We have a gentleman on our national legislative committee who has given study to this form of legislation for a good many years. He has prepared a history of the activities of the American Legion concerning its efforts for legislation of this character. With your permission, Mr. Chairman, I should like to introduce this outstanding student of these problems. The CHAIRMAN. Before you do that, Mr. Commander, might the chairman make this statement? We have a number of witnesses, as the committee realizes, this morning, and we have a very important matter coming up on the floor at 12 o'clock, the rule for the consideration of the so-called "work relief bill." Of course, though, if any members of the committee desire to ask any questions, we want them to have the opportunity to ask before you conclude your statement. Mr. FITZPATRICK. Do you believe that if the Government can conscript human life, they ought to be in a position to conscript properties or the profits to be taken out entirely? Mr. BELGRANO. Yes, Mr. Congressman; we believe that unqualifiedly. Mr. FITZPATRICK. If a law providing for that had been in effect in 1917, as you have stated, there would not have been the millionaires who were created in this country during the war? Mr. BELGRANO. Yes, sir. Mr. FITZPATRICK. And of the 19 billion dollars that was spent by the Government during 1918, no doubt about 14 billion dollars of that was profit? Mr. BELGRANO. Yes, sir. Mr. FITZPATRICK. According to the figures given here, of 400 and 500 per cent profit? Mr. BELGRANO. Yes, sir. Mr. FITZPATRICK. And, as you referred to the bonus, in 5 years there were refunded to this same group from the Treasury of the United States, 4 billion dollars, which would have paid off the bonus? Mr. BELGRANO. Yes, sir. Mr. FITZPATRICK. And those 4 billion dollars were refunded to the same groups that are now members of the Economy League? Mr. BELGRANO. Yes, Mr. Fitzpatrick, I agree thoroughly with your remarks. The Legion claims that not only should the Government have proceeded to point its finger to the man power of this country and conscript it, but the Government should also have drafted capital and industry and all the material resources of the country, for the protection of all the people, on an equal basis. Mr. FITZPATRICK. If it were so provided that that would happen, I doubt if we would ever have another war. Mr. PLUMLEY. Mr. Belgrano, has the Legion, through its legislative committee, drawn up any specific act along this line which it will support ? Mr. BELGRANO. The Legion has on different occasions drawn acts. But in this Congress the Legion has not sponsored any specific legislation. It has refrained from doing so up to this point, because of the fact that we were advised that hearings were to be held on this particular bill and, further, because of the fact that the President of the United States has made a formal statement that he had appointed a committee to study this important question and that legislation would be submitted to the Congress. The Legion is not particularly interested in the sponsoring of bills. It is interested in the purport of the bills. Mr. PLUMLEY. That is what I wanted to find out. Have you yourself had an opportunity to examine this particular bill, H. R. 3? Mr. BELGRANO. I did, sir. Mr. PLUMLEY. Are you in a position to express your opinion in regard to it? Mr. BELGRANO. I believe, sir, that the contents of the bill are good; but I think that they lack a great many of the items that the Legion has been fighting for, over a period of many years. Mr. PLUMLEY, There are suggestions as to amendments that will be made by you or somebody else in behalf of the American Legion, as we go on with our hearings, I take it? Mr. BELGRANO. Yes, sir. Mr. HILL. In other words, in this hearing, that which this bill lacks will be brought up by some of your witnesses? Mr. BELGRANO. Yes, sir. Mr. HILL. Are there any further questions? If not, we will be glad to hear your next witness. Colonel TAYLOR. Mr. Chairman, with your permission, I now present Mr. Raymond J. Kelley, of Detroit. STATEMENT OF HON. RAYMOND J. KELLY, OF DETROIT, MICH. Mr. HILL. Mr. Kelly, you were the chairman of the national legislative committee of the American Legion last year? Mr. KELLY. That is correct. Mr. HILL. Will you state your full name? Mr. KELLY. Raymond J. Kelly. Mr. KELLY. Yes, sir. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, our vice chairman, Mr. Taylor, has given you very, very briefly a short history of the Legion's efforts in this regard. I think that, for the purposes of this record, we should have a complete history of the efforts of the American Legion on this sort of legislation. With your permission, therefore, I will very briefly read into the record the chain of events and series of resolutions which have been adopted by the American Legion in its conventions. Mr. HILL. Mr. Kelly, may I ask you this: How long will it take to read that? The only thing I have in mind is this: I realize that some of the gentlemen here this morning will not be able to come back tomorrow. I thought that, if it were very long, we might have it put into