fortification appropriations from which this money could be taken they would be dropped.

Mr. LITTAUER. I have your statement of the expenditures under this $80,000 before me. I notice that there are many clerks employed for only parts of the year. There were twelve at $900 that were employed a part of the year.

General MACKENZIE. They would probably go from one grade to another; from the $900 grade to the $1,000 grade.

Mr. LITTAUER. Do you remember whether you have ever suggested a transfer of some of this force onto what you call your permanent roll?

General MACKENZIE. Not as a permanent thing. Of course we do make individual transfers from time to time, but we keep this $80,000 roll separate. We look upon it as a temporary force, which it would be better to keep as a temporary force as long as dependent upon the amount of river and harbor work and fortification work that is being done. If that force was once transferred to what you might call the permanent force, it would be more apt to stick there when it is not needed than under this arrangement.

Mr. LITTAUER. It seems to be pretty well needed. There is one objection from our standpoint, and that is the control of promotions is entirely within your own discretion, and last year you evidently promoted all your low-priced clerks.

General MACKENZIE. They were only promoted when there was a vacancy in the grade above. There was no increase in the different grades.

Mr. LITTAUER. Here are these $900 clerks only working part of the

year.

Captain KUTZ. That is where they come in for a few months and resign. We had a good many changes in the $900 clerks. They will not stay. But I am quite satisfied there has been no increase in the higher grades, at least none at the expense of the lower grades.

General MACKENZIE. That would be at the expense of the number, and the number we can not reduce.

Mr. LITTAUER. In other words, you find a $1,000 clerk does the same work as a $1,2000 clerk?

Captain KUTZ. After they have been there a short amount of time; yes, sir. The others probably have a greater adaptability to do a greater variety of work, but as to the routine work, it will be pretty

near the same.

Mr. LITTAUER. Does not this work decrease in a fiscal year in which no river and harbor bill is appropriated for?

General MACKENZIE. There is not very much difference, on account of the continuing contracts. You see the expenditures of our office will run along probably $30,000,000 a year. Of course when the time comes when the continuing contract work runs out there would be a decrease.

Mr. LITTAUER. A difference in the expenditures of three, four, or five million dollars would not make any difference in this clerical force?

General MACKENZIE. Not at all. I can only speak in a general way of the work. I am positive there can not be a department where the clerks work harder or steadier. You take the four officers, including myself, and we are at it morning and night.

Mr. LITTAUER. Taking care of the details of expenditures?

General MACKENZIE. The details of expenditure, and then, of course, the correspondence is very large. The number of papers is enormous. Then, of course, we have to audit all the accounts involved in the expenditure of this $30,000,000, and there will probably be from 80,000 to 100,000 accounts. We have every day 300 subjects.

Mr. LITTAUER. You believe that it would be to the good of the service for you to segregate these clerks into the various classes and then put them upon a permanent roll?

General MACKENZIE. I do not consider that there would be any advantage in it, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. LITTAUER. They could be provided for in that way, could they not?

General MACKENZIE. They could be. Under that condition, of course, the appropriation made in this act for this purpose would be very much larger.

Mr. LITTAUER. Unquestionably-large enough to cover the entire office force?

General MACKENZIE. Yes, sir.

Mr. LITTAUER. Have you had any occasion for lack of work in the last few years to diminish that extra force?

General MACKENZIE. No, sir. It will happen at times. There may be a resignation, and it will take some little time to get someone from the civil service.

Mr. LITTAUER. That is the same way with the permanent roll?
General MACKENZIE. Yes, sir.

Mr. LITTAUER. It would seem from your statement that this matter of drawing in from this other fund should be ended and that we should give you a full force of clerks added to the permanent roll in your office?

General MACKENZIE. So far as the fixing of salaries and the number and all that is concerned, it makes no difference to the office, because we take no advantage of this in the matter of increasing salaries or numbers.

Mr. LITTAUER. You believe, in other words, that you could administer this fund just as well as we could here, and that you could do it on the same lines as we do it on?

General MACKENZIE. I am confident of that. We are just as cautious as we can be. With the draftsmen it will be a little more difficult. We have two or three draftsmen that are special draftsmen that it might be a little difficult to get.

Mr. LITTAUER. In what way? You have them now?

General MACKENZIE. Yes, sir.

Mr. LITTAUER. And they get the title and the compensation? General MACKENZIE. Yes, sir. If that means the total force made up as a permanent force, I believe we can administer it in the long run, but if put on the permanent force it would be a little harder to get rid of them.

Mr. LITTAUER. In practice you find that you use up the $80,000? General MACKENZIE. We do now, because our estimate was $85,000, and that was cut $5,000. At the present rate we do use it up, and we have to use it up.

Mr. LITTAUER. I think you had better give us for our consideration here, at any rate, a list of the number under each class of clerk hire,

or under each class of compensation and the character of work, so that we can consider whether or not it would be to the advantage of the Government to put them all on a permanent basis.

General MACKENZIE. I will do it.

Mr. LITTAUER. Both for the force as at present organized in your department.

General MACKENZIE. Yes, sir.

Mr. LITTAUER. And also the force of last year.
General MACKENZIE. Yes, sir.

