Mr. STARNES. That is your real problem, and that is why you have to study those things in your colder regions. When you hit the Tropics, it is a question of corrosion of metal and disintegration of parts of the plane due to the moisture and humidity and conditions of that kind?

Dr. HUNSAKER. That is true. There is also the matter of dust in the air. Our American airplanes that arrived in Egypt were not so well equipped to handle the dusty atmosphere there. We have had to meet that problem.

Mr. STARNES. Do you not have to meet that problem in Kansas and Texas?

Dr. HUNSAKER. Not so seriously; no, sir.

Mr. STARNES. The reason I am prompted to ask you that question is that I had to ride out a dust storm all the way across Kansas, on one of our trips west, and when we landed I was in worse shape than the plane.

Dr. HUNSAKER. The insides of the cylinders may have been scored up by too much grit in the oil, if they did not have a very good oil and air cleaner.

STUDIES AND EXPERIMENTS CARRIED ON BY THE COMMITTEE

Mr. WOODRUM. Will you tell us something, Dr. Lewis, about your studies and experiments, off the record?

Dr. LEWIS. Very well.

Mr. WOODRUM. Thank you, gentlemen.

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1941.

NATIONAL ARCHIVES

STATEMENTS OF SOLON J. BUCK, ARCHIVIST OF THE UNITED STATES; COLLAS G. HARRIS, EXECUTIVE OFFICER; THAD PAGE, ADMINISTRATIVE SECRETARY; MARCUS W. PRICE, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF ARCHIVAL SERVICE; JOHN F. SIMMONS, ADMINISTRATIVE ANALYST

SALARIES AND EXPENSES

Mr. WOODRUM. Doctor, we have an estimate for 1943 of $1,134,325, as against $980,940 for 1942, as follows:

Salaries and expenses: For expenses necessary in carrying out the provisions of the Act of June 19, 1934 (40 U. S. C. 231); the Act of July 26, 1935 (44 U. S. C. 301); the Act of July 18, 1939 (53 Stat. 1062); the Act of August 5, 1939 (44 U. S. C. 351); and the Act of September 24, 1940 (54 Stat. 958); including personal services in the District of Columbia; supplies and equipment, including scientific, technical, first-aid, protective, and other apparatus and materials for the arrangement, titling, scoring, repair, processing, editing, duplication, reproduction, and authentication of photographic and other records (including motion-picture and other films and sound recordings) in the custody of the Archivist; purchase and exchange of books, including lawbooks, books of reference, maps, and charts; contract stenographic reporting services; purchase of newspapers and periodicals; not to exceed $100 for payment in advance when authorized by the Archivist for library membership in societies whose publications are available to members only

or to members at a price lower than to the general public; travel expenses, including not to exceed $1,000 for the expenses of attendance at meetings concerned with the furtherance of the purposes of the said Acts; exchange of scientific and technical apparatus and labor-saving devices; repairs to equipment; and maintenance, operation, and repair of one passenger-carrying motor vehicle, $1,134,325.

JUSTIFICATION OF ESTIMATE

Dr. Buck. The following justification is offered for the record: ESTIMATES OF APPROPRIATIONS, The National Archives, FISCAL YEAR ENDING JUNE 30, 1943

FUNCTIONS

The National Archives of the United States was created by The National Archives Act (48 Stat. 1122–1124; 40 U. S. C. ch. 2A), and the duties and responsibilities of the Archivist are prescribed by said act, as amended; by the Federal Register Act (49 Stat. 500-503; U. S. C., Supp. V, title 44, ch. 8A), as amended; by the act to provide for the establishment and maintenance of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library and for other purposes, approved July 18, 1939 (53 Stat. 10621066); by the act to provide for the disposition of certain records of the United States Government, approved August 5, 1939 (53 Stat. 1219-1221); by the act to provide for the disposition of certain photographed records of the United States, approved September 24, 1940 (54 Stat. 958); and by the act to establish a National Archives Trust Fund Board, approved July 9, 1941 (55 Stat. 581).

These acts impose nine major functions upon the Archivist:

(1) The concentration and preservation in The National Archives Building of such noncurrent records of the Government of the United States as have permanent administrative value or historical interest.