our record, but not read all of it right now. I will leave that to your good discretion. You know better how to divide up your time than this committee does. Mr. KELLY. There are things that I want to say outside of the resolutions and the history of the thing, and that it will take time to say; and, I presume, if that is true, I will have an opportunity to refer to it. So, if you will put into the record this statement, I will be pleased. Mr. HILL. Without any objection, then, the statement submitted by Mr. Kelly, as to the history of this subject matter, will appear at this time in the record as a part of Mr. Kelly's remarks. Mr. KELLY. Very well. The American Legion national conventions have adopted resolutions on the subject of the universal draft at each convention from 1921 to 1934. The first resolution requested the appointment of a national committee to investigate the question of universal draft and report the findings of its study to the 1922 convention at New Orleans. The text of the first resolution on this subject is as follows, as shown at page 37 of the Proceedings of the Third National Convention, Kansas City, Mo., November 2, 1921: The report recommended the appointment of a committee by the national organization of the Legion to study the question of universal draft in time of national emergency, of all persons capable of military and industrial service, together with the universal draft of land, material, plants, and capital suitable for preparation and prosecution of war, and report the result of the study to the next national convention. The manner in which the Legion committee made its investigations and the nature of its report is set forth in some detail in the resolution adopted on the subject at the New Orleans convention, which is herewith set forth in full text, as shown at page 16 of the Proceedings of the Fourth National Convention, New Orleans, La., October 18, 1922: The Third National Convention of the American Legion adopted a resolution, submitted by the national military affairs committee at that convention, which directed the national commander to appoint a committee to study the question of a universal draft of all persons capable of industrial as well as military service, and in addition the universal draft of land, material, plants, and capital necessary to the prosecution of war. The national commander in January of that year, 1922, delegated this duty to the national military affairs committee. This committee met in Washington, D. C., in February, and again in June, and upon both occasions this subject was carefully and fully considered. The committee in its deliberation has had the advice of some of the best economic and military experts of our Nation. It has further studied the experience of France, England, and Germany on this subject during the World War. It has further reviewed all of the war-time legislation enacted by Congress between April 6, 1917, and March 4, 1919, that was in force in our country at the end of the war, the National Defense Act, as amended, and the many specially prepared articles on industrial mobilization. The only important legislation on the statute books at the present time which provides for mobilization of any part of our country's resources is the National Defense Act, as amended June 14, 1920. This makes provision for First. Drafting the National Guard in order to overcome the limitations placed by the Constitution upon the use of the militia as such. Second. A commandeering section which authorizes the President to place order for munitions and other supplies in any factory he may select, and provides not only punishment for a refusal to accept such orders, but authorizes him, if necessary, to commandeer such factories. There is no legislation to give the President power in case of any emergency declared by Congress to mobilize all of the material resources, industrial organizations, and services for the purpose of carrying on war, including power to stabilize prices not only for those commodities required by the Government but for the whole civilian population. The additional legislation necessary should provide for (a) The selection for service of any necessary part of the unorganized militia. (b) Control of material resources and industrial organizations other than the commandeering section in the National Defense Act. (c) Control over prices of commodities for the Government and the civil population, together with control over service. (d) Creation of the various auxiliary agencies which were found to be necessary in the last war, such as the War Industries Board, Fuel Administration, War Trade Board, Food Administration, and so forth. It must be made clear that the draft features of the Federal statute submitted for the approval of the fourth annual convention of the American Legion would not be operative until Congress had declared. war or other emergency authorizing the use of the armed forces. The provisions of this statute, other than the draft, would become operative when war is imminent, the purpose being to authorize the President to establish the necessary machinery to stabilize conditions before