UTAH STATE TREASURER

MARCH 1, 1930.-Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed

Mr. CLARK of North Carolina, from the Committee on Claims, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 1601]

The Committee on Claims, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 1601) for the relief of the Utah State treasurer, having considered the same, report thereon with a recommendation that it do pass.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

This bill proposes to authorize the Department of Agriculture to issue, without indemnity bond, two duplicate original checks in favor of the State of Utah, one of the sum of $1,066.27 and the other in the sum of $21,848.96, lost, stolen, or misplaced in the mails.

By communication from the Department of Agriculture it appears that the checks were issued by that department in the sums mentioned above, payable to the Utah State treasurer, covering Utah Federalaid road projects, which checks were mailed and apparently reached the capitol of Utah, but were lost in transmission from the office of the State road commissioner to the office of the State treasurer.

Payment upon the checks was stopped by the United States Treasurer, June 21, 1928, and the State of Utah was requested to execute an indemnifying bond before duplicate original checks would be issued. It appears there is no provision of law in that State for the execution of such a bond or the payment of the premium therefor.

The Department of Agriculture recommends that the bill be passed authorizing duplicate original checks to be issued without indemnifying bond, stating there is precedent for such action.

In view of the fact that payment on these two checks has been stopped, your committee recommends that duplicate checks be now issued. The favorable recommendation of the Department of Agriculture is attached to the end of this report along with a letter. from the chief of bureau to Mr. Finch, district engineer of Ogden, Utah, stating that in a similar case for the State of Ohio a bill had been passed and approved on June 15, 1926.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICUlture,

Washington, D. C., January 25, 1930.

Hon. E. M. IRWIN,

Chairman Committee on Claims,

House of Representatives.

DEAR MR. IRWIN: In response to your letter of January 21, inclosing a copy of bill (H. R. 1601) for the relief of Utah State treasurer, now pending before your committee, I am forwarding herewith for your use copies of all papers on file in the department relating to this claim.

Complying with your request for an expression of opinion as to the merits of the claim, I find that the records of the department show that on March 17, 1928, A. Zappone, disbursing clerk, symbol 70-001, issued, to the order of Utah State treasurer, his official check No. 42754 for $21,848.96 in payment of voucher 398962 submitted by the Bureau of Public Roads to cover Utah Federal-aid project No. 62B, and his official check No. 42772 for $1,066.27 in payment of voucher 398980 submitted by the Bureau of Public Roads to cover Utah Federalaid project No. 62D. It appears that these checks were mailed, in accordance with directions on the vouchers, to the Utah State treasurer, in care of the chief engineer, Capitol Building, Salt Lake City, Utah, and that while they reached that address they were subsequently lost in transmission from the office of the State road commissioner to the office of the State treasurer. Payment on the checks was stopped by the Treasurer of the United States on June 21, 1928, and the usual form of indemnity bond sent to the claimant for execution before issue of duplicate checks, in accordance with section 3646, Revised Statutes, as amended. As the Utah State treasurer seems to be unable to execute the usual indemnity bond and his claim appears meritorious, the proposed relief legislation, for which there is precedent in the cases of several other States who lost departmental checks in recent years, has my approval.

Sincerely yours,

Mr. B. J. FINCH,

District Engineer, Ogden, Utah.

R. W. DUNLAP, Acting Secretary. DECEMBER 13, 1928.

DEAR SIR: Reference is made to your letter of December 8, with which was inclosed a copy of letter of December 7, from the State Road Commission of Utah, concerning lost checks on Utah Federal-aid project 62, sections B and D. The letter from the State refers to the cost of furnishing bond to secure the issue of duplicate checks for those which have been lost and asks if there is any way of securing duplicate payment of these checks without the necessity of filing bond. Under the Federal statutes it is not possible for the department disbursing officer to issue a duplicate check without requiring an indemnity bond. However, it is possible to have Congress pass a special act for the relief of the State and authorize the issuance of duplicate checks without requiring the bond. Such an act was passed June 15, 1926 (44 Stat., vol. 2, p. 750), to authorize the issuance of duplicate of check to the State of Ohio for a check lost in the mail. Inclosed herewith is a copy of the act as passed for the relief of the State of Ohio. If the State road commission would get a Utah Senator and a Congressman to introduce a similar bill for the relief of Utah, it should pass without difficulty at this session of Congress, which ends on March 4, 1929, as a bill of that character would excite no opposition.

