in the war and was with Gen. Miles.

Mr. BUCHANAN. Is that the white man?

Col. GRAVES. Yes. He also has a medal of honor. He went with Gen. Miles when Gen. Miles went through Russia, and one of the party had the black smallpox, and this man, who was a messenger for Gen. Miles, agreed to stay in the room with the sick man and did So. He locked himself up in a room with him and took care of him until he died. He is a very deserving man, and they both are deserving of extra compensation, except for the very reason you advance. They are old and it is hard to get work out of them like you can out of a young man, but we do not feel, or at least I do not feel, that we should kick them out.

Mr. BUCHANAN. Oh, we will never kick them out, and that is the very point I am making. Is it not better to leave them just as they are and go on and keep them, and in a year or two this salary would virtually be a pension, and I expect it is about halfway a pension

now.

Col. GRAVES. Well, I would rather have young men, I must say.

There is one other point I would like to bring up, if I may. When the chief of Coast Artillery office was separated from the General Staff they were to have 15 clerks. That is what the last appropriation bill provided for and that is what was actually in that office. Then the question came up about promoting the men when the appropriation bill became effective August 29, so as to retain a proper percentage in the various grades, as the Secretary reported to Congress last year was needed for efficiency. It became necessary then to transfer one $1,600 clerk and one $1,200 clerk from the office of

the Chief of Staff, which includes the War College and the War Department, to the chief of Coast Artillery, so as to get a proper per centage of the various grades as reported by the Secretary as being necessary for efficiency. When they were promoted and it came time to transfer them they objected, and the Secretary then refused to transfer them, so that now, if this appropriation becomes effective the 1st of July, it will result in promoting one $1,400 clerk in the chief of Coast Artillery to $1,600 and one $1,000 clerk to $1,200, and getting two new men at $1,000; and it will also result in demoting one $1,600 clerk in the office of the Chief of Staff and one $1,400 clerk; and two of the $1.200 clerks will have to go to $1,000.

It will result in such demotions because the Secretary would not or did not carry out the idea that the officers had when we made recommendations as to promotions, which recommendations were approved. They were promoted strictly on their efficiency rating. There was a board composed of three of us, a representative of each office. I represented the office of the Chief of Staff-I am secretary of the General Staff Corps and Maj. Moses represented the War College and Maj. Bishop represented the chief of Coast Artillery, and that was our idea, but the Secretary not carrying it out will result as I have said. The Chief of Staff has written to the Quartermaster General, asking, if possible, on that account, to let the $1,600 clerk and the $1,200 clerk remain in his office, which would make an addition of $800 to the appropriation for the Chief of Staff's office.

SATURDAY, DECEMBER 2, 1916.

INDEPENDENT TREASURY.

STATEMENT OF MR. H. P. HUDDLESON, OF THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT.

CONTINUANCE OF SUBTREASURIES.

Mr. BYRNS. Mr. Huddleson, when you were before the committee the other day you were asked something about the report which was to be made under the provision of law enacted in the last legislative, executive, and judicial appropriation act with regard to whether or not any of the subtreasuries could be abolished, and, if so, as to what provision should be made to take their place. Have you been able to secure that report, or a copy of it, for this subcommittee?

Mr. HUDDLESON. No, sir: I have not; and I want to correct the statement I made the other day in this particular. I said that I had seen a rough draft of the Secretary's report; but, upon investigation, I found that Mr. McAdoo had asked Mr. Malburn, who is the Assistant Secretary in charge of the fiscal bureaus, to prepare a report for him, and the report I saw was the one prepared by Mr. Malburn.

Mr. BYRNS. Was that report prepared in compliance with the provisions of law to which I have referred?

Mr. HUDDLESON. It was; yes, sir. Mr. McAdoo is out of the city with the Farm Loan Board.

Mr. BYRNS. That report was to be submitted to Congress on Monday, which is the first day of the session. The law provides

The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to report to Congress at the beginning of its next session which of the subtreasuries, if any, should be continued after the end of the fiscal year 1917, and if, in his opinion, any should be continued, the reasons in full for such continuance, etc. Will that report be submitted at the beginning of the session of Congress next Monday?

Mr. HUDDLESON. I do not know just when the Secretary will be back, and he will have to sign the report.

Mr. BYRNS. Of course, the idea of the committee in recommending that provision, and also of Congress in adopting it, was to have that information prior to the passage of this bill. Now, if it is not submitted at the beginning of the session, we had as well not have had the provision, in so far as the next fiscal year is concerned. In other words, it would not give the committee the information it desires. For that reason it is exceedingly important that the committee should have that report. This bill, of course, can not wait. Mr. GOOD. Is Mr. Malburn in the city?