war conditions have thrown the economic machinery of the country out of gear. Business men are generally willing to take Government contracts if assured of prices of raw material, labor, power, and transportation remaining stable; and labor in general will be content with existing wages if assured that the cost of food, shelter, and clothing will remain stable. It is the opinion of this committee that if all necessary stabilizing machinery can be made operative immediately upon the imminence of an emergency, that a long and important step forward will have been made in organizing the national defense in an orderly, equitable, and economical manner. This committee believes that this important piece of legislation should be approved by this Congress and that its enactment into law should represent one of the primary activities of the coming year. The committee believes that a statute of this character will, if properly administered, take the profit out of war and will preclude in any future crisis many, if not all, of the economic ills, dissatisfaction, and unrest that have been the aftermath of the World War. This committee further believes that if such a law had existed in 1917 our real activity at the front would have been advanced many months, our Nation could have saved billions of dollars, and adjusted compensation would not now be necessary. Our Nation has today for the first time in its history a sound military policy which provides for a small Regular Army and a citizen army capable of rapid expansion in time of a national emergency. This Army of the United States-Regular, Established, National Guard, and Organized Reserve-if properly administered and not handicapped in its functioning by lack of adequate appropriation from Congress, should form the nucleus of a harmonious and efficient national defense and be prepared to take a national position in readiness. This military policy, however, is incomplete without legislation that will prepare our country to draft immediately, without favor, all the man power and resources of our Nation by a comprehensive and carefully considered plan of action. The American Legion is for peace, but it believes, as did the Father of our Country, that the best assurance of peace is to be found in a reasonable state of preparedness. "Equal rights for all and special privileges for none" was said long ago as a protest of our people against the same influence in our public life that during the World War profited on every side and developed a war-strength division of millionaires. We are not here. to criticize our country for its failure to protect itself against this attack of selfishness and greed, but the American Legion is looking our Nation in the face today and saying that in any future emergency our national motto must be "equal service for all and special profit for none." The following is the proposed law: An Act to provide further for the national security and defense. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That in the event of a national emergency declared by Congress to exist, which in the judgment of the President demands the immediate increase of the Military Establishment, the President be, and he hereby is, authorized to draft into the service of the United States such members of the Unorganized Militia as he may deem necessary. To determine and proclaim the material resources, industrial organizations, and services over which Government control is necessary, and such control shall be exercised by him through agencies then existing or which he may create for such purposes. To take such steps as may be necessary to stabilize prices of services and of all commodities declared to be essential, whether such services and commodities are required by the Government or by the civilian population. As soon as the short session of the Sixty-seventh Congress convened, following the adoption of the resolution proposing such a bill, Representative Royal C. Johnson, legionnaire, of South Dakota, on December 6, 1922, introduced H. R. 13201, embodying the phraseology recommended by the Legion report as just read to you. On the same day, December 6, 1922, Representative John J. McSwain, legionnaire, of South Carolina, introduced H. J. Res. 400, to provide a congressional study of universal-draft legislation, including the preparation of legislation to be recommended to the Congress for enactment. Both measures were referred to the House Military Affairs Committee. No action was taken by that committee during that session, although the principle of the legislation was endorsed by President Harding in his Memorial Day address, May 30, 1923. At the next session the Johnson bill and the McSwain resolution were again introduced in the House. The Capper bill was also introduced in the Senate as a companion measure to the Johnson bill. From March 11 to March 20, 1924, the House Military Affairs Committee held hearings upon the Johnson bill and the McSwain resolution. The committee favorably reported the McSwain resolution on May 15, 1924. Its consideration under unanimous consent was objected to on the floor. A rule for its consideration was then |