Potomac Parkway Commission. He is ex officio a member of the Board of Managers of the National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, and has supervision over the Board of Commissioners of the Soldiers' Home at Washington. He is a member of, and chairman of the Council of National Defense, which, of course, now is not in active operation. He is the chairman of the committee consisting of the Secretaries of the Treasury, Commerce, Navy, and War, and the chairman of the Emergency Fleet Corporation, to determine the future policy of the Government with respect to merchant marine. That is more or less inactive now. He is a member of the Smithsonian Institution. He is chairman of the commission to select a site for the monument of General Meade. Of course, many of these things are of no particular importance now. He has the care of the monument and the wharf at Wakefield, Va. He is charged with the supervision and maintenance of the Arlington National Cemetery, and of all military cemeteries and national parks. He has various other duties of that sort.

I simply list those to show the number of outside activities there are coming under the War Department.

The House committee considered a bill establishing a Council of National Defense. One idea in that was to have a coordinating body made up of the three assistant secretaries who have the general duties of coordinating the air activities of the Army, the Navy, and the Commerce Departments. That, as you know, was one of the recommendations of the Morrow Board. I believe that a Second Assistant Secretary of War charged with the supervision of the Air Corps, and such other duties as the Secretary of War might direct, would have a good influence in bringing about a close coordination between the three departments interested in aviation. That would be his prime duty. That recommendation was made by the Morrow Board, and the general feeling, I think, has been that it would have a good psychological effect, and that he would be of considerable benefit in bringing about this coordination between the departments.

Those are the principal suggestions that I have to make aside from the various points which were brought up to-day.

Senator WARREN. Mr. Secretary, I would be glad to have your opinion of our position-which might develop from peace into war at any time--if we should conclude to go slow and have not too large an Air Service, but to plan to at once assemble in war the aircraft of the nation which seem to be developing and will probably amount to something very soon." What is your idea of the growth in the country of the facilities for aircraft production and the time that it would take to assemble them if money were provided, which, of course, would be done in war time very readily?

Secretary DAVIS. That problem is much less serious to-day than it was two years ago.

Senator WARREN. Of course, assuming that the education of our men is going on?

Secretary DAVIS. It is important to have enough pilots trained in order to man the air corps and to train the new men. It is important to have a sufficient nucleus of fighting planes.

Senator WARREN. And, of course, you would be bringing in machines from the commercial world, and you would also bring in more or less,

probably all, the pilots from there, but you should have your own organization?

Secretary DAVIS. You must have the military organization in addition to that.

Senator WARREN. Oh, yes.

Secretary DAVIS. Although commercial pilots would be what you might call a second line of defense. They would be men who would be more readily drawn for military duty. The growth of commercial aviation will assist that problem very materially. On the other hand, you will always have to have a sufficient nucleus of men trained in the military end of aviation, particularly in the strategic handling of aircraft.

Senator WARREN. I asked the question because I can not see the funds available which are required to establish the increases sought for in this bill. I can not see the way clear for the appropriation providing the money.

Secretary DAVIS. That, of course, is the difficulty.

Senator WARREN. I do not believe that we are going to be in any position under any administration to appropriate the amount of money necessary, unless war is imminent, to provide any such machinery for the Army and the Navy and the others. I say that without depreciating in any way the importance of aviation.

Secretary DAVIS. On the other hand, you must have a sufficient nucleus to bring about the expansion in time of need. Senator WARREN. Granted-always.

The CHAIRMAN. Do you happen to know, Mr. Secretary, whether any other program has been considered involving an increase smaller than the one proposed in this bill? For example, a number of officers less than 403 or a number of planes less than 1,800? Secretary DAVIS. That of course could be worked out. You would have to figure the tactical organizations under which the number of officers and men which you have decided upon would be proper. That could be worked out. It ought to be a rounded force, even in the Air Service itself; I mean, depending on the tactical organizations.

Senator WARREN. I think the country ought to know, and I hope it will be the policy of the Army and of the Navy in any literature that may be gotten out, to inform the public as to what these things are going to cost. We are all wanting things established which we think cost $1, and we finally find that they cost $10-like these airplanes. When this bill was reported over from the House, the total cost was said to be $29,000,000, which we all know of course, is not sufficient to take care of all the costs involved therein for the Army. That is my opinion that we ought to know what these things are going to cost.

Secretary DAVIS. The figures have been published several times. The CHAIRMAN. Do you care to say anything more, Mr. Secretary?

Secretary DAVIS. No; I have finished.

The CHAIRMAN. We thank you very much. That will be all for this afternoon.

(Whereupon at 5.45 p. m. the committee adjourned.)

X

3