(2) The administration of such records so as to facilitate their use in the business of the Government and in the service of scholarship.

(3) The acceptance from non-Government sources, the storage, and the preservation of motion-picture films and sound recordings pertaining to and illustrative of the history of the United States, and the maintenance of a projecting room for showing such films and reproducing such sound recordings for historical purposes and study.

(4) The examination, appraisal, and reporting to Congress, with the approval of The National Archives Council, of lists of records reported by various Government agencies as having been photographed in accordance with law or as having no permanent value or historical interest to the United States Government.

(5) The preservation of all Presidential proclamations and Executive orders and of rules and regulations issued by Federal agencies, and the publication in the Federal Register of all such documents having general applicability and legal effect.

(6) The codification every fifth year of all Presidential proclamations and Executive orders and of rules and regulations issued by Federal agencies that are still in force and effect and relied upon by the issuing agency as authority for, or invoked or used by it in, the discharge of any of its functions or activities, and, when so authorized by the President, the preparation of such codification for publication in special editions of the Federal Register.

(7) The submitting to Congress of the recommendations of the National Historical Publications Commission, created by The National Archives Act with the Archivist as Chairman and charged with the duty of making "plans, estimates, and recommendations for such historical works and collections of sources as seem appropriate for publication and/or otherwise recording at the public expense." (8) The administration of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library.

(9) The authorization of the disbursement of money in The National Archives trust fund.

SUMMARY OF ESTIMATES

To enable the Archivist to perform the duties imposed upon him by law, this estimate provides for 489 positions for the fiscal year 1943 at an annual net cost of $1,059,750. This represents an increase of $158,925 over the amount available for personal services during the fiscal year 1942. In includes $21,325 to provide

for the net cost of within-grade promotions required by law. The remaining sum of $137,600 consists of $32,035 to carry positions that were lapsed in 1942 for the full year in 1943 and $105,565 to cover the cost of 70 additional positions.

Of the 489 positions provided herein, 15 are in the field service at an annual net cost of $32,650, which includes $670 to provide for within-grade promotions required by law-and are required for the administration during the fiscal year 1943 of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library at Hyde Park, N. Y. This represents no increase in the number of positions allocated to this service.

This leaves the sum of $1,027,100 for departmental personal services during the fiscal year 1943, an increase of $158,255 over the amount available for similar purposes during the fiscal year 1942, of which $20,655 is to provide for the net cost of within-grade promotions required by law, $32,035 is to carry positions that were lapsed in 1942 for a full year in 1943, and $105,565 is to provide for 70 additional positions.

It should be stated, however, that all of these 70 new positions were included in a supplemental estimate of appropriations for the fiscal year 1942, which has been approved by the Bureau of the Budget and is now under consideration by the House Committee on Appropriations for inclusion in the third supplemental national-defense appropriation bill.

Provision is made in this estimate for the sum of $73,825 to cover other obligations during the fiscal year 1943, including as major items $33,015 for supplies and material; $7,500 for communication service; $6,000 for travel expense; $5,400 for repairs and alterations; $10,550 for special and miscellaneous; and $10,260 for equipment. The sum provided for other obligations represents a decrease of $8,780 compared to the amount provided for the same purpose during the fiscal year 1942.

Provision is also made herein for the sum of $750 to be transferred to the National Bureau of Standards for research work in microphotography.

The total sum provided in this estimate for all purposes in the departmental and field services is $1,134,325, an increase of $153,385 over the total sum appropriated for similar purposes for the fiscal year 1942, and an increase of $150,145 over the sum actually available for similar purposes during the fiscal year 1942.

For the purposes of this budget the major activities of The National Archives are divided into the following projects: (I) Professional, (II) Publications, (III) Administrative, and (IV) the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library.