Hon. LUCIUS N. LITTAUER,

WAR DEPARTMENT,

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF ENGINEERS,
Washington, February 15, 1906.

Chairman Subcommittee Appropriations Committee,

House of Representatives.

DEAR SIR: 1. In compliance with your oral request of yesterday during the hearing on the legislative, executive, and judicial bill, I take pleasure in inclosing herewith a statement showing the classes, designations, and salaries of employees in this office that are paid from appropriations disbursed under the direction of the Chief of Engineers.

2. This statement shows the status June 30, 1905, as representative of the fiscal year 1905, and also that February 15, 1906, as representative of the present fiscal year.

3. It will be noticed that the only change is in the $1,800 and $1,900 clerks, there being one more $1,800 clerk now and one less $1,900 clerk. This change is temporary and arises from the fact that one of the $1,900 clerks was recently reduced to the $1,800 class for inefficiency, and the place will not be permanently filled pending an actual trial of his probable successor.

4. The proposition to consolidate the employees on this roll with those paid for under the legislative, executive, and judicial bill is objectionable for the following reason:

During the past year it became necessary to employ at two different times for about a month each time an electrical engineer at a salary of $175 per month, and such a situation making it desirable to employ technical assistants for brief periods is liable to arise again at any time. To provide for all contingencies would mean providing for employees for a whole year when their services might be needed for only a small portion of that time.

5. If, however, the committee decides to make the consolidation I would suggest that the pay roll provided for in the legislative, executive, and judicial bill be increased to $101,180, while the other roll, generally known as the temporary roll," be limited to an aggregate of $10,320. It is believed that this will give the necessary flexibility and still accomplish, in a great measure, the wish of the Appropriations Committee.

6. If this suggestion is adopted the list to be appropriated for directly would be as follows:

Statement of classes, designations, and salaries of employees on the $80,000 allotment roll in the Office of the Chief of Engineers, U. S. Army, on June 30, 1905, and on February 15, 1906.

STATEMENT OF COL. CHARLES F. BROMWELL, U. S. ARMY, IN CHARGE.

Mr. LITTAUER. Your force seems now to be adequate, and you ask for no changes, do you, in your clerical force?

Colonel BROMWELL. I have asked for no changes in the clerical force.

Mr. LITTAUER. You have taken up the chief clerk at $2,400, the $400 having been provided for in the sundry civil bill?

Colonel BROMWELL. Yes, sir. If it is continued this year it will be satisfactory.

CONDITION OF WORK.

Mr. LITTAUER. What condition is your office in?

Colonel BROMWELL. It is in a very good condition. The force is excellent, and the work is up to date.

Mr. LITTAUER. Are they active men?

Colonel BROMWELL. Yes, sir. I have a memorandum of the clerical force: One is between 20 and 30 years of age, one between 30 and

40 years of age, one between 40 and 50 years of age, and one between 50 and 60 years

of age.

Mr. LITTAUER. Are your people working seven and one-half hours a day without detriment to their health?

Colonel BROMWELL. Yes, sir. The chief clerk generally works ten hours a day and works Sundays and holidays.

PARK WATCHMEN.

Mr. LITTAUER. You ask us to change the designation of park watchmen to park policemen.

Colonel BROMWELL. I have made that request for the last two years. I think the term "policemen" is a more specific term and defines their duties. However, that is not so essential.

Mr. LITTAUER. Is there any change in the number of your watchmen?

Colonel BROMWELL. I have asked for eleven additional watchmen for night duty. They have been asked for for several years. The Secretary directed that my estimate should be reduced to a fixed sum, and I think by his direction it was cut out.

Mr. LITTAUER. You still have the item "For one day policeman and two night policemen for that part of Potomac Park between the causeway of the Pennsylvania Railroad bridge, the Potomac River, and the tidal reservoir?"

Colonel BROMWELL. Yes sir. That portion of the Potomac flats was improved in the last year. There are about 50 acres there, and they should be properly policed. It is some distance away, and it requires one day watchman and two night watchmen. There is a nursery there and flower beds, and everything of that kind, which require the services of watchmen.

Mr. LITTAUER. You can not distribute the force you now have so

as to cover that?

Colonel BROMWELL. No, sir.

Mr. LITTAUER. Where is the nearest watchman stationed to that? Colonel BROMWELL. In the Monument grounds.

Mr. LITTAUER. How many watchmen are there there?

Colonel BROMWELL. Two, I think, in all of that vicinity.

Mr. LITTAUER. What is the difference between the Potomac Park and the Monument Park?

Colonel BROMWELL. The Monument Park is that portion between Fourteenth and Sixteenth streets immediately around the Monument.. Mr. LITTAUER. Is not that away out where nobody goes? There is no passage through this new addition?

Colonel BROMWELL. It is at the end of Fourteenth street, where the Alexandria line street cars cross over the new highway bridge. That road passing over the new highway bridge goes right straight to this park.

Mr. LITTAUER. Have you any watchmen there now?

Colonel BROMWELL. I have two laborers employed as watchmen, but they are paid from the appropriation for the construction of the park work.

Mr. LITTAUER. You have one at the Monument Park annex now? Colonel BROMWELL. Yes, sir.