c. The Military Railway Service in its entirety, including engineer headquarters and headquarters companies, all grand divisions, all operating and shop battalions, and all other units whatever, including reserve components whether or not activated and regardless of where assigned. 2. All funds, records, property, supplies, equipment and installations pertaining to the transferred activities enumerated in paragraph 1 will be transferred without delay to the jurisdiction of the Transportation Corps, including all civilian personnel engaged primarily in the transferred activities. 3. All officers of the Corps of Engineers or other components of the Army of the United States on duty with the Military Railway Service, the Railway Branch, Troops Division, and the Railway Equipment Section, Procurement Branch, Supply Division, office of the Chief of Engineers, and such other military personnel of all components of the Army of the United States assigned to duty either in the District of Columbia or in the field in connection with the transferred activities where such assignment constitutes their primary duty are assigned by direction of the President to duty with the Transportation Corps effective at the time specified in paragraph 1. 4. The following organizations of the Corps of Engineers are hereby transferred to the Transportation Corps, effective at the time specified in paragraph 1: Engineer Railway Operating Battalion (T/O 5–125) Headquarters and Headquarters and Service Company, Engineer Railway Operating Battalion (T/O 5-126) Maintenance of Way Company, Engineer Railway Operating Battalion (T/O 5-127) Maintenance of Equipment Company, Engineer Railway Operating Battalion (T/O 5-128) Transportation Company Engineer Railway Operating Battalion (T/O 9-129) Engineer Railway Shop Battalion (T/O 5–145) Headquarters and Headquarters and Service Company, Engineer Railway Erecting and Machine Shop Company, Engineer Railway Shop Battalion Boiler and Smith Shop Company, Engineer Railway Shop Battalion Car Repair Company, Engineer Railway Shop Battalion (T/O 5-149) Headquarters and Headquarters and Service Company, Engineer Railway Repair Shop Company, Engineer Railway Diesel-shop Battalion (T/O Enginehouse Company, Engineer Railway Diesel-shop Battalion (T/O Engineer Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Railway Grand 5. These organizations will be redesignated respectively Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Railway Grand Division (T/O 55–202). Railway Operating Battalion (T/O 55–225). Headquarters and Headquarters and Service Company, Railway Operating Battalion (T/O 55-226). Maintenance of Way Company, Railway Operating Battalion (T/O 55–227). Transportation Company, Railway Operating Battalion (T/O 55–229). Headquarters and Headquarters and Service Company, Railway Shop Erecting and Machine Shop Company, Railway Shop Battalion (T/O Boiler and Smith Shop Company, Railway Shop Battalion (T/O 55–238) . 258 MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT APPROPRIATION BILL, 1945 Headquarters and Headquarters and Service Company, Railway Diesel- Repair Shop Company, Railway Diesel-shop Battalion (T/O 55-247). 6. New railway construction will continue the responsibility of the Corps of Engineers. Mr. SNYDER. Has the General Accounting Office been consulted as to your authority to perform acts involving the expenditure of public funds which the present law makes a responsibility of the Quartermaster General? General GROSS. They have been approached informally and we anticipate no difficulty. Mr. SNYDER. You have not checked into it? Mr. SNYDER. Nobody on your staff has? Colonel MITCHELL. Not in the Transportation Corps. It may have been done in the office of the Fiscal Director. Mr. SNYDER. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. Unquestionably, you have performed a most commendable job. I feel that I should say, though, that this committee has been rather pleased with the Quartermaster General's past conduct of transportation activities, and the change really comes as a surprise. In discussing the item with General Gregory when he was before the committee he stated that he knew nothing about the rearrangement until it was a fait accompli. You would not call that very good teamwork, would you? General GROSS. I had nothing to do with it. I received the orders governing the reorganization of the Army Service Forces at the same time that General Gregory did. I had no part in formulating the reorganization. As I stated, I believe the results have fully justified the formation of an independent Transportation Corps, and that our history and experiences in the last war clearly showed the necessity for its formation. I would say that it is the kind of teamwork the war situation demanded. You remember at the last hearing on the 1944 estimate the independence of the Transportation Corps was mentioned, I think by you yourself, Mr. Snyder. You were rather sympathetic and friendly to my desire to get a separate appropriation. Mr. SNYDER. You may be right. I will not dispute you. General GROSss. I do not understand why the matter should be raised at this time after more than two years of successful operation by a strong corps wholly devoted to transportation. Certainly there can be no comparison between the organization that exists today and the small division that then functioned in the Quartermaster General's office. That division was combined with the Transportation Division of the War Department General Staff to form the nucleus of what we now have. I am sure that no one would wish to go back to the divided transportation organization we had before. You may be sure the change was not one selfishly conceived. It was made to win the war more efficiently and surely. Mr. SNYDER. I am sure it was not. You did not know anything