Mr. HOWELL, from the Committee on Claims, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 6414]

The Committee on Claims, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 6414) authorizing the Court of Claims of the United States to hear and determine the claim of the city of Park Place, heretofore an independent municipality but now a part of the city of Houston, Tex., having considered the same, report favorably thereon with the recommendation that the bill do pass with the following amendments:

In line 4, after the word "determine" add the following: "and report to Congress".

The facts are fully set forth in House Report No. 135, Seventy-first Congress, second session, which is appended hereto and made a part of this report.

[House Report No. 135, Seventy-first Congress, second session]

The Committee on War Claims, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 6414) entitled "A bill authorizing the Court of Claims of the United States to hear and determine the claim of the city of Park Place, heretofore an independent municipality but now a part of the city of Houston, Tex.," having considered the same, report thereon with a recommendation that it do pass without amendment.

A similar bill was introduced in the Seventieth Congress, favorably reported by your committee, and passed the House.

The facts in this case are fully set forth in House Report No. 984, Seventieth Congress, first session, which is appended hereto and made a part of this report.

[House Report No. 984, Seventieth Congress, first session]

The Committee on War Claims, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 10218) authorizing the Court of Claims of the United States to hear and determine the claim of the city of Park Place, heretofore an independent municipality but now a part of the city of Houston, Tex., having considered the same, report thereon with a recommendation that it do pass without amendment.

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CITY OF PARK PLACE

The purpose of this bill is to authorize the Court of Claims to hear and determine the claim of the city of Park Place, Tex., heretofore an independent municipality but now included within the extended corporate limits of the city of Houston, Tex., for compensation for the destruction of the streets of said city of Park Place by the Army trucks of the United States in the years of 1917 and 1918.

Your committee does not attempt to determine the merits of the claim, but in view of the fact that an unusual amount of damage was done to the streets of Park Place by Army trucks during the war, and in view of the further fact that the case was considered by the board of officers convened at Ellington Field, Houston, Tex., and payment to the claimant in the sum of $8,448.94 was recommended, your committee feels that the claimants are entitled to a day in court, and therefore recommends that the bill do pass.

Further facts are set forth in a letter from the Secretary of War, under date of February 17, 1928, addressed to the clerk of the Committee on War Claims, which is appended hereto and made a part of this report.

Mr. PAUL E. HAWORTH,
Clerk Committee on War Claims,

WAR DEPARTMEHT, Washington, February 17, 1928.

House of Representatives, Washington, D. C.

DEAR MR. HAWORTH: In compliance with your request of February 4, 1928, I am pleased.to submit the following report on H. R. 10218, the subject of which is "A bill authorizing the Court of Claims of the United States to hear and determine the claim of the city of Park Place, heretofore an independent municipality but now a part of the city of Houston, Tex."

The records of this department show that, under date of May 20, 1919, the claim of the city of Park Place on account of damage to its streets alleged to have been caused by Army trucks was considered by a board of officers convened at Ellington Field, Houston, Tex., and payment to the claimant in the sum of $8,448.94 was recommended. 1919, by the War Department board of appraisers, which recommended that the The case was reviewed under date of October 8, claim be denied, on the ground that it is not within the power of a municipality to collect damages from the owners of cargo vehicles of ordinary and well recognized types when the street surface is damaged by the lawful passage of such vehicles, however frequent. This report was approved by the Assistant Secretary of War under date of October 25, 1919, and the claimant was notified that its claim had been rejected by the War Department.

Inasmuch as the proposed legislation, if enacted into law, will not determine the merits of the claim, but will merely authorize the Court of Claims to hear and determine the same, no objection is interposed to its enactment.

If any additional information or comment is desired from the War Department, I shall be pleased to furnish the same, and, in the event that it is desired that a representative of the War Department appear before the Committee on War Claims in this connection, Capt. Frank J. Keelty, on duty in the office of the Chief of Finance, is designated as such representative.

Sincerely yours,

DWIGHT F. DAVIS, Secretary of War.

O

CONSTRUCTION OF ROADWAY TO TOMB OF UNKNOWN SOLDIER IN ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

MAY 19, 1930.-Ordered to be printed

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

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 9843]

The Committee on Military Affairs, to which was referred the bill (H. R. 9843) to enable the Secretary of War to accomplish the construction of approaches and surroundings, together with the necessary adjacent roadways, to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with the recommendation that it do pass.

The purpose of this bill is to make effective the following provisions of the appropriation act for the fiscal year 1930 (Public, No. 843, 70th Cong.), which contains the following authorization (p. 34): and when an appropriation shall have been made therefor, there may be constructed, in accordance with detailed plans and estimates to be prepared under the direction of the Secretary of War, approaches and surroundings, approximately four hundred and eighty feet by two hundred and twenty feet, together with the necessary adjacent roadways, to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, in the Arlington National Cemetery, Va., all to be in harmony with design for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier accepted by the Secretary of War and approved by the Arlington Cemetery Commission, the American Battle Monuments Commission, and the Fine Arts Commission.

The first deficiency bill for the fiscal year 1930, approved March 26, 1930 (Public, No. 78, 71st Cong.), contains $416,686 for this work. At the time of the hearings on the first deficiency bill the wording now contained in H. R. 9843 was included therewith, but was struck out by the Appropriations Committee and only sufficient language inserted in the bill to appropriate the funds. This language is as follows (p. 36):

Construction of approaches and surroundings to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier: For the construction of approaches and surroundings, together with the necessary adjacent roadways, to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, in the Arlington National Cemetery, Va., in accordance with the act approved February 28, 1929 (45 Stat. p. 1378), $416,686, to remain available until June 30, 1931.

The act of February 28, 1929, has just been quoted.

