ACQUISITION OF BUILDING FOR OFFICERS' QUARTERS.

The CHAIRMAN. What is this building that it is proposed to acquire?

Col. MUMMA. The Ohio State Rifle Association purchased approximately 12 acres of ground immediately adjoining the Ohio rifle-range property, immediately on the east, and constructed on that property a large frame and concrete building known as the Camp Perry Clubhouse or the Rifle Range Association Clubhouse, and, in addition, an ice house and a stable, the total area being approximately 12 acres. This clubhouse is in the nature of a large summer hotel, its purpose being, of course, to accommodate visitors at the range during the period when the national matches were conducted at this place, and during the period when the range was occupied by the troops of the Ohio National Guard in their annual encampments. This building is itself completely furnished as to room furnishings and things like that, that makes it a sort of a summer hotel.

Mr. EAGAN. The furnishings are included?

Col. MUMMA. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. What reason is there for the Government acquiring this property?

Col. MUMMA. This little clubhouse?

The CHAIRMAN. Yes, sir.

Col. MUMMA. It is the only quarters which are available for the officers of the permanent station of instruction. There are no quarters there at all.

The CHAIRMAN. The idea is to buy it and convert it from a hotel into officers' quarters?

Col. MUMMA. Temporarily, yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. It has accommodations for how many people! Col. MUMMA. It has 20 rooms. My entire personnel has been quartered in it this summer. We leased it from the present owners; that is, individually, a little private service club. I have had 83 officers quartered in the rooms and on the third floor above and a few in tents outside, but we all messed there.

The CHAIRMAN. What do you think of the value?

Col. MUMMA. I think the value is fairly stated at $25,000.

Maj. HOLDEN. My appraiser found that it was only worth $18,000. This brings up the question that you touched upon. Here is a summer hotel, which is in the hands of creditors, which cost them $25,000 with interest. My proposition is that a summer hotel of 20 rooms, which is a failure, that we should by it at a less price, not considering the cost. I do not think the Government should pay $25,000.

The CHAIRMAN. This $190,186 includes the clubhouse at what valuation?

Maj. HOLDEN. At $25,000. We put it in for that figure, because what we would do, our recommendation would be based on the report of the appraiser, and we would not go above the $18,000, because we are charged with the responsibility of getting it at the best price. Their price is $25,000 and the colonel thinks it is worth it. I have not seen it.

The CHAIRMAN. Then, there should be a reduction of $7,000?

Maj. HOLDEN. A reduction of $7,000 in the judgment of my appraiser who was sent out there. He states that the property is held by the First National Bank, of Fort Clinton, Ohio, as trustee.

There is no question but what it would cost more than $25.000 to put up that building. This is really the question that we touched on a little while ago. as to what a bankrupt institution-a summer resort is worth. I do not think that we should be held up.

Col. MUMMA. I can assure you they will not accept the price without condemnation proceedings.

The CHAIRMAN. What do you think it could be obtained for under condemnation proceedings?

Col. MUMMA. I do not know about that proposition. I simply have my acquaintance with the property. Of course, my basis of valuation is different from that of Major Holden.

Mr. EAGAN. What is the character of the construction?

Col. MUMMA. Frame and concrete.

The CHAIRMAN. What is your basis of calculation?

Col. MUMMA. My basis of calculation is what it is worth to the Government.

The CHAIRMAN. You do not think that we should buy on that basis only?

Col. MUMMA. No, sir; I do not. Its market value is a determining factor also; it is bound to be. As a separate proposition, taken apart from the range, of which it really is part and parcel, constructed for that purpose; but if you separate it from that I should hesitate to set its market value, because I do not think it would be very much. Now, to put it in conjunction with the range for which it was built, and for which it can be used to advantage, it has an entirely different valuation. I think the situation is a little unusual. The out-and-out market value ought not to be the absolute determining factor. I am not interested in what it is worth, only in the proposition that it should be acquired in connection with the range for military reasons.

Mr. EAGAN. How near is this property to Lake Erie?

Col. MUMMA. It is right on the lake.

Mr. EAGAN. What is the character of the improvements in the hotel, just quarters?

Col. MUMMA. It is three stories, the lower floor, being devoted to a large assembly room, or lounging room, as you might call it, a dining room with a capacity of about 130, a serving room, and a kitchen. Mr. EAGAN. Is it steam heated?

Col. MUMMA. No, sir; there is no heating plant in it, only grates. Mr. EAGAN. Is there good plumbing in it?

Col. MUMMA. Yes, sir. The basement contains the bathrooms and what was formerly the bar, now extinct. The second floor contains 20 sleeping rooms, and the third floor has been converted into two large dormitories.

Mr. CANNON. Are there any railroad facilities there?

Col. MUMMA. Yes, sir; it is on the main line of the New York Central.

Mr. CANNON. The proximity of the lake should make this a great place?

Col. MUMMA. Yes, sir.

Mr. CANNON. Is that as good a proving ground as if it were land? Col. MUMMA. It is just as good for proving gun carriages, where the determination of the range does not enter into it.

The CHAIRMAN. You have pending a legislative proposal, contained in House Document No. 1312, which is as follows:

That the President is hereby authorized, through the Secretary of War, during the existing emergency, from time to time, to requisition or otherwise take over for the United States any lands, including the buildings thereon, or any temporary use thereof, required for hospital facilities. He shall ascertain and pay, from the proper appropriation, a just compensation therefor. If the compensation so ascertained be not satisfactory to the person entitled to receive the same, such person shall be paid 75 per cent of the amount so determined, and shall be entitled to sue the United States in the United States district court for the judicial district where the property is situated to recover such further sum as, added to the 75 per cent, will make up such amount as will be just compensation.

