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71ST CONGRESS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session

AMEND PURE FOOD LAW

JUNE 25, 1930.—Ordered to be printed

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

following

CONFERENCE REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 730]

The committee of conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendment of the Senate to the bill (H. R. 730) to amend section 8 of the act entitled "An act for preventing the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulterated or misbranded or poisonous or deleterious foods, drugs, medicines, and liquors, and for regulating traffic therein and for other purposes," approved June 30, 1906, as amended, 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 amendment.

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STATEMENT OF THE MANAGERS ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE

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The managers on the part of the House at the conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendment of the Senate to the bill (H. R. 730) to amend section 8 of the act entitled "An ac for preventing the manufacture, sale, or transportation of adulteratel or misbranded or poisonous or deleterious foods, drugs, medicines, and liquors, and for regulating traffic therein and for other purposes,' approved June 30, 1906, as amended, submit the following written statement in explanation of the effect of the action agreed upon by the conferees and recommended in the accompanying conference report: The House bill authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to establish certain standards for various classes of canned food. The Senate. amendment adds to the House bill a paragraph prescribing detailed . procedure to be followed in establishing such standards and also contains language which might be interpreted to authorize the establishment of standards for all foods, and the establishment of definitions as well as standards; and the Senate recedes.

G. N. HAUGEN,

FRED S. PURNELL,
J. B. ASWELL,

Managers on the part of the House.

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REGULATE THE DISTRIBUTION AND PROMOTION OF COMMISSIONED OFFICERS OF THE LINE OF THE NAVY, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

JUNE 26, 1930.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. BRITTEN, from the Committee on Naval Affairs, submitted the

following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 1190]

The Committee on Naval Affairs of the House of Representatives, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 1190) to regulate the distribution and promotion of commissioned officers of the line of the Navy, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and with the recommendation that the bill do pass.

By the act of August 29, 1916, the existing system of promotion and retirement of the line officers of the Navy was established. This system substituted promotion by selection of the officers deemed best fitted to perform the duties of the next higher grades, "selection up," as it has been termed, for the then method of "selection out," whereby those least efficient were chosen for immediate retirement. By the present system a board of nine rear admirals is convened annually to select for promotion to the grades of rear admiral, captain, and commander the number of officers necessary to fill the prospective vacancies in those grades during the ensuing year. Officers who are not so selected for promotion before reaching certain ages or completing certain periods of commissioned service are placed upon the retired list.

This system of promotion has been in effect for over 13 years and has in the main proved satisfactory. There are improvements, however, which will make it operate more efficiently and with more justice to individual officers. These improvements are embodied in this bill. The bill is not a reversal nor is it a major alteration of the existing naval promotion system, but a smoothing-out measure to remove inequities and to equalize the opportunities, subject of course to their individual professional ability, of all officers in their progress through a service career.

The bill represents the result of some years' study by both the Committee on Naval Affairs of the House of Representatives and by the Navy Department. The provisions of this bill have been passed upon by the Budget and reported as not in conflict with the President's financial program. The bill represents an increased cost of but $31,000 a year until June, 1930, only, and a substantial saving will accrue thereafter.

The results accomplished by the bill are:

(a) Increased regularity of periods spent by each officer in each of the higher grades, affording proper opportunity for acquiring the experience necessary for advanced rank, and thereby increasing the efficiency of the officer personnel.

(b) Readjustment of the percentage distribution of the total number of officers in the Navy among the several grades, decreasing slightly the number of lieutenants and correspondingly increasing slightly the number of commanders, lieutenant commanders, lieutenants (junior grade), and ensigns. This is in order to adjust the grades to the changed characteristics of the present-day Navy, which is composed of a proportionately larger number of small vessels than that of 1916 when the existing percentage distribution of officers in the several grades was established. No increase whatsoever is made in the permanent total number of officers allowed the Navy by existing law.

