The next amendment was, on page 4, after line 2, to insert a new section, as follows: SEC. 2. That there is hereby authorized to be appropriated not to exceed $6,413,500, to be expended for the construction and installation at military posts of such technical buildings and utilities and appur tenances thereto as may be necessary, as follows: Albrook Field, Canal Zone: Hangars, $200,000; Air Corps shops and warehouse, $126,000; headquarters and operations building, $40,000; radio, parachute, and armament building, $25,000; gasoline and oil storage, $75,000; paint, oil, and dope warehouse, $5,000; improvement of landing field, $600,000. France Field, Canal Zone: Hangars, $80,000; operations building, $30,000; photo, radio, parachute, and armament buildings, $61,000; air-depot shops, $160,000; air-depot warehouse $200,000; improvement of landing field, $103,000. Hawaiian Department, Wheeler Field: Hangars, $240,000; Air Corps field warehouse, $45,000; Air Corps field shops, $81,000; headquarters and operations building, $40,000; photo, radio, parachute, and armament buildings, $61,000; gasoline and oil storage, $15,000; paint, oil, and dope warehouse, $5,000; improvement landing field, $110,000. Bolling Field, D. C.: Hangars, $160,000; gasoline and oil storage, $12,000; paints, oil, and dope warehouse, $5,000; improvement landing field, $100,000. Chanute Field, Ill. Hangars, $120,000; Air Corps shops and warehouse, $126,000; headquarters and operations building, $40,000; photo, radio, parachute, and armament buildings, $61,000; school building, $80,000; gasoline and oil storage $10,000; paint, oil, and dope warehouse $5,000. Duncan Field, Tex.: Hangars, $80,000; air-depot shops, $243,000. Fairfield air depot, Ohio: Air-depot shops, $243,000. Fort Sam Houston, Tex.: Hangars, $40,000; Air Corps field shops and warehouse, $60,000; headquarters building, $20,000; photo, radio, parachute, and armament buildings, $61,000; gasoline and oil storage, $5,000; improvement landing field, $20,000. Marshall Field, Kans.: Hangar, $40,000; Air Corps field shops and warehouse, $60,000; headquarters building, $20,000; photo, radio, parachute, and armament buildings, $61,000; gasoline and oil storage, $5,000; paint, oil, and dope warehouse, $5,000; improvement of landing field, $15,000. Maxwell Field, Ala.: Gasoline and oil storage, $5,000; paint, oil, and dope warehouse, $5,000; improvement of landing field, $13,000. Mitchel Field, N. Y. Hangars, $80,000; photo building, $36,000; gasoline and oil storage, $10,000; paint, oil, and dope warehouse, $5,000. Post Field, Okla. Hangar, $40,000; Air Corps field shops and warehouse, $60,000; headquarters building, $20,000; radio, parachute, and armament buildings, $25,000; gasoline and oil storage, $5,000; paint, oil and dope warehouse, $5,000. Rockwell Field, Calif.: Hangars, $160,000; Air Corps warehouse, $45,000; headquarters and operations building, $40,000; radio, parachute, and armament buildings $25,000; gasoline and oil storage, $10,000; paint, oil, and dope warehouse, $5,000. California Air Depot: Air-depot shops, $243,000; air-depot warehouses, $500,000. San Antonio Primary Training School, San Antonio, Tex.: Hangars, $440,000; Air Corps shops and warehouses, $126,000; headquarters and operations building, $40,000; wing headquarters building, $60,000; photo, radio, parachute, and armament buildings, $61,000; school building, $40,000; gasoline and oil storage, $9,500; paint, oil, and dope warehouse $5,000; improvement of landing field, $150,000. Selfridge Field, Mich. : Air Corps warehouse, $45,000; photo building. $36,000; gasoline and oil storage, $10,000; paint, oil, and dope warehouse, $5,000; improvement of landing field, $50,000. The amendment was agreed to. The next amendment was, on page 7, after line 2, to insert a new section, as follows: SEC. 3. That the Secretary of War is hereby authorized to cause condemnation proceedings to be instituted for the purpose of acquiring certain tracts of land in the vicinity of Fort Kamehameha Reservation, Territory of Hawaii, hereinafter described, for use as a flying field, and that a sum not exceeding $1,145,000 is hereby authorized to be appropriated out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the acquisition of the fee civil title to said land either by purchase or condemnation, to wit: That portion of the Queen Emma and Damon estates lying directly north of and adjoining Fort Kame hameha Reservation, east of the Fort Kamehameha-Puuloa Junction Road, south of the plantation road just north of Loco-Lelepaua and extending to the Rodgers Airport and Keehii Lagoon on the east, consisting approximately of 1,434 acres, at a cost not exceeding $420,000, and also a portion of the Halawa district consisting of about 862 acres and immediately adjoining the Queen Emma and Damon estates at a cost not exceeding $725,000. That Mr. FLETCHER. There is objection, Mr. President. matter was before the Military Affairs Committee, and the committee decided against it. It is just a question of whether we are going on spending money on old forts or whether we are going to abandon that policy. Mr. SMOOT. Mr. President, I wish to say to the Senator that there were some 21 officers and men removed from Fort Douglas on account of the housing conditions existing there. General Summerall was out there; he saw the conditions, and had the men removed to San Diego, where they are to remain until necessary quarters shall be built at Fort Douglas. The amendment is strongly recommended by the department. Mr. FLETCHER. Let us have a vote. Mr. SMOOT. I am ready for the question. The VICE PRESIDENT. The question is on agreeing to the amendment proposed by the Senator from Utah. The amendment was agreed to. The bill was reported to the Senate, as amended, and the amendments were concurred in. The amendments were ordered to