Very truly yours,

THOS. H. MACDONALD, Chief of Bureau.

AN ACT For the relief of the State of Ohio

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That notwithstanding the provisions of section 3646, as amended, of the Revised Statutes of the United States, the disbursing clerk of the Department of Agriculture is authorized and directed to issue, without the requirement of an indemnity bond, a duplicate of original check numbered 966745, drawn October 1, 1923, in favor of State treasurer of Ohio for $29,812.78 and lost, stolen, or miscarried in the mails.

Approved, June 15, 1926.

О

DISPOSITION OF USELESS PAPERS IN THE INTERIOR

DEPARTMENT

MARCH 3, 1930.-Ordered to be printed

Mr. WASON, from the Committee on Disposition of Useless Executive. Papers, submitted the following

REPORT

[United States Fuel Administration in Interior Department)

The joint select committee of the Senate and House of Representatives, appointed on the part of the Senate and on the part of the House of Representatives, to which are referred the reports of the heads of departments, bureaus, etc., in respect to the accumulation therein of old and useless files of papers which are not needed or useful in the transaction of the current business therein, respectively, and have no permanent value or historical interest, with accompanying statements of the condition and character of such papers, respectfully report to the Senate and House of Representatives, pursuant to an act entitled "An act to authorize and provide for the disposition of useless papers in the executive departments," approved February 16, 1889, as follows:

Your committee have met, and, by a subcommittee appointed by your committee, carefully and fully examined the papers described in the said reports so referred to your committee and the statements of the condition and the character of such files and papers therein described, and we find and report that the files and papers of the United States Fuel Administration, which were transferred to the custody of the Secretary of the Interior by order of President Wilson, described in the report of the Interior Department to the Seventieth Congress, second session, dated February 13, 1929, may be disposed of in accordance with the recommendations of the committee appointed by the Secretary of the Interior, Order No. 249, consisting of Messrs. W. H. Reichard, Secretary's office, chairman; C. A. King and A. H. Horton, Geological Survey; with F. G. Tryon, Bureau of Mines, Department of Commerce, and W. H. Power, United States Veterans' Bureau, as an advisory committee, with the exception of

all the records and files of the personnel division of the United States Fuel Administration.

We recommend that, as required by law, the Interior Department sell as waste paper or otherwise dispose of such files of papers upon the best obtainable terms after due publication of notice invitiug proposals therefor and receive and pay the proceeds thereof into the Treasury of the United States and make report thereof to Congress. Respectfully submitted to the Senate and House of Representatives.

EDWARD H. WASON,

R. A. GREEN,

Members on the part of the House.
GERALD P. NYE,

KEY PITTMAN,

Members on the part of the Senate.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

Washington, February 13, 1929.

The SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

SIR: Pursuant to the provisions of the act of Congress entitled "An act to authorize and provide for the disposition of useless paper in the executive departments," approved February 16, 1889 (25 Stat. 672), as amended by the act approved March 2, 1895 (28 Stat. 933), I have the honor to report that there is in this department an accumulation of documents and files of papers which are not needed or useful in the transaction of the current business of the department and have no permanent value or historical interest, as shown by the statements submitted herewith. These papers relate to the United States Fuel Administration, the records and files of which were transferred to the custody of the Secretary of the Interior by Executive order of July 22, 1919, copy herewith.

There is transmitted herewith a copy of the department's letter of June 30, 1928, forwarding to the Librarian of Congress the report of a board appointed to examine these Fuel Administration records with a view to recommending for destruction the useless portions thereof; together with a copy of letter from the Librarian of Congress dated October 1, 1928, from which it will be noted that the records recommended for destruction do not appear to have historical value. It is therefore recommended that authority be granted for the disposition of the papers therein mentioned.

A similar letter has been addressed to the President of the Senate.

