TRANSLATION OF AN OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION DATED DECEMBER 31, 1919, FROM THE DIRECTOR OF THE INTERNATIONAL REGISTRATION BUREAU AT HABANA, WITH REFERENCE TO THE PRESENT SITUATION OF THE BUREAU. * * * It would seem advisable not to delay the construction of a special building for the Trade-Mark Bureau. Our archives are increasing with such rapidity that their transfer elsewhere will be more and more difficult as time goes on. If we allow the months to pass without making definite plans for a building of our own, the rental contract for the building now used will expire, leaving us in no position to make an advantageous contract, inasmuch as we would be at the mercy of real estate owners, who understand the importance of the bureau and who would probably take advantage of our position and demand an exorbitant rent. The early negotiation of the arrangements concerning a new building constitute, in my opinion, the most urgent need of the office. We can avail ourselves of the provisions of the law of December 3, 1918, referring to the bureau, by virtue of which the President is authorized to cede, free of all obligation, to the Bureau of the International Union for the protection of trade-marks a parcel of land from the property of the State, on which special building should be erected, and to contribute $25,000 in cash as the gift of Cuba toward the construction and equipment of such a building. [Translation of Cuban law.] REPUBLIC OF CUBA. Act approved July 3, 1918, concerning the International Trade-Mark Registration Bureau at Habana. ARTICLE I. The Executive is authorized to contribute ten thousand dollars ($10,000) toward the initial organization expenses of the International TradeMark Registration Bureau in Habana, such sum to be expended by the director of the bureau and to be made available in such manner and at such times as the Executive may deem desirable. ART. II. The ten thousand dollars ($10,000) appropriated in Article I shall be made available from the general fund of any moneys not otherwise appropriated. ART. III. The President of the Republic is authorized, when he shall deem it desirable, to grant to the International Trade-Mark Registration Bureau, in Habana, a lot of land within the city limits from land owned by the Government, for the purpose of constructing thereon the permanent home of the bureau. ART. IV. The cost of constructing the edifice mentioned in the foregoing article shall be borne either through proportional contribution by all the nations in the northern group, or through the application thereto of the funds of the bureau, or through both means. ART. V. In addition to the cession of land hereinbefore provided, the Execu tive is further authorized to expend twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) in payment of the contribution of Cuba toward the cost of construction and equipment of the permanent home of the International Trade-Mark Registration Bureau of Habana. ART. VI. The sum of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) mentioned in the foregoing article will be paid from any public funds not otherwise appropriated; and in connection with the cession of land, construction of the building, its adornment, etc., the President will deal directly with the director of the bureau and with the diplomatic representatives in Cuba of the American republics constituting the northern group. ART. VII. This act will take effect upon publication in the Official Gazette. The CHAIRMAN. Have you made any estimates as to the kind of a building you would need there? Mr. DICKINSON. They have asked $825,000-five times what Cuba put up. The CHAIRMAN. I understand that. Mr. RowE. The only thing done was that when the director of the bureau was up here we had conferences in the Supervising Architect's office. Of course, those expenses have to be calculated. The CHAIRMAN. Has the Supervising Architect looked over these plans and made an estimate of the kind of building we need? Mr. Rowe. The word "estimate" is an exaggeration, because you can not have an estimate until you have a plan. But the idea was that a certain amount of floor space was required, that this particular site called for a particular type of building, and the cost was calculated, as far as could be calculated, before we had the plans definitely drawn. The idea was that when the architectural competition was opened, it should then be stated that the specifications and everything should be drawn in such a way as to bring the building within this $1,000,000 construction cost. Mr. MCGUIRE. The Commissioner of Patents and the director of the Trade-Mark Bureau held certain conferences as to the minimum requirements of such a building; that is, the amount of space and the type of equipment needed to keep records of that sort fireproof and with due convenience and safety. On the minimum requirements, as they regarded them, the director of the bureau conferred with the Acting Supervising Architect last summer, and without committing himself since he had no official request from the Secretary of the Treasury to commit himself-the Acting Supervising Architect expressed, quite informally, the