be engrossed and the bill read a third time. The bill was read the third time and passed. Mr. REED of Pennsylvania. I ask unanimous consent that the Secretary may be authorized to correct the totals in the bill just passed so as to make them correspond to any changes made by amendments. The VICE PRESIDENT. Without objection, it is so ordered 1. Mr. THOMAS. Mr. President, the bill just passed propose⇒ to authorize appropriations for construction at military postAmong other items the bill carries an authorization for the benefit of Post Field. Post Field is located on the Fort Sill Military Reservation i Oklahoma, and the air forces stationed at Post Field are used in conjunction with the special schools of artillery fire nov located, maintained, and operated on the Fort Sill Reservation Oklahoma is proud of this military activity conducted withi her borders. Recently there was sent to the Hon. Dwight F. Davis Secretary of War, a communication relating to and expressing The Secretary of War, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR MR. SECRETARY: Supplementing the statements made at the time Senator PINE and I called on you relative to the proposal to move the Artillery School of Fire from Fort Sill to Fort Bragg, I respectfully submit the following, in opposition to such proposal and in defense of the Fort Sill location: A few days ago, my colleague, Senator PINE, and I, accompanied by a representative of the press, visited the Fort Bragg Reservation and made an inspection of the site suggested for the removal of the Artillery School. Since 1901, or for some 27 years, I have resided immediately adjacent to the Fort Sill Reservation; hence I am familiar with the present location of the school. This statement is based upon personal observation and knowledge of the two reservations, as well as upon records represented to be on file in your department. However, I wish it distinctly understood that in no sense is this communication to be considered an attack upon Fort Bragg, but instead I am making an appeal in behalf of the present location of the School of Fire at Fort Sill. Fort Sill is not a political fort, and was not located through political effort or influence. As early as 1852 Captain Marcy recommended the vicinity of the Wichita Mountains as the best possible site for a military reservation, from which the Army could best check the depredations of the Indians. It was so founded by Col. Benjamin H. Grierson, Tenth Cavalry, in 1868, under the command of Gen. P. H. Sheridan. His headquarters in the field were called Camp Wichita. It was ordered fortified by General Sheridan, and Capt. R. H. Pratt, Tenth Cavalry, was given the detail. Soldiers, under his direction, hewed rough logs from the banks of Medicine Bluff Creek for stockade building. Though the Government declined an appropriation, construction of permanent buildings began immediately. Troops quarried limestone on the reservation and erected the necessary quarters. The original Pueblo huts, modernized, still stand on the old post. General Sheridan moved down from Fort Cobb the next year and named the post Fort Sill, in honor of a West Point classmate and one of his brigade commanders killed in action during the Civil War. The School of Fire was established in 1908. Capt. Dan T. Moore, returning from a European tour of artillery schools of fire, was detailed to Fort Sill to inaugurate our first school of instruction. The present School of Fire is the result of gradual development. Its initial purpose is to instruct officers and noncommissioned men in firing practices and problems. Establishment of the school marked a new era. It made technical training compulsory. Officers are given opportunity to demonstrate their ability to conduct fire. The school is for practical rather than theoretical instruction. This fact is of prime importance in considering the weather or climatic conditions. Fort Sill enjoys all-year outdoor weather. Fort Sill is located on a Government reservation of 54,000 acres 4 miles north of Lawton, in southwestern Oklahoma, and within 300 miles of the geographical center of the United States. Climate at Fort Sill permits outdoor training the year around; therefore it is as nearly ideal as may be found in the United States. Terrain of the country on the military reservation more nearly approximates actual war conditions than any other available spot in the country. It possesses hill country, rolling prairie, open and wooded, and mountains, all traversed by numerous streams. The post has excellent rail facilities, being served by the Rock Island and Frisco Railroads. Government officials and private citizens realize the value of a cultural setting of an Army post so that the personnel may enjoy the comforts of civilization. At Fort Sill the Army personnel is fortunate. Life in the open country offers sport of every description, while the city of Lawton provides the culture desired by heads of families for wife and children. Officers and men enjoy their life at Fort Sill. Many count the days when their tour of duty will return them to the post-calling it their home. Lawton, 4 miles distant, has a population of 12,000 persons. The personnel at Fort Sill give every evidence of being satisfied troops. Enlisted men, assigned to batteries, carry a greater reenlistment record than any other post. They are believed to get into less trouble than those stationed elsewhere. All batteries at Fort Sill are composed of first enlistment men, but records show almost twice as many reenlistments and fewer desertions than other posts. Two bat teries, furnishing demonstrations for the School of Fire, have completed a year each without any absences without leave or a single desertion. There has never been an unpleasant episode to mar relations between citizens and troops. The city of Lawton and all of Oklahoma