(c) Assurance to all officers who pass regularly through the lower grades that they will be afforded opportunity for selection before becoming subject to retirement because of any possible stagnation of promotion.

(d) Protection of the interests of the large group of war-time officers who were in 1921 amalgamated with the regular Navy.

(e) Protection of the older officers of a class or group against retirement before receiving an opportunity for selection.

Increased regularity of the number of selections for promotion to each grade annually, without increasing, however, the actual number of promotions, which remains subject to the occurrence of actual vacancies in grades above.

(g) Insurance against excessive numbers of forced retirements in any one year. These last two combined remove to a large degree the present adverse conditions affecting officers in congested groups, or "humps," in the Navy list, and give such officers more equality of opportunity with their fellow officers not within the "humps." The effect of the various sections of the bill is:

Section 1 makes minor changes in the distribution, by percentages, of the line officers of the Navy in the several grades, as follows: Rear admirals and captains, no change; commanders, increase from 7 per cent of the total to 8 per cent; lieutenant commanders, increase from 14 to 15 per cent; lieutenants, decrease from 321⁄2 to 32 per cent; lieutenants (junior grade) and ensigns together, increase from 41% to 42 per cent. (One per cent of the number of officers at present authorized is 55.)

Section 2 provides for a minimum annual number of selections for promotion, by the selection board already established by the act of 1916 and unchanged by this bill, thus permitting an even annual flow of promotion and avoiding the inequities of a large number of selections one year and a small the next.

Section 3 continues the present temporary law of ineligibility for promotion if not selected therefor, after certain periods of service prescribed for each grade of officer, thus captains at 35 years of service, commanders at 28, lieutenant commanders at 21. This is not a new principle, since ineligibility had consequent retirement on reaching a certain age in each grade was provided by the basic law of 1916, which introduced promotion by selection and retirement if not selected, and this service-in-grade substitution for age in grade is only to insure all members of a Naval Academy class the same opportunity, since under the old law the older members might reach the retirement age before reaching the top of the grade and being selected. The provisos of this section equalize the retirement status of all officers by referring their service to a common origin of June 30 of the year in which their Naval Academy class would have completed a 4-year course, or, if they are not Naval Academy graduates, to that date for the next class below them on the Navy list.

Section 4 directs the method of promotions to be made from the selections made in accordance with the prior law and with section 2 of the bill. Officers thus selected are placed on a promotion list and remain there without the necessity of reselection until the vacancy occurs to which they fall heir.

Section 5 provides for the retirement of officers who have become ineligible for selection, under section 3, for service in grade, and also of those who, having been selected, fail to pass the required examination for promotion. A further provision is made to allow the retirement, rather than the dropping with one year's pay as under present law, of lieutenants of over 45 years of age or of over 20 years' service, who may fail on examination for promotion; this in justice to the older officers taken in as a result of the war.

Section 6 continues the existing law as to the pay of officers who are retired under the bill at the rate of 21⁄2 per cent, times years of service, of the base pay at time of retirement.

Section 7 prevents too great a number of retirements in any one year by prescribing a maximum number in any grade, expressed as a ratio to fit any expansion or contraction of the Navy list, and permitting those over this maximum number to be retained for another year on the active list and to have another chance at selection. A proviso to this section allows a temporary excess of graduates, in early June, to be commissioned to anticipate the vacancies occurring, through the system of forced retirements, on June 30, thereby insuring against the Navy dropping below full strength on that date and remaining depleted till the following class graduates in the next June.

Section 8 excludes additional numbers from computations as to numbers in rank, promotions, retirements, and so forth, and states the usual rule as to fractions.

Section 9 repeals specifically the so-called age-in-grade provision of the earlier law, now substituted by the service-in-grade rule of section 3 of this bill.

Section 10 amends section 30 of the act of March 4, 1925, providing for the retirement of officers specially commended for conduct in combat with the enemy. This section was based on the "age-ingrade" feature as above, now repealed by section 9. A new clause

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