Each of these subjects is of great importance in the conduct of the foreign relations of this Government. Troublesome questions of dual nationality are constantly arising in connection with our efforts to protect American citizens abroad. It is frequently found that the persons whom we endeavor to protect or assist, although American citizens under our law, by birth are also regarded as citizens or subjects of the foreign States concerned under their laws. Like difficulties are frequently encountered in the case of naturalized citizens. Several countries do not recognize the expatriation of their nationals by naturalization in foreign countries. The result is that naturalized American citizens, formerly nationals of those countries, on returning to their native lands are still regarded as nationals and frequently find themselves in difficulties under the laws pertaining to military service, taxation, etc. It is, therefore, very desirable that these conflicts between the national laws of the various countries should, in so far as is possible, be reconciled.

The question of territorial waters is likewise important. The conference will consider, among other things, the breadth of the territorial waters under the sovereignty of the coastal State; the distance to which the coastal State may exercise authority on the high seas to prevent the infringement within its territory or territorial waters of its customs or sanitary regulations, or interference with its security; the points from which the belt of territorial waters is to be measured; methods by which territorial waters of islands and groups of islands are to be determined; questions pertaining to the right of innocent passage of foreign merchant vessels and of foreign war ships through the territorial waters of a State; the right of local authorities to make arrests on board foreign merchant vessels within or passing through such territorial waters; and the continuation on the high seas of pursuit begun within territorial waters.

It will readily be appreciated that, in view of the extent of the coast line of the United States and the magnitude and importance of American shipping, these questions are of vital interest to this Government.

The third question, namely, that of responsibility of States for damage caused in their territory to the person or property of foreigners, is of tremendous importance to this Government. The conference will consider, among other subjects involving questions of State responsibility, the repudiation by legislative r executive acts of debts of the State, and failure to comply with obligations resulting from debts; refusal to allow foreigners access to judicial tribunals; delays on the part of such tribunals, ill will manifested toward foreigners, and procedure resulting in a miscarriage of justice; acts and omissions of officials, including those of diplomatic and consular officers, and political subdivisions of a State, such as communes, Provinces, etc.; acts of armed forces, such as the requisitioning, occupation, and damage to or destruction of property; insurrection, riot, mob violence, and other distrubances; and responsibility of a State intrusted with the conduct of the foreign relations of another State or political unit for damages suffered by foreigners in the territory of the latter State or political unit.

In view of the effect upon the conduct of our foreign relations, particularly the protection of American life and property in foreign countries, of conclusions which may be reached at this conference on the various subjects to be considered I think it most important that this Government should be represented at the conference by delegates, technical advisers, and other necessary personnel.

I, therefore, submit the inclosed draft of a joint resolution for which I recommend that the favorable consideration of the Congress be requested. Respectfully submitted.

O

HENRY L. STIMSON.

INTER-AMERICAN CONFERENCE ON BIBLIOGRAPHY

JANUARY 27, 1930.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. MORGAN, from the Committee on Foreign Affairs, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H. J. Res. 229]

The Committee on Foreign Affairs, to which was referred House Joint Resolution 229, authorizing an appropriation to defray the expenses of participation by the Government of the United States in the Inter-American Conference on Bibliography, to be held at Habana, Cuba, on February 26, 1930, having had the same under consideration, reports thereon with the recommendation that the resolution do pass with the following amendment:

Page 1, line 4, after the word "States", insert the following: "by means of delegates to be appointed by the President."

The passage of this resolution is recommended by the President in his message to Congress of January 21, 1930, which follows:

To the Congress of the United States:

I commend to the favorable consideration of the Congress the inclosed report from the Secretary of State, to the end that legislation may be enacted to authorize an appropriation of $5,000 for the expenses of participation by the United States in the Inter-American Conference on Bibliography, to be held at Habana, Cuba, on February 26, 1930.

THE WHITE HOUSE,

HERBERT HOOVER.

January 21, 1930.

The PRESIDENT:

In compliance with a resolution of the Sixth International Conference of American States and later resolutions of the governing board of the Pan American Union, an Inter-American Conference on Bibliograph will be held in Habana, Cuba, February 26, 1930, for the organization of bibliographical cooperation among the nations of America as a means of promoting solidarity of thought and thereby creating a bond of union.

Those who are in touch with the intellectual life of the United States and of the Latin American countries are aware of the rapidly increasing interest of these two sections of the Western Hemipshere in each other. The study of the Spanish

language and of Latin American subjects in colleges and universities and other institutions of learning is rapidly increasing. If such studies are to be carried on successfully with the greatest results for any given amount of effort it will be by close intellectual cooperation between the two sections, the English-speaking United States and the Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries of Central and South America.

Bibliographies, the briefest summaries of the literature relating to any subject, prepared in each section will inform the other of the various sources of information. They answer the first question an investigator asks-What has been written on a given subject? The factors and scope of bibliography as a science are as numerous and as extensive as knowledge itself. So complete is the recognition of bibliography as an eliminator of waste that invariably the first step in any investigation or study is a scrutiny of existing bibliographies and the preparation of a bibliography where none exists.

