No.

CONVEYANCE OF PORTION OF FORT LOGAN H. ROOTS RESERVATION.

JULY 12, 1912.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed.

Mr. SWEET, from the Committee on Military Affairs, submitted the

following

REPORT.

[To accompany S. 6926.]

The Committee on Military Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (S. 6926) to convey to the Big Rock Stone & Construction Co. a portion of the military reservation of Fort Logan H. Roots, in the State of Arkansas, having considered the same, report thereon with a recommendation that it do pass.

The reasons therefor fully appear in the Senate report hereto attached.

[Senate Report No. 877, Sixty-second Congress, second session.]

The Committee on Military Affairs, having carefully considered the bill (S. 6926) to convey to the Big Rock Stone & Construction Co. a portion of the military reservation of Fort Logan H. Roots, in the State of Arkansas, reports it back to the Senate favorably and recommends that it do pass with an amendment, in the form of a new section (to be numbered sec. 2), herewith:

"SEC. 2. The Secretary of War is hereby further empowered to require, as one of the conditions of the sale herein authorized, that the grantee shall execute a bond to the United States, in such amount and with such sureties as the said Secretary shall prescribe, conditioned that the said grantee shall hold the United States harmless as against any damage that may be done to the part of the premises retained by the United States by any use to which the said grantee may devote that part hereby authorized to be conveyed; and that whenever, in the judgment of the said Secretary, the use to which the said part is being devoted shall interfere with the proper use by the United States of the said remaining part for any of the purposes to which the same is now being devoted, the said Secretary may direct a suspension of such interfering use for such time or with such restrictions as to him shall seem proper."

The following letter of the Assistant Secretary of War, under date of June 3, 1912, sets forth the facts in the case and the reasons for the amendment recommended: WAR DEPARTMENT,

The CHAIRMAN COMMITTEE ON MILITARY AFFAIRS,

Washington, June 3, 1912.

House of Representatives.

SIR: I have the honor to return herewith a bill (S. 6926) to convey to the Big Rock Stone & Construction Co. a portion of the military reservation of Fort Logan H. Roots, in the State of Arkansas.

The bill provides for the sale, for such sum as the Secretary of War may determine to be a reasonable value of the premises, of two parcels of land within the military reservation of Fort Logan H. Roots, near the city of Little Rock, State of Arkansas. Both parcels adjoin the property of the Big Rock Stone & Construction Co. The larger one contains about 18.75 acres and is desired by the company for a stone quarry, and the smaller, containing 2 acres, is desired for a site for a rock-crushing plant. The parcels lie at a considerable distance from the military post, the nearest one being about one-fourth of a mile northwest of it from the nearest building of the post. As both parcels adjoin the present holdings of the company, it is not believed that the sale of the same to that company will materially lessen the value of the reservation for military purposes. There is a danger, however, that the operation of the quarry will result in injury to the buildings, water or sewer systems of the post, or that the operation of the north end of the tract may become dangerous during the season of target practice (usually about two months in the summer).

It is therefore recommended that the bill be amended so as to require the Big Rock Stone & Construction Co. to file with the Secretary of War, before the sale is effected, a bond of indemnity in an adequate amount and with sufficient sureties, to be approved by the Secretary of War, conditioned upon the payment to the United States for any and all damages to the reservation or to any buildings, water, sewer, or other systems located thereon, resulting, directly or indirectly, from any blasting or excavating done within the limits of either or both of the tracts in question, and to require, further, that if the use of any portion of the land to be transferred shall become dangerous on account of target practice on the military reservation the use of said portion of such land shall cease during the period prescribed by proper military authority for the target practice of the garrison at Fort Logan H. Roots.

As thus amended, it is recommended that the bill receive favorable consideration. Very respectfully,

O

ROBERT SHAW OLIVER,
Assistant Secretary of War.

, {
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. No.

CONGRESSIONAL MEDALS OF HONOR.

JULY 12, 1912.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed.

Mr. ESTOPINAL, from the Committee on Naval Affairs, submitted the

following

REPORT.

[To accompany S. 2001.]

The Committee on Naval Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (S. 2001) to provide for the award of congressional medals of honor to officers and enlisted men of the naval service and officers and enlisted men of the Revenue Marine, and for other purposes, having had the same under consideration, report the same favorably with the recommendation that the bill do pass.

The object of this bill is to award congressional medals of honor to commissioned, warrant, and appointed officers of the Navy and officers of the Marine Corps and Revenue-Cutter Service who are not eligible as recipients thereof by reason of existing law, although in a number of deserving cases many of these officers have distinguished themselves by gallantry in action or by extraordinary heroism in the line of their profession.

The existing law provides that officers, noncommissioned officers, and privates of the Army and any enlisted man of the Navy or Marine Corps, may under proper circumstances receive a medal of honor, and it is the opinion of the committee that the officers mentioned in the bill, who are now precluded from receiving such medals, be brought within the terms of the law to permit them to share in the recognition bestowed by Congress upon others in the services who have shown themselves worthy of the honor.