opinion that a building of that sort would cost approximately $1,000,000 under existing building conditions in Habana. That is the sum total of negotiations so far carried on. Mr. DICKINSON. But there has been a definite proposition suggested to the supervising architect stating what these needs are? Mr. MCGUIRE. Not formally by the Secretary, which is the only way in which he could put himself on record. Mr. MOORES. How many employees has the bureau there? Mr. MOORES. Are you acquainted with the amount of space occupied in the Patent Office by the Trade-Mark Bureau of this country— about as much as this committee occupies, is it not? Mr. MCGUIRE. I should say it was very much more. The office of the chief examiner of trade-marks is as large as this room and the trade-mark records themselves extend for three or four rooms beyond that. Mr. MOORES. This committee has three rooms. It seems to me that it occupies about the same space this committee does. Mr. MCGUIRE. I believe that the Commissioner of Patents is not satisfied with the space he has there. Mr. ACKERMAN. Doctor, do any of the countries contribute toward the cost except Cuba and the United States? Mr. Rowe. All the countries belonging to the northern group. Mr. HOUGHTON. With the exception of Mexico. What is the total contribution toward the erection of this building outside of the United States. Mr. Rowe. About $125,000. Mr. ACKERMAN. Just the difference between $825,000 and $1,000,000? Mr. RowE. No. The total contribution would be the difference between $825,000 and $1,000,000. The Cuban contribution is their land. 161477-20-5 Mr. MCGUIRE. Approximately $75,000 would be the total of the other countries, as the group now stands, without Mexico. The population of the United States constitutes 93 per cent of the population of the countries of the northern group which have ratified the convention. If Mexico with her population of about 15,000,000, were to ratify the convention, our population would be something in the neighborhood of 80 per cent of the whole and the quota of the United States would be established accordingly. Mr. ACKERMAN. Was there some particular reason whereby this building was to be erected in Cuba rather than in the United States? Mr. MCGUIRE. The fact that the convention itself designates Habana as the seat of the northern registration bureau. Mr. ACKERMAN. And it did so also regarding Rio. Mr. Rowe. And the erection of the building at Rio for the southern group will be a matter for the southern group. Mr. HOUGHTON. Canada is not in? Mr. MCGUIRE. No. Mr. ACKERMAN. Does the United States contribute toward the building at Rio? Mr. Rowe. Not at all; it has nothing to do with that; that has been apportioned among the southern countries. The CHAIRMAN. This $825,000 is for the building? Mr. Rowe. It is for the building. The CHAIRMAN. There has to be subsequent appropriation for the furnishing? Mr. Rowe. No, this is for furnishing and equipment-on page 10 the Secretary of State's report, the fourth paragraph. The CHAIRMAN. How many feet of floor space did you calculate this trade-mark commission would need? Mr. RowE. Eventually about the space required by the Pan American Union. I am afraid I have not got that, but I will try to put that in the record. (The data referred to, was subsequently furnished by Mr. Rowe, appearing above, p. 61.) The CHAIRMAN. How far have the American commissioners obligated the United States to construct this building? Mr. Rowe. There is no obligation. The CHAIRMAN. No obligation at all? Mr. Rowe. There is no commitment in the sense that any Government department or officer has committed the United States for this, since it is a matter no one can undertake without authorization. The CHAIRMAN. And, of course, the United States is much more active in promoting this than all the other countries combined. Mr. Rowe. From a commercial standpoint it is more deeply interested. Mr. ACKERMAN. Then what I would assume would be done would be delaying this appropriation for a year, in view of the fact that the cost of building at the present time is 100 to 150 per cent higher than in normal times Mr. HOUGHTON (interposing). And exchange is against us. The Cuban dollar is worth more now than our own dollar? Mr. Rowe. Slightly more. The CHAIRMAN. I am in entire sympathy with your commission, and I think it should be encouraged in every way we can, but it does seem to me that the construction of the building costing $1,000,000 is quite extravagant. Mr. Rowe. The building as such has nothing to do with the International High Commission; it is not intended to house the commission or anything of that kind, but is exclusively for the Trademark Registration Bureau, and for no other purpose whatever. The CHAIRMAN. What would be wrong with appropriating enough money to rent a good substantial building in Habana for two or three years, until the cost of building assumed its normal proportions? Mr. Rowe. I understand that at the present time the director has rented these quarters and is paying this rental out of the quota assigned to each country for maintenance of the bureau. The CHAIRMAN. How many feet of floor space has he, do you