about it at all any more than General Gregory did until it was done? General GROSS. That is right. It had been anticipated, perhaps, back in March of 1941, when G-4 of the General Staff created a separate staff division called Transportation; to meet the demands of our expanding army before Pearl Harbor. When this came about it was an amalgamation of staff functions with operating functions. While I believe in it, I had no part in preparing the plans for that consolidation. PERSONNEL IN WASHINGTON OFFICE Mr. SNYDER. How many officers, enlisted men, WAC's, and civilians are identified with your activity now in the Department; not in the field? General GROSs. Here in Washington? Mr. SNYDER. Yes. General GROSS. Our strength is 357 officers, 2 WAC's and 1,457 civilians as of last March. Mr. SNYDER. Do you mean soldiers or civilians? General GRODD. One thousand four hundred and fifty-seven civilians. There are no soldiers. Mr. SNYDER. For what number of civilians in the Department does this estimate provide? General GROSs. You mean here in Washington? Mr. SNYDER. Yes. General GROSs. One thousand four hundred and fifty-seven. Mr. SNYDER. Before the change you had certain rather definitely defined functions under the Quartermaster General or under the Office of the Quartermaster General. There might have been some overlapping, but how many officers, enlisted men, WAC's and civilians immediately before the change were solely engaged upon the functions such as the estimate embraces? General GROSS. The Quartermaster Corps in 1941, or early in 1942, had a transportation division. About one-third of our present personnel, say 450, were taken from that organization at that time. Later when we absorbed the railway functions of the Corps of Engineers 66 civilians were transferred from that office to the Transportation Corps. Mr. SNYDER. When you took them over, do you know whether or not their former positions were allowed to remain vacant? General GROSs. Their former positions were not allowed to remain vacant. There were no vacancies left in either the Corps of Engineers or Quartermaster General's Office. Mr. SNYDER. The estimate is $1,878,677,000. Your latest studies do not offer promise of any carry-over? General GROSs. No, sir. SUMMARY OF PROJECTS Mr. SNYDER. The summary of projects will be inserted at this point. (The statement referred to is as follows:) Mr. SNYDER. For the procurement of boats and engines, the estimate is $120,848,500. (Discussion off the record.) Mr. SNYDER. General, may we see a list of the equipment you now have on hand and on order? I am referring to equipment such as indicated on the pages just inserted. General GROSS. We have a list here which shows all of our ships now in service, with the type, and the location. (Discussion off the record.) Mr. SNYDER. Of such boats and equipment now on order, when do you expect delivery? General GROSS. As to that which is on order, according to the Army supply program, we are supposed to have them before December 31 of this calendar year. Mr. SNYDER. Who determined upon the need for this additional equipment? General GROSS. The requisitions, of course, come from the theater commanders, for the most part. They are cleared by my office through the A. S. F. When the list is so approved it becomes part of the Army supply program. Mr. SNYDER. Do you place the contracts yourselves, except in the case of Navy-type equipment? General GROSS. We place the contracts ourselves. If there are any items that the Navy procures we get such items from the Navy. In the 1945 estimate none is procured by the Navy, although we describe certain items as Navy type. However, the Navy is not procuring that particular type. We will do so. In the case of particular types of landing craft, the Army procures its needs through the Navy. We would ask for the funds to do it, but we would ask the Navy to procure. Mr. SNYDER. Will you advertise for bids and award on a competitive basis, or is it intended to negotiate the contracts? General GROSS. We do not advertise. We are now requesting competitive bids to a far greater extent than formerly. With more facilities available we are now able to approach closer to the peacetime basis of procurement. We are asking for competitive bids, and are negotiating with the low bidder on such procurement. In the case of certain rail equipment, locomotives, for instance, we are guided by the War Production Board in the assignment of our contracts to use most effectively the available building capacity. We use Baldwin, the American Locomotive, and Lima, and others. All the available capacity in the country must be employed to satisfy the requirements we have. That then is done by assignment rather than by competitive bidding. That is not true of the water end. We have more facilities available and have more people in our office begging for contracts than we have work to give. Mr. SNYDER. From now on will you largely have competitive bidding for this equipment? General GROSs. Yes; to a much greater degree. Mr. SNYDER. What is meant on page 610 by "Less Corps of Engineers funds responsibility"? General GROSS. That refers to the item of $4,000,000 that we have on page 609 for Navy pontoon gear floating cranes. It is shown there that the engineers furnish us with a certain 35-ton gear crane that we mount upon a barge. The engineers have asked for the money in their appropriation, and we necessarily use it. They are responsible for the cranes and procure them. Mr. SNYDER. So there is no overlapping in asking for money or in expenditures; is that right? General GROSs. That is right, sir. PIER EQUIPMENT AND EQUIPMENT FOR BOATS Mr. SNYDER. Turn to the project applying to pier equipment and equipment for boats, please, on page 611, and give us the justification for the proposed expenditure of $63,486,558. |