NAVAL APPROPRIATION BILL.

MARCH 1 (calendar day, MARCH 3), 1913.-Ordered to be printed.

Mr. PADGETT, from the committee of conference, submitted the

following

CONFERENCE REPORT.

[To accompany H. R. 28812.]

The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendments of the Senate to the bill (H. R. 28812) making appropriations for the naval service for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1914, and for other purposes, having met, after full and free conference have agreed to recommend and do recommend to their respective Houses as follows:

That the Senate recede from its disagreement to the amendments of the House numbered 1, 3, 7, 8, 9, 12, 28, 29, 35, and 37.

That the House recede from its amendments numbered 6, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 22, 25, 26, 27, 30, 31, 34, 36, 38, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 51, and 52, and agree to the same.

Amendment numbered 2:

That the House recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the Senate numbered 2 and agree to the same with an amendment as follows:

Strike out all of said amendment and in lieu thereof insert the following:

Provided, That the President is hereby authorized, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint the dentist now at the United States Naval Academy a dental surgeon in the Navy for duty at the United States Naval Academy, to have the corresponding rank, pay, and allowances as the senior dental surgeon now at the United States Military Academy: And provided further, That he shall not be eligible for retirement before he has reached the age of seventy years except for physical disability incurred in the line of duty.

And the Senate agree to the same.

Amendment numbered 4:

That the House recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the Senate numbered 4, and agree to the same with an amendment as follows:

Restore the matter stricken out and add the following proviso:

Provided, That section 1486 of the Revised Statutes shall not apply in the case of officers who enter the Navy after the passage of this act and all such officers shall take precedence when of the same grade according to their respective dates of commission in that grade.

And the Senate agree to the same.

On page 3 of the bill, line 25, strike out the word "fifty" and in lieu thereof insert the words thirty-five.

Amendment numbered 5:

That the House recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the Senate numbered 5, and agree to the same with an amendment as follows:

Strike out all of said amendment after the word "specified," in line 7; strike out the comma and insert a period; and the Senate agree to the same.

Amendment numbered 10:

That the House recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the Senate numbered 10, and agree to the same with an amendment as follows:

Strike out "$46,491.95" and insert in lieu thereof $17,838.28; and the Senate agree to the same.

Amendment numbered 13:

That the House recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the Senate numbered 13, and agree to the same with an amendment as follows:

After the word "for" strike out the semicolon and insert the word and; and the Senate agree to the same.

Amendment numbered 21:

That the House recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the Senate numbered 21, and agree to the same with an amendment as follows:

After the word "stations" insert the following:

Provided, That the sum to be paid out of this appropriation for the purchase of land for sites for radio shore stations shall not exceed $50,000. And the Senate agree to the same.

Amendment numbered 23:

That the House recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the Senate numbered 23, and agree to the same with an amendment as follows:

Strike out "roadway to hospital, $7,000"; and the Senate agree to the same.

Amendment numbered 24:

That the House recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the Senate numbered 24, and agree to the same with an amendment as follows:

Strike out "$42,000" and insert in lieu thereof $35,000; and the Senate agree to the same.

Page 31 of the bill, line 17, strike out "$667,000" and insert $737,000.

Amendment numbered 32:

That the House recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the Senate numbered 32, and agree to the same with an amendment as follows:

Restore the matter stricken out; and the Senate agree to the same. Amendment numbered 33:

That the House recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the Senate numbered 33, and agree to the same with an amendment as follows:

The House recedes with the following amendments:

In said amendment in line 16, after the word "service," insert the words other than temporary service; in line 28 strike out the word "seventy" and insert the word sixty-four.

Strike out the last proviso in said amendment.

And the Senate agree to the same.

Amendment numbered 39:

That the House recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the Senate numbered 39, and agree to the same with an amendment as follows:

Strike out said amendment and in lieu thereof insert the following: The President is hereby authorized, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to appoint Nathaniel Matson Terry and William Woolsey Johnson professors in the corps of professors of mathematics in the Navy with the rank of lieutenant as extra numbers not in the line of promotion: Provided, That for pay and other purposes their service as instructors or professors at the United States Naval Academy previous to being commissioned shall count as service in the Navy: Provided further, That for the purpose of this act limitations as to age at the time of appointment shall not apply nor shall age constitute a claim for retirement, and nothing in this act shall operate to create a claim for back pay.

And the Senate agree to the same.

Page 45 of the bill, line 19, strike out "$35,703.28" and insert $35,711.28.

Page 45, line 24, strike out "$4,502,496.78" and insert $4,503,296.78.

Amendment numbered 45:

That the House recede from its disagreement to the amendment of the Senate numbered 45, and agree to the same with an amendment as follows:

Page 46, line 12, the following was stricken from the bill in the House on a point of order and, by error, printed in the bill as reported

to the Senate, and is therefore stricken out: "and no law shall be construed to entitle marines on shore duty to any rations, or commutation thereof, other than such as now are or hereafter may be allowed enlisted men in the Army."

Strike out all of the second paragraph in said amendment.
And the Senate agree to the same.

Page 51 of the bill, line 6, strike out "$7,557,433.78" and insert $7,558,233.78.

On amendments 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, and 58 the committee of conference have been unable to agree.

The managers on the part of the House at the conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the bill (H. R. 28812) "making appropriations for the naval service for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1914, and for other purposes," submit the following statement in explanation of the effect of the action agreed upon and submitted in the accompanying conference report on the amendments of the Senate, namely:

Amendments Nos. 1 and 2: Make the dentist now on duty at the United States Naval Academy an officer in the Dental Corps of the Navy with the corresponding rank of the dental surgeon now at the United States Military Academy, and provide that he shall not be eligible to retirement before reaching 70 years of age except for physical disability incurred in the line of duty.

Amendment No. 3: Provides that midshipmen who enter the United States Naval Academy hereafter shall not be credited in computing for any purpose the length of service as an officer in the Navy or Marine Corps, placing it on the same basis as in the Army.

Amendment No. 4: Provides that officers entering the Navy from civil life hereafter shall not be credited with five years' constructive service for the purpose of computing their pay or with six years' service in determining their precedence.

On page 3 of the bill, line 25, an increase of pay of 35 per cent for officers detailed as actual fliers of heavier-than-air craft is allowed, instead of 50 per cent as passed by the House. By unanimous consent of the House this change was permitted in conference.

Amendment No. 5: The House recedes with an amendment authorizing the accounting officers of the Treasury to allow disbursements heretofore made in accordance with regulations of the Secretary of the Navy for commutation of subsistence to the members of the Nurse Corps of the Navy, at the rate of 75 cents per day, but does not authorize such an allowance in the future.

Amendment No. 6: Allows the pay and allowances of officers to date from the date stated in their commissions.

Amendment No. 7: Provides that the same leave of absence shall be given to per diem employees of the classified service as is given. to the per annum employees, and the Senate recedes.

Amendment No. 8: Authorizes the accounting officers of the Treasury to make certain allowances to certain officers of the Navy on account of promotion under an opinion of the Attorney General, and the Senate recedes.

Amendment No. 9: Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to make readjustments to bring about an equalization of pay of classified employees of the navy yards and stations with the pay of employees of other Government departments performing similar duties, and the Senate recedes.

Amendment No. 10: Authorizes the Secretary of the Navy to credit the accounts of Paymaster John W. Morse, United States Navy, with the sum of $17,838.28, being the amount stolen from United States funds by Pay Clerk Edward V. Lee, United States Navy, and charged in the accounts of Paymaster Morse.