I. PROFESSIONAL PROJECT

Personal services.-The regular appropriation act for the fiscal year 1942 provided for 249 positions in the professional project at an annual net cost of $562,285. In this estimate for the professional project during the fiscal year 1943, provision is made for 282 positions at an annual net cost of $672,358. This represents an increase of $110,073 over the amount at present available for the fiscal year 1942, of which $12,702 is to provide for the net cost of within-grade promotions required by law, $33,035 is to carry positions that were lapsed in 1942 for a full year in 1943, and $64,336 is to provide for 33 new positions. All of these 33 new positions are included, however, in the item for The National Archives now under consideration by the Appropriations Committee for inclusion in the Third Supplemental national defense appropriation bill.

Organization and functions.—The operating units included in the professional project are the Office of the Archivist of the United States; the Office of the Director of Archival Service; the Divisions of Reference and of Repair and Preservation; the following records divisions: Legislative, State, Treasury, War, Justice, Post Office, Navy, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Independent Agencies, and Veterans' Administration; and the following records and technical divisions: Maps and Charts, Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings, and Photographic Archives and Research.

The functions of the professional project consist of all activities concerned with the accessioning, preservation, arrangement, and servicing of the records of the Government that have been, or may be, transferred to the custody of the Archivist; the acceptance, storage, preservation, and use of motion pictures and sound recordings acquired under authority of section 7 of The National Archives Act; and all activities concerned with the disposition of such records of the Government as are reported to the Archivist by various Government agencies as having been microfilmed in accordance with law or as having no permanent value or historical interest to the Government of the United States.

The emergency situation.-The record problem facing many Government agencies in Washington has recently been accentuated because of the nationaldefense program and may become even more acute during the fiscal year 1943. The National Archives has been and will be requested by various agencies concerned with the defense program to render unusual services on records in its custody and to afford some degree of relief in respect to the space situation in Government buildings by transferring noncurrent records that are of permanent value and historical interest to the custody of the Archivist, by providing temporary storage facilities, and by advising and assisting in the development of schedules for the transfer of valuable records to The National Archives and for the disposition of useless records. The Archivist has in his custody most of the records created during the period of the first World War. Until the present emergency arose these records were practically dormant, yet almost overnight they have become extremely active, and they are now consulted continuously by numerous agencies concerned with the national-defense effort. The extent to which the Archivist will be able to render such emergency services and to afford such temporary relief to defense agencies and also to make normal permanent transfers of records and to meet normal service demands during the next few years will depend primarily upon the employment of a personnel adequate to meet this emergency situation.

Accessions. At the beginning of the fiscal year 1942 there had been transferred to The National Archives Building 330,244 cubic feet of records; they include the files of the United States Senate (with a few exceptions), 1789-1932, and transfers from all executive departments, 54 independent agencies, and 5 United States courts.

On the basis of transfers already made or requested it is conservatively estimated that the Archivist will find it advisable to accept the custody of at least 130,000 cubic feet of records during the fiscal year 1942. The transfers during the fiscal year 1943 would under normal conditions amount to approximately 80,000 cubic feet, which makes a total for the 2-year period of 210,000 cubic feet. Thus it is expected that by the end of the fiscal year 1943 a minimum of 540,000 cubic feet of records will have been transferred to the National Archives Building.

There is no way, however, to anticipate the demands that may be made upon the Archivist for emergency transfers of records during the fiscal year 1943 in the event that the present emergency should still exist. It is conceivable that the space problem might become even more acute in the fiscal year 1943 than it is at present. Should this occur it is probable that the Archivist would find it advisable to accept the custody of a much larger volume of records than that estimated above. It should be borne in mind that whenever noncurrent records that are of permanent value or historical interest have to be moved because of space considerations it is much more desirable from many standpoints, including that of economy, and particularly that of preservation, to transfer them to The National Archives than to move them to temporary quarters.

Services.-The number of requests received for services on records in the fiscal year 1938 was 18,054; in 1939, 30,244; in 1940, 51,907. Early in the fiscal year 1941 a trend line projected upon the basis of past service statistics indicated that the number of service requests that might be expected in the fiscal year 1941 was 75,000; in 1942, 98,500; and in 1943, 122,000. At the time this trend line was projected the added demand for service by reason of the defense program was not considered. The fact that the actual number of service requests received during the fiscal year 1941, 87,180, exceeded the estimated number of requests for that year by 12,180, or about 17 percent, may be attributable largely to the defense program.