are proud of Fort Sill and of the officers and private soldiers of the post. Indeed, the entire citizenship of the State is extremely jealous of this fine post, and warmly resents any meddling with its usefulness. Lawton and Fort Sill are jointly served with water from an immense lake formed by a huge dam across a gorge of the Wichita Mountains, 14 miles from the city. At the dam is located the settling basins and clarifying houses. Twenty-four and sixteen inch pipes carry the water to the fort and city by strong gravity pressure. Lateral pipes permit Fort Sill to take water from the main before it reaches the city. A hard-surface road, built by the city, runs to the post, while transportation service is provided by means of motor cars and busses. Located on the military, reservation to-day are the old Pueblo huts of the original fort, called the Old Post. New Post, composed of comparatively new buildings, houses the Field Artillery. The National Guard camp, of permanent construction, is occupied by troops from the several States during encampment periods. The temporary wooden buildings, erected during the World War period, are now used for the home of the Field Artillery School of Fire. Targets of natural construction dot the landscape. They are well known, are located on maps, and may be observed from numerous observation points. Underground conduits and overhead cables carry 800 miles of telephone wire about Fort Sill. Reconstruction of these wires at any other post would be expensive. There are 6 miles of conduits, carrying 10 pairs of underground cables, used in zones where shell fire might cut communication lines. There are seven concrete telephone centrals and two wooden central controls. Concrete gun positions at the fort number 23 sets. In addition there are 12 concrete dugouts and 23 wooden range guard houses. Adjoining and annexed to Fort Sill is the Wichita National Forest of 65,000 acres. This Wichita National Forest lies to the west, and could be, and is, used as a shooting ground; thus providing ample range for the most powerful guns. Its availability caused the Chief of Staff to report in 1905: "Fort Sill is especially suitable for the station of a fuli regiment of Field Artillery, owing to its size, its varied terrain, availability of the Wichita National Forest, which can be used for military maneuvers." The First Field Artillery was sent to Fort Sill and built up here, and the branches coordinating with it are instructed in conjunction with the Artillery regiment. Military posts to-day are maintained by the Government for a twofold purpose: First. For defense. Second. For training. Of all posts occupied by any branch of the Army, Fort Sill appeals most to the patriotic citizen of the present era. It was built in the memory of many persons now living. It was the chief point in the final quelling of the last important Indian uprisings. Fort Sill occupies the most practical site for any Army post in the United States for a training ground for every branch of the Artillery. The unique combination of wide prairie and low mountain range makes the site ideal for the school of fire. Prior to 1919 the chief of Field Artillery formulated plans for training all Field Artillery officers, and this plan is now in operation. As reorganized it includes: Department of gunnery, firing, computation of firing data. Department of tactics, maneuvering, handling of Artillery units, and their liaison with air and sister arms. Department of material, implements of war, disposal, guns, motors, fire-control instruction, study of manufacturing and functioning. Department of equitation, training of horse and man, draft, driving, and hippology. Course for National Guard and aerial observers. Artillerymen have found the Fort Sill terrain contains practically every feature requisite for artillery training. Officer students begin on easy targets and moderate ranges. Gradually, targets become harder to locate, increasingly difficult to keep spotted with field glasses. They are hidden behind slopes, and officers are compelled to figure proper angles of fall to reach them. Fire is conducted by flank, lateral, and bilateral observation. Students maneuver their imaginary commands across papier-mâché hills, and through draws, shown on bas relief maps in the schoolroom, so when he reaches similar terrain in time of battle he can use similar tactics. Following the period of class instruction, the student puts his organization through a practical demonstration in the field, where his every move may be noted by his instructors. Only at Fort Sill is the terrain believed to be available for such movements. Present-day instruction principles call for a great percentage of work by visual means. Every item of technical course requires that it be supplemented with a practical demonstration requiring a large number of batteries. Long periods of painstaking drill must be indulged in before batteries are capable of performing as needed. A student officer must be able to take command of a battery and have it function in a warlike problem. One battery requires space larger than a football field to execute a wheel at a walk. As students are not apt in such drill, twice as much ground is necessary. Eight organizations now execute mounted drill at Fort Sill. Regardless of which direction a battery goes from the stable, a broad, flat, and unincumbered drill field presents itself. Can eight batteries drill at one time at any other post in the United States? A bird dog must be trained to hunt before he will stand a covey of quail. An artilleryman must be taught to shoot. His confidence must be developed and he must see the result of his shots. Here is the result of the practical visualization of theory. There is not a range in the Nation more suited to instruction in gunnery than Fort Sill. In gunnery lies the basis