So, while the War Department has the authorization to construct the tomb, and the money necessary for the construction has been made available, it still lacks the necessary legislation to do the things that the War Department requires in order that the approaches, surroundings, and adjacent roadways may be in harmony with the design of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier that has already been accepted and approved and the construction of which is now under way.

й. R. 9843, the bill now under consideration by the committee, was referred to the Secretary of War for report, and under date of March 4, 1930, the Secretary of War reported as follows to the chairman of the House Military Affairs Committee:

Hon. W. FRANK JAMES,

Chairman Committee on Military Affairs,

House of Representatives.

MARCH 4, 1930.

DEAR MR. JAMES: Careful consideration has been given to the bill (H. R. 9843) to enable the Secretary of War to accomplish the construction of approaches and surroundings, together with the necessary adjacent roadways, to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Arlington National Cemetery, Va., transmitted with your letter of February 24, 1930, with request for a report as to whether an emergency exists calling for immediate action on this bill.

The passage of this enabling act should not be delayed as without it the funds included in the first deficiency bill passed by the House of Representatives on February 21 could not be expended for completing this construction work in the manner desired.

The construction of the approaches and surroundings is inseparable from the tomb itself. As the work on the tomb proper is now under way, it is very necessary that the approach work be started so that both the tomb and the approaches can be completed and opened to the public at the same time. The urgency for this work was explained in detail to the Appropriations Committee. (See pp. 694-700, inclusive, of the hearings before the Subcommittee of the House Committee on Appropriations in connection with the first deficiency bill for 1930.) Sincerely yours,

PATRICK J. HURLEY,
Secretary of War.

The Quartermaster General of the Army has made the following statement to the committee:

It will be clear to the committee, I think, from what has already been stated, that the main purpose of H. R. 9843 is to grant the Secretary of War authority (1) to do all the things necessary to accomplish the purpose of the authorization contained in the 1930 appropriation act, by contract or otherwise, with or without advertising, under such conditions as he may prescribe; (2) to engage by contract the services of such architects and sculptors as may be necessary without regard to the restrictions of law governing the employment and compensation of employees; and (3) to permit him to officially obtain the approval of the Arlington Cemetery Commission, the American Battle Monuments Commission, and the Fine Arts Commission to the design for the construction in question.

The War Department is of the opinion that it is mandatory that the successful architect who designed the tomb itself and submitted the sketches of the approach should be the one employed to complete all the detailed plans for the approach in order that the approach will harmonize and blend in with the tomb itself, for the law so prescribes. Under the terms of the competition which was had prior to the acceptance of the design for the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the appropriation of the money ($50,000) for its construction, the architects and sculptors who were invited to engage in the competition for this design were informed as follows in the invitation to them:

"The authorized total cost of the memorial and of the designs therefore is by the act approved July 3, 1926, limited to $50,000, and it is estimated that of this sum $44,000 will be available for the actual fabrication and erection of the memorial. Should any competitor desire to submit as a part of his design

drawings showing a modification of the surrounding terraces at additional expense for the purpose of making the tomb itself more easily seen from the adjacent driveway or to enhance its dignity by providing a monumental approach thereto, such suggestions will be received and given full weight in connection with the consideration of the design of the monument itself."

Consequently, it is felt that the Quartermaster General's office is morally obligated, under the terms of the contract, to employ the architect and the sculptor who designed the tomb and in connection therewith submitted the design for the approach, in order that this work may be in harmony with the design of the tomb. There is no specific authority that will permit this procedure now and that would permit the War Department to employ the services of Mr. Lorimer Rich, architect, and Mr. Hudson Jones, sculptor, who were the successful competitors for the tomb and who prepared the design for the approach to harmonize therewith. This design has been informally approved by the commissions already referred to and will be officially approved when we are authorized by law to request their approval.

If this law passes and the Secretary of War is given the authority contained therein, we will employ Mr. Lorimer Rich for the preparation of the detailed plans and specifications and to supervise this construction.

In accomplishing work of this character the Secretary of War must have sufficient authority after the detailed plans have been fully completed to contract for this work without formally inviting bids. This work is of such a nature and of such national significance that he should have authority to let a contract for this work without formally inviting bids. All contractors who might bid on this work are not suitably equipped to perform work of such an artistic character as this, and if the invitations to bid were open to the public there is no assurance but that the low bid may be received from a contractor who is not qualified to carry out the plan conceived by the architect in his detailed handling of the surroundings. Consequently, it is desired that authority be granted as indicated by the language in the bill that will enable the Secretary of War to select a contractor for the work in question whose reputation and standing are such as to insure the work being carried out as contemplated and in consultation with the architect and sculptor.

The authorization contained in this act is not new. It is similar to the legislation under which the tomb proper was constructed; that covering the preliminary work for the construction of the Kitty Hawk Memorial; as well as that for a tablet to William Rufus King. In the latter bill the Comptroller General held that the language proposed was not sufficient to do what it was desired—that is, employ a well-known sculptor to plan and erect a suitable bust to this distinguished American. It was necessary, therefore, to submit special legislation covering this particular feature, which bill was recently before Congress for consideration and has passed the House.

In view of what I have stated, it is urged that H. R. 9843 be passed as soon as possible, so that there will be not only sufficient authority to permit the Secretary of War to do all the things necessary in order to comply with the law authorizing this construction, but also to permit the employment of an architect and sculptor and to enter into a contract for the construction, so that both the tomb and the approaches can proceed in an orderly manner and be completed and opened to the public at the same time. We have the authorization; we have the funds; but we do need this legislation if the Secretary of War is to be given the freedom of action and authority necessary to accomplish the work as it is contemplated it should be done by Congress.