On the assumption that the defense program will continue during this fiscal year and the fiscal year 1943 with at least as much momentum as at present, a new trend line was projected, which took this new factor into consideration. According to this new trend line, the number of service requests that The National Archives may expect in the fiscal year 1942 is 150,000 and in the fiscal year 1943, 200,000.

Disposition of records. At the beginning of the fiscal year 1941 there were 16,707 items pending in The National Archives for appraisal and during that fiscal year 385 lists containing 45,769 items were submitted to the Archivist, a total of 62,476 items. During the year 45,724 items were approved for disposition, 289 items were recommended for retention, and 256 items were withdrawn at the request of agencies that submitted them, leaving 16,207 items unappraised at the end of the year. The backlog of 16,707 items that existed at the beginning of the year was reduced by only 500 items, or 3 percent.

The acuteness of the space problem confronting Government agencies in Washington is indicated by the number of permanent and temporary buildings that have recently been, are being, or will soon be constructed by the Federal Government and by the leasing of space in hotels, apartments, and other buildings and the transfer of agencies from Washington to other cities. Since one method of conserving space is to dispose of records that appear to have no permanent value or historical interest to the Federal Government, a few Government agencies have inaugurated a systematic house cleaning of useless records and many others intend to inaugurate immediately the development of schedules that will provide for the regular disposition of routine and ephemeral records in Washington and in the field. In view of this fact, as well as the fact that no records of the Federal Government can be disposed of legally without the approval of the Archivist, it is reasonable to anticipate an immediate increase in the volume of appraisal work that The National Archives will be called upon to perform and an even greater increase during the fiscal year 1943.

Arrangement and description of records. Because of the pressing need for surveying, accessioning, and servicing records, little progress was made prior to the fiscal year 1941 on the important work of arranging them systematically and preparing finding mediums such as catalogs, inventories, guides, calendars, and other aids to service. As a result The National Archives has not been able to render services on records with the promptness and efficiency desired, and it is remarkable that, despite this handicap, 92 percent of the service requests received have been filled. This was accomplished, however, only by the expenditure of an excessive amount of time, and any progress made in arrangement and description work will be reflected by a reduction in the time required for filling service requests and by an improvement in the quality of the services rendered.

While it is extremely difficult to express progress made in this work of arrangement and description in terms of figures, a rough estimate indicates that at the end of the fiscal year 1941 approximately 20 percent of this work had been done on the records then in the custody of the Archivist. This means that arrangement and description work had been done on the equivalent of 67,654 cubic feet of records, leaving this type of work yet to be done on the equivalent of 262,592 cubic feet of records.

Time records, which are available only for the last 7 weeks of the fiscal year 1941, show that during the period indicated, employees of the records divisions spent only 37 percent of their total time on arrangement and description work. These records also show that the average time required for filling service requests during this 7 weeks period was 37 minutes. It should be considerably less. only way that it can be reduced is by increasing the amount of arrangement and description work performed.

The

Most of the records created during the first World War that relate to the war activities of the United States are in the custody of the Archivist. Other records of this type are now being transferred to The National Archives Building, and still others are scheduled for immediate transfer. These records constitute a great repository of the Government's experience during that period, and, as such, they are used with great frequency by agencies of the Government now concerned with the defense program. Other groups of records in the custody of the Archivist that relate primarily to economic problems, such as the records of the National Recovery Administration, which reflect the relationship between the Federal Government and industry during a period of economic stress, are also being utilized to a great extent by defense agencies. Adequate progress has not been made in the arrangement and description work on these records, and one of the most pressing needs of The National Archives is for work of this type to be done on these records so as to facilitate their use now while the need for consulting them is so urgent.

The availability during the present fiscal year of a small number of additional employees assigned to this task should result in more progress being made than was made during the fiscal year 1941. The conclusion is inescapable that the performance of this functio on all the records now in the custody of the Archivist that are unarranged and undescribed, to say nothing of current accessions, is a task that will require many years; and it is obvious that it is extremely desirable that progress in its performance be made as rapidly as possible.

Need for personnel. The personnel provided herein for the professional project is believed to be the minimum that will be required during the fiscal year 1943 to