for the existence of the school. Most important in battle is for the artillery to deliver fire at call from its sister-in-arms-usually the infantry. All impediments must be overcome by the artillery in the fury of battle to deliver the fire demanded. From the instructional side, it would be foolish to expect to instruct an officer without permitting him to see gunfire. Every possible type of instruction that can be given requires a treeless range to accomplish the purpose of the School of Fire. This is found only at Fort Sill. Gunnery may be properly taught only by having each outburst observed-calling for a treeless range. Ranges at Fort Sill have been fired on so many times every instructor is aware of every situation that might arise. Any direction away from the post, firing may be done. The post is centrally located. Batteries leaving the stables may be at the firing point selected in less than 30 minutes. Necessary marches and maneuvers that can not be executed at any other post unless neighboring farmers are trespassed upon are held at Fort Sill. Maneuvering batteries require flat fields for unhampered driving and draft. No range except Fort Sill has these possibilities. There are thousands of points at Fort Sill where every round of shot can be observed. Tops of hills at Fort Sill afford observation advantages. In the next war artificial elevations can not be erected to see the fire. see Students are taken frequently to Fort Sill points where they can maneuvers of a whole battalion in the plains below and are able to see the individuals of each organization perform their respective duties. This one fact alone is invaluable in instruction given Artillery officers. Horses continue to furnish the motive power for most batteries. Horses need forage and grain. On the prairies of the Fort Sill Reservation grows excellent rich prairie hay. It is harvested at an average cost of $5 per ton. Last year 6,500 tons were produced. A draft horse is allowed 14 pounds of hay per day, 420 pounds per month. At the Fort Sill figure of $5 per ton, hay for one horse costs $1 for one month. No other post in the country produces hay in any equal quantity. At any other possible post it is estimated hay would cost the Government $20 per ton, plus the freight, which would place the cost of hay for one horse for one month around $5, as compared to $1 at Fort Sill. In conducting a school of fire insurmountable difficulties are believed to exist at all other posts. The objections are: Lack of open areas of sufficient size, adjacent to post, for proper maneuvering. Scrub-oak forests cover other posts. Result of fire can not be as readily observed. Artificial observation posts have to be built in trees. Artificial targets are usually made by hanging white sheets on tree branches. Even the best artillerymen dread firing over wooded areas where natural observation posts are not available. Lost rounds are numerous, as obstructions on terrain prevent student from observing what his data and calculation give him. It is officially stated that as many as three salvos of four rounds each are lost in deepwooded areas before a student can employ enough strategy to find where his fire is being delivered, except at Fort Sill. It is impossible to properly teach an officer under such a condition. Ammunition is an expensive part of firing instruction. At some of the suggested posts, it is officially stated, as many as 12 rounds are lost in one problem before the student can determine the line of his fire. In subsequent salvos 1 out of 8 rounds is lost. Assuming that it costs $4 per round to ship ammunition to Fort Sill there is economy in retaining the school here because rarely is even one round Isot. The average problem takes 16 rounds to complete. If 12 rounds are lost, the equivalent in money is wasted. A problem of 16 rounds at Fort Sill will cost $64 in freight charges. Disregard the freight charge on ammunition to other posts. They lose 12 rounds. It costs $16 per round of ammunition. Multiply $16 by the 12 rounds lost, the total cost of wasted ammunition is $192. The interests of economy is plainly in favor of Fort Sill. Instruction at posts other than Fort Sill would be rendered only partially competent through failure to observe 10 out of 12 rounds fired. Inclement weather and mud at other posts operates to keep batteries from venturing into the field frequently. No problem had to be called off last year at Fort Sill, and no one experienced actual discomfort because of weather conditions. Rain dries almost immediately at Fort Sill. In the experience of one Artillery officer no carriage's progress has ever been held up by soil condition on the Fort Sill range. Troops Wooded areas prevent passage of great bodies of troops. are lost in the existing thickets at other camps. It is believed that no such terrain is available in our entire country save at Fort Sill. Reconnaissance and selection of position for a battery to deliver fire is important and a student must practice to become an adept. Can he be instructed properly where his troops are hidden from his view by thickets of underbrush? It is hard for men to make believe. It is not necessary at Fort Sill. The great expanse of the continually traversable reservation thrown open to the student presents a country closely resembling that of France. The tactics department demands a terrain closely resembling the terrain board, so that every move of students and personnel may be checked. It would be ridiculous to attempt such instruction except on the type of range afforded by Fort Sill. Orientation may be taught satisfactorily only at one post in the country, Fort Sill. Anywhere on other possible camps, a student would have great difficulty seeing one, or possibly two points-when three are absolutely necessary and five are desired. The firing school is a school-not