communities, which provide the market for power and thus close the circle. Since the area that will be served with the power that eventually will be developed at the project is plainly a part of the Columbia River Basin and thus a part of the Columbia River power market, it follows that the Bonneville Power Administration in the Department of the Interior is the agency which should market such power as may be generated at the Hungry Horse project. In this manner the project can be integrated with the other Federal power developments in the basin and abundant low-cost electric power can be made available throughout the area, including western Montana.

In connection with a similar report on a companion bill, S. 1496, I have been advised by the Bureau of the Budget that "while there would be no objection by this office to the presentation of your proposed report on the bill, it is not believed that this project could be satisfactorily justified as an emergency war project, and that, since the President has given approval to the current construction of public works only when they are essential to the war effort, the enactment of the bill, S. 1496, should not be considered to be in accord with the President's program.

Sincerely yours,

ABE FORTAS, Acting Secretary of the Interior.

FEBRUARY 24, 1944.-Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed

Mr. SABATH, from the Committee on Rules, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H. Res. 453]

The Committee on Rules, having had under consideration House Resolution 453, report the same to the House with the recommendation that the resolution do pass.

78TH CONGRESS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session

{

REPORT No. 1195

REESTABLISHING THE GRADE OF ADMIRAL OF THE NAVY, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

FEBRUARY 25, 1944.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. VINSON of Georgia, from the Committee on Naval Affairs, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 4134]

The Committee on Naval Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 4134) to reestablish the grade of Admiral of the Navy, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon. without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

The purpose of the proposed bill is to reestablish the grade of Admiral of the Navy on the active list of the Regular Navy and to provide for appointments to such grade. The bill further provides that officers may be appointed to this grade from among line officers on the active list and retired line officers on active duty serving in the rank of Admiral of the Regular Navy at the time of such appointment. The number of officers in such grade on the active list at any one time. shall not exceed two. Appointments shall continue in force during such period as the President shall determine, and officers who have been appointed to the rank of Admiral of the Navy shall hold such rank when placed on the retired list. Officers appointed shall be entitled to the pay and allowances now or hereafter provided for The General of the Armies of the United States. The pay now provided by law is $13,500, and the personal allowance at present, as fixed by the President, is $8,000.

The committee has for some time been aware of the necessity for creating a higher grade than that now existing in the United States Navy. The reasons for this are twofold: (1) Because of the great increase in the size of the Navy and the scope of its activities, it is felt that for administrative purposes it is necessary to have this higher grade and (2) it is considered highly essential that our officers may

have a rank comparable with contemporaries of other allied nations. The committee has given this matter careful consideration and is strongly of the opinion that the prestige of the United States demands that officers hold rank befitting the great military power which the United States has become as a result of the military expansion necessary to prosecute the war. The committee is aware of the situation existing in connection with the Joint Chiefs of Staff in which representatives of the United States are outranked by contemporaries. There exists in the British Navy the rank of Admiral of the Fleet, which rank is higher than the highest rank now provided for our Navy, namely, that of Admiral. It has become apparent to the committee that it will, in all probability, be necessary for some years after the war to maintain liaison and possibly to take joint action with our present allies; and it is considered most essential that our officers meet contemporaries on an equal basis insofar as military rank is concerned. It is not the intention of the committee to create this grade solely for the purpose of rewarding individuals for outstanding performance of duty. Proper administration of the Naval Establishment requires this higher grade.

The rank of Admiral of the Navy is not new in the United States Navy, inasmuch as Admiral George Dewey held this rank from the close of the Spanish-American War until his death, at which time the grade was vacated in accordance with the law which created the grade. The committee considered several other titles for the proposed grade, but after careful consideration concluded that the term, "Admiral of the Navy," was the most appropriate.

The proposed bill will permit the appointment to the grade of Admiral of the Navy of officers from the retired list. The committee considers this to be highly desirable inasmuch as there may be officers of outstanding ability who possess the necessary qualifications for appointment to this high grade who have been placed on the retired

list.

The bill provides that officers who have held the rank of Admiral of the Navy shall hold such rank when placed on the retired list. In this connection the committee feels that an officer who has served in the grade of Admiral of the Navy is deserving of recognition and should be thus honored when he is finally retired.

The committee has carefully considered the question of pay and allowances befitting the high rank now proposed. After due consideration it is thought that the pay and allowances now provided by law for The General of the Armies of the United States would be the most appropriate. This pay is $13,500 per annum; the allowance as now fixed by the President is $8,000. The committee is further of the opinion that officers who have held the rank of Admiral of the Navy should receive this pay and allowance when placed on the retired list, which provision is now provided by law for The General of the Armies of the United States.

The Navy Department recommended the enactment of the proposed legislation as is indicated in the letter from the Secretary of the Navy to the Chairman of the Committee on Naval Affairs of the House of Representatives, which is hereby made a part of this report.