Respectfully,

ROY O. WEST.

EXECUTIVE ORDER PLACING THE RECORDS, FILES, AND PROPERTY OF THE UNITED STATES FUEL ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE CUSTODY OF THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR

JULY 22, 1919.

Under the provisions of the act of Congress making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1920, and for other purposes, approved July 19, 1919, it is hereby ordered that the records, files, and property of the United States Fuel Administration created by Executive order of August 23, 1917, be transferred to the Department of the Interior, and the Secretary of the Interior is hereby designated as custodian to receive said records, files, and property.

The WHITE HOUSE, July 22, 1919.

The SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.

WOODROW WILSON.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
Washington, June 27, 1928.

SIR: The committee appointed by your Order No. 249, to examine the files of the United States Fuel Administration and United States Bituminous Coal Com

mission, for the purpose of recommending such useless papers and documents as may be destroyed, has the honor to submit the following report:

UNITED STATES FUEL ADMINISTRATION

Your committee being more or less familiar with the volume of the records embraced within this assignment, appreciated from the beginning the magnitude of the task if an examination of each individual file was attempted. This method then being considered impractical, and bearing in mind the possible value in the future for either judicial or historical purposes or for reference in the event of another national upheavel calling for the setting up of temporary administrative departments, we have endeavored to arrive at conclusions which it is believed are not at great variance with your views as to the possible eliminations without detriment to the public interests.

These files represent the contents of approximately 2,292 drawers, or five hundred and seventy-three 4-drawer upright steel filing cabinets, both letter and legal size, practically all of which are of the very best steel construction and in excellent condition. In addition to the foregoing there are approximately 282 drawers of index cards of the various dimensions.

It is quite apparent that among this great volume of correspondence there is a good portion that is of no value for the purposes indicated above and may be destroyed. To arrive at an approximate idea as to where to draw the line between the essential and the nonessential, without very closely examining each individual paper or document, has been somewhat perplexing.

It was also within the knowledge of your committee that the Federal Government had been involved in a number of suits resulting from the diverting of coal to the Navy and other war agencies and from the price-fixing orders of the Fuel Administration.

Furthermore, the Federal Trade Commission had been called upon to consider certain complaints of unfair business practices involving the regulations of the Fuel Administration.

Your committee, therefore, before going into the matter fully, deemed it wise to consult the respective departments of the Government before making any recommendations. Accordingly, communications of inquiry were addressed to the Department of Justice, the Federal Trade Commission, and the United States Railroad Administration. Replies from these different agencies indicated neither could foresee any further need for these records. The correspondence referred to is attached.

These records no longer being of use for judicial purposes, the committee considered the possible value of any portion thereof for historical purposes, or for use in a possible emergency in the future.

Considering the great expense at which this information was obtained, and the difficulties experienced in supplying the country with fuel during the late war, it is felt that sufficient of the records should be retained to indicate clearly the problems encountered and how they were handled. For this purpose it is believed the files of the Washington headquarters organization should be retained-particularly those covering the administrative office and the distribution division. The distribution division was the principal operating instrument of the Fuel Administration.

The files of the field agents of the distribution division known as "District Representatives," and who were stationed in the several mining districts, it is believed should also be retained.

Approximately 41 per cent of these files, viz, the contents of two hundred and thirty-three 4-drawer upright steel cabinets, represent the records of the 48 State fuel administrators. These, after the closing of the State offices at the conclusion of the war, were shipped to Washington. The committee upon examination finds that the records for one State are very similar to the records of any other State and believes that the retention of the records for three representative States will be adequate to indicate the problems involved and the procedure followed in handling them. For this purpose the records of the States of Massachusetts, Michigan, and Minnesota, approximately 167 drawers, or forty-one 4-drawer upright steel cabinets, are suggested for retention, these being three Northern States in which the difficulties of fuel supply were especially grave.

The records of the other 45 State offices may well be destroyed, particularly as the final reports of all the State administrators are available in printed form. (U. S. Fuel Administration, report of the administrative division, pt. 1. Reports of the bureau of State organizations and of the Federal fuel administrators for the various States and districts.)