The bill meets with the favorable consideration of the Navy Department and the Treasury Department, as will appear by the following communications:

DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY,
Washington, June 7, 1911.

MY DEAR SENATOR: Referring to the committee's letter of May 5, 1911, inclosing a bill (S. 2001) to provide for the award of congressional medals of honor to officers of the naval service and officers and enlisted men of the Revenue Marine, and for other purposes, and requesting the opinion of the department thereon, I have the

H R-62-2-vol 5-6

honor to inform you that such medals were first provided for officers of the Army by the act of March 3, 1863, section 6 (12 Stat., 751), in the following terms:

"That the President cause to be struck from the dies recently prepared at the United States mint for that purpose "medals of honor" additional to those authorized by the act (resolution) of July 12, 1862, and present the same to such officers, noncommissioned officers, and privates as have most distinguished or may hereafter most distinguish themselves in action

*

*

The prior act referred to in the above-quoted provision enabled the President to have medals of honor prepared and to present them in the name of Congress to such noncommissioned officers and privates as should most distinguish themselves by their gallantry in action and other soldierlike qualities during the then existing war.

By subsequent legislation (29 Stat., 473) the Secretary of War was authorized to issue a rosette or knot to be worn in lieu of the medal, and the Army appropriation act of April 23, 1904 (33 Stat., 274), provided for an additional number of such medals for presentation to the same classes of persons and for like reasons as those mentioned in the act of 1863.

The act of December 21, 1861 (12 Stat., 330), provided that petty officers, seamen, landsmen, and marines who distinguished themselves by their gallantry in action and other seamanlike qualities should receive a medal of honor, and the act of July 16, 1862 (12 Stat., 584), provides for a gratuity and a medal of honor to seamen distinguishing themselves in battle or by extraordinary heroism in the line of their profession, and this latter is now embodied in section 1407 of the Revised Statutes. The act of March 3, 1901 (31 Stat., 1099), extends the provisions of the section just mentioned so as to include any enlisted man of the Navy or Marine Corps.

It will be observed from the foregoing that "officers, noncommissioned officers, and privates" of the Army and "any enlisted man of the Navy or Marine Corps" may, under proper circumstances, receive a medal of honor, but that commissioned, warrant, and appointed officers of the Navy and officers of the Marine Corps are not eligible as recipients thereof, no matter to what extent they may distinguish themselves by gallantry in action or by extraordinary heroism in the line of their profession.

As this reward is inexpensive and highly prized-one that should be given only for the strongest reasons, already indicated above the department recommends that the officers now precluded from receiving such medals be brought within the terms of the law to permit them to share in the recognition bestowed by Congress upon others in the services who have shown themselves worthy of the honor.

This department, of course, can only speak for the officers of the Navy and Marine Corps, although the measure provides also for the officers and men of the RevenueCutter Service, which service, however, is under another department. A copy of the bill on this same subject, with slight modifications, relating only to the Navy and Marine Corps, which was introduced during the previous Congress, is inclosed herewith, marked "A," and embodies this department's ideas in the matter. Legislation along this line is commended to the committee's favorable consideration. Faithfully, yours,

BEEKMAN WINTHROP,

SIR: Referring to your communication of the 26th instant, inclosing a bill (S. 2001) in which is embodied a provision for the award of congressional medals of honor to officers and enlisted men of the Revenue-Cutter Service, I have the honor to state that the department approves of the provisions of this bill, in so far as they relate to the Revenue-Cutter Service, and recommends its passage.

Respectfully,

FRANKLIN MACVEAGH, Secretary.

O

REWARDS FOR INFORMATION OF VIOLATION OF ANTITRUST LAW.

JULY 13, 1912.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed.

Mr. McGILLICUDDY, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following

REPORT.

[To accompany H. R. 20194.]

The Committee on the Judiciary, having had under consideration the bill (H. R. 20194) to provide payment of rewards for information as to violation of antitrust act of 1890, and amendments thereto, and of the various interstate-commerce acts, and for other purposes, report the same back with the recommendation that it be amended as follows, and that as amended the bill do pass:

In line 4, page 1, strike out the word "directed."

In lines 9 and 10, page 1, strike out the word "recoveries" and insert in lieu thereof the words "recovery and collection."

In line 1, page 2, after the word "of" where it first occurs, insert the following words: "not to exceed."

In line 1, page 2, after the word "centum," insert the words "to be paid out."

In line 2, page 2, after the word "recovered," insert the words "and collected."

Strike out all of section 2.

In line 7, page 2, strike out the figure "3" and insert in lieu thereof the figure 2.

In lines 11 and 12, page 2, strike out the following: "or shall inflict or cause to be inflicted financial injury upon."

In lines 15 and 16, page 2, strike out the words "shall be guilty of a felony and."

In line 17, page 2, strike out the words "less than one thousand dollars nor."

In line 18, page 2, strike out the word "and" and insert in lieu thereof the word "or."