a proving ground. At other camps, less than five points are available where fire may be observed. Fire may be delivered in one direction only, while, at Fort Sill, fire may be directed from any point in any direction, and still be observed. We believe it would be folly to condemn the Fort Sill range and abandon the existing system. It would be expensive to reconstruct the concrete gun shelters, dugouts, telephone system, and abandon the valuable work of years that has made Fort Sill the ideal range for the school of fire. The School of Fire at Fort Sill has passed the period of experiment. Fort Sill is a tremendously important cog in the machinery needed to maintain the Army at the highest efficiency. It is a fighting school, and as such it should take high rank in importance to the service at large. I am advised, unofficially, that at a comparatively recent date the matter of the removal of the school from Fort Sill was considered and a committee of high ranking officials made a survey of the several possible sites for the permanent location of the school. The committee was composed of Gen. Ernest H. Hinds, Field Artillery; General Sladen, United States Military Academy; Colonel Malone, Infantry School; General McGlachlin, War College; General Craig, Cavalry School; and General Ely, of Fort Leavenworth, who recommended the Fort Sill Military Reservation as the best possible location for the School of Fire. When war was declared against Germany the famous author and publicist, Peter B. Kyne, then in the military service, was sent to the Fort Sill school for instruction, and after his term had expired he prepared an article for the Saturday Evening Post, same having been published on November 9, 1918, in which article he said: "The School of Fire for Field Artillery was established at Fort Sill, where the gentle rolling country, alternately wooded and open, offers one of the most wonderful target ranges in the world." More recently, an Army officer instructor at the said school at Fort Sill made the following statement relative to the merits of the present location: "Officers in the gunnery and tactics departments here, who have been at Bragg, are frankly and unanimously of the opinion that the work of those two major departments of the school will be seriously hampered by the shape of the reservation and the nature of the terrain at Bragg. Fort Sill, with its fine, natural observation points, its varied terrain, its fine facilities for watering large numbers of animals, its camp sites along Cache and Medicine Creeks, the forest reserve area conveniently at hand for use in large scale marches and maneuvers, the normally fine, clear atmosphere which affords excellent visibility over great distances practically always, and the shape of the reservation and location of the post thereon, which permits firing into all target areas from firing points located conveniently near the garrison, and a mild climate which rarely precludes the practicability of outdoor work, fulfills just about every requirement for artillery instruction year in and year out. "One of the principal arguments advanced by proponents of the move to Bragg, is that Bragg is only a few hours from Washington, New York, etc. This, to my mind, is one of the best reasons why the school should not move. It costs the Government well up into five figures for each student that passes through this school, and every student should consider his year at the school as one during which he may well forget the activities around the big cities and bend all his time and energy toward perfecting his professional equipment for the years that lie ahead. Fort Sill, with its comparative isolation, lends encouragement to the centering of one's interest in the activities of the school during the time he spends here." The special board of officers above mentioned, in making their report, made some comparisons between Fort Sill and Fort Bragg and, after full consideration, recommended that the Artillery Speciai Schools be consolidated at Fort Sill. As some of their reasons for such recommendation, they gave the following: "(A) Economy in overhead in officers and men. "(D) Economy in mileage, transportation of dependents, freight of student officers of Regular Army under the supposition that Regular officers go to the Fort Sill School from the regiments mainly, and, in proportion to their authorized commanded strength. The average mileage to Fort Sill and return to station is approximately 400 miles less than the round trip to Fort Bragg. "(F) A greater prestige of combined school. This is desirable not only for its effect upon the morale of officers of Regular Army but particularly for the National Guard and reserve officers. Board convinced that buildings at Post Field and School area are in better shape than at Bragg, and, with reasonable upkeep, would last for many years. “(II) Fort Sill has a permanent water and sewer installation, castiron water mains, and the usual permanent type of sewer pipes and sewage-disposal plants. With the recent increase made in height of Lake Lawtonka Dam there will never be any further question as to either the quantity or the quality of the water supply for Fort Sill. The water mains at Bragg are of wood and are bound to deteriorate. "Subsistence would be less at Fort Sill. Coal, oil, forage, and ordnance supplies furnished from Rock Island Arsenal cheaper at Sill. “Approximately 20,000 acres in central area of Fort Bragg Reservation which, under condemnation proceedings, has been fixed at $650,000. It is not owned by the Government and, for the purchase of which, funds are not available. This area is not essential for work of Field Artillery School. Its location at center of reservation detracts considerably from its value for military purposes. "Comparing the two reservations of Camp Bragg and Fort Sill