In preparation for the forthcoming conference the governing board of the Pan American Union appointed a special committee to take the steps necessary for the execution of the resolutions on the organization of bibliographical work. This special committee in turn requested the Governments of the States members of the Pan American Union to appoint technical cooperating committees to be composed of outstanding bibliographers, including in each country the Director of the National Library and the Director of the National Archives. The special committee, after much research and in cooperation with the advisory committee on bibliography of the Pan American Union and the technical cooperating committees above referred to, has prepared a program for the Inter-American Conference on Bibliography, which comprises the following topics:

I. The Science of Bibliography.

II. American Bibliography.

III. American Union finding list (catalogue) as the best definite basis for compiling bibliographies and as the necessary instrument for interlibrary lending. IV. Indices currently issued.

V. Guides.

VI. Governmental archives.

VII. Copyright.

VIII. Cooperative library methods.

IX. Library organizations.

X. Coordination of international promoting agencies for intellectual cooperation.

XI. Permanent organization.

Under date of November 16 the ambassador of Cuba transmitted an invitation from the Secretary of State of Cuba to the Government of the United States as well as to the other Governments of the Americas to send delegates to this conference.

In view of the laudable aims inspiring the invitation from the Cuban Government, and of the closer understanding among the countries of the Americas which would undoubtedly result from the holding of such a conference, I have the honor to recommend that the Congress be asked to enact legislation authorizing an appropriation of $5,000 for the expenses of delegates of the United States to the Inter-American Conference on Bibliography, to be held in Habana, Cuba, on February 26, 1930. As a matter of convenience, a tentative draft of the proposed legislation is inclosed herewith.

Respectfully submitted.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE,

Washington, January 21, 1930.

J. P. COTTON.

о

COORDINATION OF THE PUBLIC-HEALTH ACTIVITIES

January 28, 1930.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. MAPES, from the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 8807]

The Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 8807) to provide for the coordination of the public-health activities of the Government, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report thereon with a recommendation that it pass.

This bill in its general scope and purpose is the same as H. R. 11026, Seventieth Congress, first session, which was reported by the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, passed by both Houses of Congress, and vetoed by the President.

The President in his veto message gave as his reason for vetoing the latter bill that (1) it "is so framed as to undertake to take away and limit the constitutional authority of the President to make appointments" and (2) "there should be eliminated from the legislation any provision which gives a military status to officers or employees of the service engaged in scientific pursuits." These two objections of the President to the former bill have been eliminated in the present one.

The present bill omits the provision contained in the former bill creating a nurse corps in the Public Health Service and adds a provision providing for the compulsory elimination of unqualified commissioned personnel. Other minor changes have been made in the present bill from the one passed in the last Congress but they do not, in the opinion of your committee, change the substance of the legislation.

Because of the similarity of the two bills the committee did not. think it necessary to conduct hearings on the pending bill. It is believed that it is fair to assume that the witnesses who appeared before the committee on the bill in the last Congress would express

the same opinion as to this bill as they expressed on the bill before the committee at that time.

The Public Health Service advises the committee that the necessity for the legislation is becoming increasingly important and that it is becoming more difficult to obtain and retain medical officers in the regular corps. During the past year there has been a loss of 19 officers from resignations, etc., and only 16 successful candidates have been appointed. Meantime, there is a constantly increasing need for additional officers because of the demands of the Department of State for officers abroad, requests of other departments for loan of experienced officers, and the increasing number of patients in service hospitals.

The report of the committee on the bill in the Seventieth Congress was full and complete, and the committee adopts the language of that report as its report on the pending bill in so far as the same is applicable and with such changes as are necessary to bring it up to date.

The bill aims better to coordinate the public-health activities of the Government, especially of the Public Health Service; to give more specific statutory authority for certain activities of the Public Health Service and, to a limited extent, to broaden others; to improve its administrative procedure; to change the name, increase the personnel, and enlarge the functions of the Hygenic Laboratory board and to authorize the establishment of new divisions in the Hygienic Laboratory; to increase the pay of the Surgeon General of the Public Health Service; and to place the dental sanitary engineer and certain pharmacist personnel of the service upon the same commissioned basis as the medical officers in it now are.

Public-health work is carried on, and necessarily so, to a greater or less extent by a great many different branches of the Government as an incident to their major activities. It is often found desirable for the other departments, in establishing or reorganizing their health activities or in doing advanced research work, to have the assistance and advice of the Public Health Service. In certain cases the law now authorizes the detail of personnel from that service to other departments for such purposes, as, for example, to the Bureau of Mines, the Bureau of Fisheries, the Bureau of Immigration, the Consular Service, and in connection with the pure food and drug activities in the Department of Agriculture.

The first section of the bill would authorize such detail of personnel to any department or independent establishment of the Government carrying on public-health activities, upon the request of the head of such department or independent establishment. It would simply extend the policy already adopted by Congress in certain cases and followed in others without express authority of law. If enacted into law, it is believed that it would tend to bring a bouta better correlation of health activities of the Government and to produce economies. It seems the part of wisdom to give the other branches of the Government the opportunity, if desired, to take advantage of the superior knowledge and experience of the personnel of the Public Health Service.

Section 2 (a) would authorize the detail of public-health personnel to educational and research institutions for the purpose of making special studies of scientific problems relating to public health and for