Mr. HUDDLESON. Yes, sir. This report, prepared by Mr. Malburn, as I understand it, is the one upon which the Secretary was to base his report.

BALTIMORE, OFFICE OF ASSISTANT TREASURER.

Mr. BYRNS. On page 140, in the item for the office of the assistant treasurer at Baltimore, there is no increase in the appropriation, but you are seeking to drop certain clerks and create certain new positions. For instance, you drop two clerks at $1,600 and create the position of chief bookkeeper at $1,600 and the position of chief assorting teller at $1,600. Then you drop one clerk at $1,400 and create in his stead a position to be known as coin teller at $1.400.

Mr. HUDDLESON. Those recommendations come in each year from the assistant treasurers. They feel that if the clerks had those titles, while it would not give them any more salary, it would be in the nature of a recognition of the services they render.

Mr. BYRNS. This is one of the offices which the committee thought might possibly be abolished or consolidated with the office here in Washington, on account of the fact that it is so close by?

Mr. HUDDLESON. The Baltimore subtreasury carries the smallest amount of funds in the Treasurer's general account of any of the subtreasuries, an average of about $16,000,000 on November 29, 1916. Mr. BYRNS. As I understand, this estimate is submitted simply for the purpose of giving to the clerks who now perform the service the new titles?

Mr. HUDDLESON. Yes, sir; they are actually performing the service. The assistant treasurer thought that it would be a recognition of their services of you could give them the titles rather than the title of clerk.

CHICAGO, ILL.

Mr. BYRNS. With reference to the Chicago office, you are asking for an increase of $1,200 in the appropriation, creating the position of assistant vault clerk at $2,000?

Mr. HUDDLESON. Yes, sir; the vault clerk in Chicago gets $2,250 and the assistant vault clerk receives $1,750. Both of those men perform identically the same service. When one man goes into the vault the other one goes. They both check up the vault. When the vault clerk is away the assistant vault clerk performs all the duties devolving upon the vault clerk. The work is rather heavy in Chicago, and I think that this is a meritorious case.

Mr. STAFFORD. What are the duties?

Mr. HUDDLESON. They have charge of the cash. They issue the cash to the different tellers, the coin teller and to the paying teller, and accept the money from the redemption tellers when it comes in. They check it in at night from all the tellers and check it out in the morning. The shipping teller draws for the day's shipments from the vault clerks. They receive all moneys that are transferred to the subtreasury. In fact, everything that goes into the vault is taken up on the records of the vault clerk, and everything that goes out is charged out.

Mr. BUCHANAN. Do you remember the amount in Chicago?

Mr. HUDDLESON. The balance that we carried on November 29 in Chicago was $115,000,000 in round numbers. They received that date $773,000, and paid checks to the amount of $1,470,000.

Mr. BYRNS. How much is the amount at Boston?

Mr. HUDDLESON. They had $33,000,000. They received a little less than $500,000, and paid checks to the amount of $337,000.

Mr. BYRNS. Why is it there is a difference in the title given to the employees in these various offices? For instance, the Baltimore office is asking for the position of chief assorting teller, while in the Chicago office he is called assorting teller. Then, Baltimore is asking for the creation of a position to be known as coin teller, while there is no such position in the Chicago office?

Mr. HUDDLESON. There is no such position in the appropriation, but, in fact, there is a coin teller; to be accurate, there are two coin tellers.

Mr. STAFFORD. In the administration of the office, if he was designated as coin teller, he could only be utilized for that purpose, whereas if he was designated as a clerk he could be utilized for that or any other similar work?

Mr. HUDDLESON. I do not think you could draw that distinction. Most of the subtreasuries are down to the minimum of employees, and, regardless of the title, they actually perform the work of that office. Take an institution like Chicago, and it may be that the receiving teller is behind at 2.30 o'clock, when they close; therefore the first man who finishes his work goes to that cage and helps out.

Mr. BYRNS. You are asking for an additional watchman in the Chicago office?

Mr. HUDDLESON. Mr. Hunt feels that he needs an additional watchman there. There have been several hold-ups and robberies in the immediate neighborhood of the subtreasury, and he thought that we should have the burglar-alarm system installed again. That was rather expensive, and we felt it was scarcely necessary. For this reason he wants an additional watchman. As a matter of fact, in all the subtreasuries the watchmen are employed half of the time or more in counting money. In some of them the entire time of both watchmen and messengers is utilized in counting mutilated money