for school purposes, it may be said that Camp Bragg has the advantage of having a better soil and perhaps a better climate. Fort Sill has a more open terrain and more diversity of terrain on the western part of the reservation than the Bragg reservation. This is advantageous for the battery commander's course, disadvantageous for the advanced course. The board believes that, considering all requirements of the terrain for school purposes, the Fort Sill Reservation is a better one than that at Bragg. The latter is entirely too close a country to fulfill many of the requirements for the school work. "Camp Bragg is of war-time construction and has an estimated life of not over five years, according to the authorities at that post. Fort Sill has permanent construction, which cost approximately five and one-half million dollars, including concrete barracks and quarters for a regiment, heated from a central hot-water heating plant, concrete stables and gun sheds, and 20 other permanent sets of stone quarters. "With reference to the cost of transportation of student officers and their families, freight, etc., a rough estimate may be assumed to be two and one-half times that of the mileage involved. No accurate data is available to the board. The mileage for the difference in distance, which is 400 miles per student per year, is $28. The total estimated saving per student at Fort Sill as compared with the transportation to Camp Bragg is therefore $70. There are at present in the Field Artillery School 150 officers. This item totals $10,500." In the light of the foregoing history and statement of the present status of the going school at Fort Sill any suggested or proposed removal of the institution presents a number of most serious problems for consideration before final action is taken. Some of these problems might be enumerated, as follows: 1. The proposed removal of the said school from Fort Sill to Fort Bragg will bring to issue the policy of our Government in centralizing power in bureaus in Washington, and centralizing Federal institutions adjacent to the National Capital. 2. Such proposed removal will bring to issue the question as to whether or not the reasons for removal outweigh the advantages to be had at the present location. 3. The removal of said school would cause many people and numerous institutions to suffer irreparable loss; hence, such proposed removal will be considered a direct attack upon the vested interests in such institution now claimed by a. The adjacent local community. b. The State of Oklahoma. c. The Mid-West section of the United States. d. The railways now serving Fort Sill. e. The public utilities now serving the reservation. f. The wholesale and retail institutions now enjoying patronage at Fort Sill. g. The thousands of graduates of said School of Fire. The mere suggestion that it has been proposed to remove the said Artillery School of Fire has caused widespread interest and, in the West and in certain sections of the East, such proposal has met general opposition. Vested and fixed interests will not be content to sit idly by and see their property confiscated and practically destroyed without a protest. That great section of our country, the central and western portions of the United States, furnishes a very large part of the revenues to meet the running expenses of our Government, and, also, such section furnishes its full quota of the man power necessary for the proper de fense of our Government, our people, and our property, and, because of such fact, that section of the country deserves a fair share of the Federal institutions and especially is this true when such institutions can be located, operated, and maintained as efficiently in that section as at or adjacent to the National Capitol at Washington. In conclusion, permit me to say that we do not contend that the said school can not be moved, but rather that it should not be moved; that, under the Constitution, the Congress has the power to provide for the national defense; that we admit that the War Department has the power to recommend the removal of the said institution, but we most respectfully call attention to the fact that the Congress must furnish and provide the funds; that a removal of the said school would be doubly expensive, causing the people to lose the value of the present plant, and, in addition, causing them to be taxed to construct the new plant a proposal, the consummation of which, is hardly in harmony with the justly popular economy program of the President. However, since the issue of the removal of the said Artillery School of Fire has been raised, we most respectfully suggest and urge that the matter be settled at the very earliest practicable date. To this end we earnestly hope that you can make your suggested visit of inspection to the Fort Bragg proposed site and then, on behalf of Fort Sill, we respectfully invite and as earnestly urge you to visit the existing school before a recommendation is made. Such a procedure will permit your department to make a recommendation, and then, if removal is asked, the Congress, in the consideration of such recommendation and the reasons therefor, can permit an opportunity for a full investigation of the entire matter, and thus definitely and finally settle and fix the permanent location of the said school. Again permit me to say that this communication is submitted to you, not in criticism of any other Army post or military reservation, but solely in defense of Fort Sill, and in protest against the removal of the special Schools of Artillery Fire from the Fort Sill Reservation. Respectfully submitted. SHOOTING OF JACOB D. HANSON ELMER THOMAS. Mr. COPELAND. Mr. President, I have in my hand a series of resolutions adopted by various organizations relating to the shooting of Jacob D. Hanson at Niagara Falls. The first one is