know? Mr. Rowe. Not exactly, but what he has will soon become very much too small for his purposes. Mr. MCGUIRE. The rent is $180 a month. Mr. Rowe. In Habana there are very few buildings available, and it is one of the cities where renting is most difficult. There has been very little building going on in Habana the last two or three years, and this is a one-story building which he finally was able to secure. The CHAIRMAN. I assume that your idea in the construction of this splendid building is to appropriately house the bureau and impress Latin America with the importance we attach to the matter? Mr. Rowe. Of course, the bureau has an international significance and sooner or later it should be housed with a certain dignity and prestige that goes with such accommodations. Mr. DICKINSON. Is not that the reason why one should be very cautious in asking for money now for building purposes? I think every one would agree to that general proposition that it ought to be properly housed and it ought to be dignified, and, if necessary, to spend $1,000,000 for the building, but is this the time to ask for that kind of a building? Mr. Rowe. Of course, the return to the United States in the actual benefits from this bureau would run into many, many millions of dollars. The CHAIRMAN. We appreciate that, Doctor. The point that I have in mind is the wisdom of spending $1,000,000 on the construction of a building, especially at this time, when the cost of building is so very high. Mr. Rowe. I do not want to labor the point any. The idea is to have this building open to international competition of architects. That is a long process. I doubt very much whether, if you were to appropriate the money this spring, any jury would make a decision on the architectural plan before the spring of next year. Then, after you decide upon that, you have to have the specifications, which would probably mean anywhere from two to four years from the time you make the appropriation until the building would be ready for occupation. The CHAIRMAN. We would have to have the money available, and that is where the shoe is pinching. Mr. Rowe. The money would have to be available, it probably would not be drawn from the Treasury for three years to come Mr. MOORES. Who owns the land? Mr. RowE. The Cuban Government, at the present time. Mr. MOORES. Then, there is no particular urgency in buying the land? Mr. RowE. They will give the land. Mr. DICKINSON. Would it not answer your purpose to ask for something like $5,000 to have plans drawn for such a building, and is not that really what you want now? The CHAIRMAN. They do not need that; the Supervising Architect can do that. Mr. DICKINSON. He can not very well hold an international competition. The CHAIRMAN. No. Mr. Rowe. The idea was to provide for competition, just as competition was provided for when the Pan American Building was constructed. Mr. FLOOD. Does the Secretary of State make an estimate for this building? Mr. DICKINSON. Page 10. Mr. FLOOD. I mean, in the preparation of the bill? Mr. DICKINSON. He bases his estimate on the fact that we ought to spend five times as much as Cuba. The CHAIRMAN. It is based, Mr. Flood, on the population. Mr. Rowe. The next item that I desire to submit to the committee is the appropriation for the Fifth International Conference of the American States. Members of the committee will recall that the fourth conference assembled at Buenos Aires in 1910. The thought at that time was that the fifth conference should assemble at Santiago in September, 1914. The outbreak of the war lead to the postponment of the conference, and during the war the Government of Chile did not deem it advisable to call the conference. The Chilean Government has not as yet formally indicated a time, but it is thought that the conference will be called some time before the close of the fiscal year 1920-21. That will have allowed a longer interval between Pan American conferences than has ever occurred before. The first conference was held at Washington in 1889, the second in Mexico City in 1901; the third at Rio in 1906; and the fourth at Buenos Aires in 1910. The appropriation of $75,000 was made for the American delegation to the fifth conference by the act of 1914. That was reduced to $50,000 in the appropriation bill of last year. The Secretary of State requests that in the bill of this year the amount be restored to $75,000, because of the fact that the cost of sending a delegation to any foreign country at the present time, and especially to a South American country, is very much greater than it would have been in 1914 or prior to the outbreak of the war. I may say that the appropriation for the Washington conference of 1889 was $124,879.89. For the Mexican Conference, 1901, $25,000. Of course, the distance to be traveled, and traveling expenses were very much less in sending a delegation to Mexico City. The Rio conference made an expenditure of $27,945, and for the Buenos Aires conference the amount expended was $106,406. The heavier expenditure in connection with the Buenos Aires conference is probably due to the fact that delegations went to Buenos Aires on a Government vessel, the entire cost of which |