from the Niagara Falls Chamber of Commerce; the second is from the Niagara Falls Clearing House Association; the third is from the directors of the East Side Bank of Niagara Falls; the next is from the Niagara Falls Hotel Association; the next is from the Youngstown Fire Co.; the next is from the Lockport Lodge of Elks, No. 41. I ask that they may be printed in the RECORD in connection with this statement. The VICE PRESIDENT. Without objection, it is so ordered. The resolutions referred to are as follows: The following resolution, unanimously adopted by the board of directors of the Niagara Falls Chamber of Commerce at their meeting on May 9, will be presented at the Hanson protest meeting this evening: "Whereas while peacefully using the public highway Jacob D. Hanson, a member of this chamber of commerce and an esteemed and respected citizen has been very seriously and probably fatally injured, and should he survive will be terribly maimed for life, through the reckless action of members of the Coast Guard Service; and "Whereas the methods employed by Federal representatives in the stopping and searching of citizens and in the indiscriminate display of firearms constitutes a serious menace to the safety of citizens using the highways in this vicinity: Be it "Resolved, That the board of directors of the Niagara Falls Chamber of Commerce go on record as strongly condemning the methods of the Coast Guardmen in patrolling this region; and "That Senator ROYAL S. COPELAND be urged to see that a full and complete congressional investigation is made, not only of the tragedy involving Mr. Hanson, but of the whole policy of Federal agencies whose reckless activities in connection with law enforcement have in. timidated the residents of the Niagara frontier; and "That the sincere sympathy of the board of directors of the Niagara Falls Chamber of Commerce be extended to Mr. Hanson and his relatives, and that the services of the chamber of commerce be offered in assisting to make Mr. Hanson as comfortable as possible." Jacob D. Hanson, secretary of Niagara Falls Lodge, No. 346, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, a reputable, law-abiding, and re spected citizen of the city of Niagara Falls, N. Y., was on the morning of May 6 last the victim of an unjustifiable and murderous assault committed upon his person by two members of the United States Coast Guard Service stationed at or near Youngstown, N. Y., while he, the said Jacob D. Hanson, was lawfully and peacefully driving his automobile upon a public highway known as the Lewiston Road, in the county of Niagara. Warrants for the arrest of the perpetrators of said assault have been issued by the proper authorities of the State of New York, and, as we are informed, the commander of the unit of said United States Coast Guard Service at Youngstown, N. Y., has refused to allow said warrants to be executed: Therefore be it Resolved, That we, the member banks of the Niagara Falls Clearing House Association of Niagara Falls, N. Y., not only indignantly protest against the reckless use of firearms against the persons and automobiles of law-abiding citizens of this community by apparently irresponsible persons of the United States Coast Guard Service, or any other service, but also against the refusal on the part of any Federal officer to assist the district attorney of Niagara County in prosecuting an act committed against the State of New York; we further Resolve, That copies of this resolution, duly certified, be sent to the Hon. Andrew W. Mellon, Secretary of the Treasury of the United States; the Hon. ROYAL S. COPELAND and the Hon. ROBERT A. WAGNER, as Members of the United States Senate, representing the State of New York; the Hon. S. WALLACE DEMPSEY, Niagara's Representative in Congress at Washington, D. C.; and to Raymond A. Knowles, the district attorney of Niagara County, N. Y. NATIONAL BANK OF NIAGARA & TRUST Co. FALLS NATIONAL BANK, PEOPLES BANK BRANCH OF POWER CITY BANK. EAST SIDE BANK. BANK OF LA SALLE. MAIN & MICHIGAN UNIT OF NATIONAL BANK OF NIAGARA & TRUST Co. I do hereby certify that the above is a true copy of a resolution adopted by the Niagara Falls Clearing House Association, May 14, 1928. GEORGE B. NEVILLE, Secretary. Jacob D. Hanson, the secretary of Niagara Falls Lodge, No. 346, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, a reputable, law-abiding, and respected citizen of the city of Niagara Falls, was on the morning of May 6, last, the victim of an unjustifiable and murderous assault committed upon his person by two members of the United States Coast Guard Service stationed at or near Youngstown, N. Y., while he, the said Jacob D. Hanson, was lawfully and peacefully driving his automobile upon a public highway, known as the Lewiston Road, in the county of Niagara. Warrants for the arrest of the perpetrators of said assault have been issued by the proper authorities of the State of New York, and, as we are informed, the commander of the unit of said United States Coast Guard Service at Youngstown, N. Y., has refused to allow said warrants to be executed: Therefore be it Resolved, That we, the directors of the East Side Bank of Niagara Falls, N. Y., not only indignantly protest against the reckless use of firearms against the persons and automobiles of law-abiding citizens of this community by apparently irresponsible persons of the United States Coast Guard Service, or any other service; but also against the refusal on the part of any Federal officer to assist the district attorney of Niagara County in prosecuting an act committed against the State of New York; and we further Resolve, That copies of this resolution, duly certified, be sent to the Hon. Andrew W. Mellon, Secretary of the Treasury of the United States; the Hon. ROYAL S. COPELAND and the Hon. ROBERT A. WAGNER; as Members of the United States Senate representing the State of New York; and the Hon. S. WALLACE DEMPSEY, Representative in Congress at Washington, D. C.; and to Raymond A. Knowles, the district attorney of Niagara County, N. Y. NIAGARA FALLS HOTEL ASSOCIATION, Re the shooting of Jacob D. Hanson. Resolved, That we, the members of the Niagara Falls Hotel Association, do indignantly protest against the reckless demonstration and use of firearms against the traveling public and persons in automobiles on the highways in and out of our city, promiscuously shooting at lawabiding citizens of our community, and the unjust and unlawful stopping, without cause or reason, by apparently irresponsible persons in the employment of the United States Coast Guard Service and other Government service; and be it further Resolved, That we ask that every effort be made to bring to justice the assailants of Jacob D. Hanson, a law-abiding citizen, through the civil courts, so that they will be treated to the full extent of the law, and that the civil authorities cause an investigation as to the unlawful issuing of orders by anyone in Government capacity directing the shooting of anyone who refuses to stop at their command; and be it further Resolved, That these resolutions be spread upon the minutes of this meeting and a copy be mailed to the following persons, to wit: Hon. Andrew S. Mellon, secretary of the Treasury; Senator ROYAL S. COPELAND, Congressman JAMES M. MEAD, Senator ROBERT F. WAGNER, and Congressman S. WALLACE DEMPSEY. (Signed) THE NIAGARA FALLS HOTEL ASSOCIATION, By W. E. TUTTLE, Secretary-Treasurer. YOUNGSTOWN FIRE HALL, Youngstown, Niagara Co., N. Y. At the regular meeting of the Youngstown Fire Co. held in the village fire hall on Monday evening, May 14, resolutions of protest and indignation at the murderous attack on Jacob D. Hanson, of Niagara Falls, on Lewiston Hill by members of the Coast Guard stationed near Fort Niagara were voiced and drawn up by members of the organization. Copies of these resolutions were written for submission to United States Senators COPELAND and WAGNER, Congressman MEAD, and to the Niagara Falls Gazette and to the Buffalo daily newspapers. They are as follows: Whereas the Youngstown Fire Co. embracing a considerable majority of the male adults residing in close proximity to Fort Niagara and are at all times interested in law and order in addition to fire protection that the residential section on the lower Niagara may be a safe abiding place, seek adequate relief from the terrorizing deeds of coast guardsmen under the guise of prohibition enforcement efforts; "Whereas all of our members engage in almost daily business or social intercourse with residents of Niagara Falls, the murderous attack staged on the tortuous and ordinarily hazardous Lewiston Hill by Guardsmen Jennings and Dow on Jacob D. Hanson, a law-abiding, highly honored, and benevolent citizen of Niagara Falls in the early morning hours, Sunday, May 6, has been brought frightfully close to all firesides in this section of New York State; "Whereas no sheriff in any county in the Empire State would permit the possession of firearms by any deputy of the apparent mental capacity of many of the coast guardsmen stationed on this frontier, as evidenced by the unjustifiable shooting of Hanson while returning home alone from a fraternal mission, protest is hereby made with the Federal Government against the use of firearms on the public highways by its officers. Be it further "Resolved, That the officers involved in the dastardly and murderous shooting of J. D. Hanson shall be immediately delivered to the district attorney of Niagara County for speedy trial; and, furthermore, be it "Resolved, That the men higher up in the Coast Guard Service, who may be apprehended as accessories before the brutal crime may also be acquired at an early date for trial and adequate punishment." JOHN V. THOMPSON, Engineer Youngstown Fire Company. Secretary. At a regular meeting of Lockport Lodge No. 41, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, held at its lodge rooms Thursday, May 10, 1928, after discussion and consideration, a committee consisting of Charles F. Foley, chairman, Joseph M. Kennedy and A. Bruce Hopkins was appointed for the purpose of drafting suitable resolutions and extending sympathy to our brother Elk, Jacob D. Hanson, of Niagara Falls lodge, of which Mr. Hanson is a brother and officer, and to assure Niagara Falls lodge of our sympathy and cooperation in any action which they decide to take relative to the murderous and unjustifiable assault made upon its beloved brother on the morning of Sunday, May 6, 1928: Therefore be it Resolved, That Lockport Lodge No. 41, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, hereby extends its deepest sympathy to our brother Elk, Jacob D. Hanson, with the wish for a speedy recovery, and assures Niagara Falls Lodge of Elks of its hearty cooperation in any plan or effort which they may deem essential to right the wrong inflicted upon Brother Hanson; to adopt such necessary resolutions or put such forces into action to the end that recurrence of such unjustifiable and atrocious assault shall cease; and be it further Resolved, That, in the opinion of this committee, the mode of enforcement of the prohibition law is not a question of life and death even upon conviction for its violation. A law which leaves the question open to the determination or interpretation of any singular department head as to whether or not the use of firearms is necessary and essential to the enforcement of such law, is, in the opinion of this committee, a defect in the law which should be remedied. The determination and interpretation of the law which gives any singular department head the right to issue orders to "shoot or not to shoot" and to direct the indiscriminate stopping, searching, and |