Maj. HOLDEN. The situation is this, Mr. Chairman. Under the act of July 2, 1917, we can condemn for military purposes, cantonments, what we discussed here, and then under the pure-food act there is given the power to the War Department to requisition for storage purposes. Requisition means inside of the War Department, and the War Department seizes it, and there is a war appraisal board which sits and hears the testimony and allows what they think is right, and if the owner is not satisfied with the award, he appeals to the Court of Claims. That is requisition. That applies only to storage. You have also given the War Department a little further consideration in the District of Columbia and they can requisition most anything here. The situation that we are up against particularly is in connection with these hospitals and that would cure it, but in the office-building situation in New York there is a very acute situation. We are enlarging the departments all the time, and the first thing they want is office space, and the fellow next door has a lease and he wants an exorbitant sum to move; he may be a lawyer or a real estate man, and we must either pay him or move the whole outfit to larger quarters. What should be done to make this a good job is that there should be requisition on everything for military purposes. If the law could be passed right away I think it would be the means of saving two or three hundred thousand dollars. If you could put in the bill "for hospital and office purposes," I think that would get at nearly every class of property that the Government is likely to need, either by condemnation or requisition, but that is kind of patchwork.

The CHAIRMAN. Have you ever presented this proposal to the Committee on Military Affairs?

Maj. HOLDEN. I personally have not. They have been considering it, but nobody has apparently gotten back of it. The Lakewood Hospital is a case in point.

Mr. WHEELOCK. In New York we have taken over a very large building at Eighth Avenue and Thirty-fourth Street. When we came to getting some of those people out it was determined that the material they have there could only be moved at great expense, and therefore it was determined to put the Quartermaster Department in a portion of the building and to allow other tenants to remain where they are now. We have not yet the power to get the tenants out of the space we need. A few of them have actually re

fused to move. It entails on their part. a very heavy cost to move, because they are not allowed any compensation for loss of time, loss of business, or the cost of taking down and setting up their machinery. We have utilized the force of public information without publishing it in the newspapers as far as we could. That is only one instance of 20 or 30, only to a smaller extent in other cities where the departments can not go without driving somebody else out of the space. Now, there is no power to requisition for office purposes.

PURCHASE AND RENTAL OF GROUNDS FOR HOSPITAL PURPOSES.

The CHAIRMAN. You have an item for the purchase and rental of grounds for hospital purposes, $5,600,000?

Lieut. DECKER. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Can you tell us on what it is predicated? Lieut. DECKER. We had absolutely nothing to work on when we took over this new department. When we took over the leasing of land all of these appropriations had been made for the construction division. I had a talk at that time with Col. Hornsby and Col. Kramer, of the Medical Department, about August 12, and a conversation with Maj. French, of the construction division. Apparently there had been a lack of understanding as to what funds had been provided for that purpose. The 1919 appropriation, which takes in the construction and the repair of hospitals, is so worded that it takes in the leasing and purchase of land, but nothing out of that appropriation has been apportioned for that purpose. Therefore I had to make some sort of a statement in order to get some funds to cover these various rentals of buildings of different sorts. In arriving at those figures my impression was and my understanding was from the Medical Department that due to the increased Army program in 1919 the requirements would be approximately 115,000 beds, and my figures were based on that number. Since that time there has apparently been some misunderstanding, and, while they claim that 115,000 beds will eventually be needed, whether that need will be for the year 1919 I can not quite find out at the present time. I will read to you the report I made to the Finance and Accounting Division, because everything I have done has been directly with the Finance and Accounting Division of the Quartermaster Corps, and this is the memorandum I sent to that division under date of August 15:

The increased Army program for 1919 will necessitate the acquiring of 115,000 additional beds for hospital purposes. The medical department is figuring on procuring space in three different ways. First, by leasing hotels, clubs, office buildings, or any other structure that could be utilized for that purpose. Second, by the construction of new hospitals on leased and purchased property. Third, by the enlargement of present hospital facilities and the construction of new hospital facilities on Government-owned property. This office will have to approve all buildings of the first class. Of the second class this office will only be interested to the extent of leasing and acquiring the necessary land. It has been found that the cost of leasing space in large cities will approximate in the vicinity of $225 per bed per year.

Those figures were based on $525,000 a year for the Grand Central Palace at New York, the figures being submitted at that time by the Medical Department, but they have since been greatly reduced.

In the smaller towns and localities approximately $100 per bed. This office considers $150 per bed a fair average, and as space is required for 38,333 beds of this kind an expenditure will be required of $5,749,950. It is the opinion of this office that 10 000 acres will be required for space on which the new hospitals will be built. As these sites will necessarily have to be in close proximity to railroad and transportation facilities, this office has figured that in case of purchase the approximate cost per acre would be $400. This would make an additional requirement of $4,000,000. The personnel required to maintain these hospitals is figured at 40 per cent of the total number of patients, and it is figured that the expense of housing the personnel will be fully as great as that of the patients themselves. Therefore, an additional $3,899,980 will be required for this purpose, making a total in all of $13,649,930. It is requested that this amount be included in your estimate of the construction and repair of hospitals, fiscal year 1919, for the purposes above mentioned.

The CHAIRMAN. You are estimating for the purchase and rental of grounds for hospital purposes $5,600,000 and also for the rent of buildings for hospital personnel, which you figure at $8,049,000?

Lieut. DECKER. Those figures apparently do not agree with mine. Maj. HOLDEN. There is a misunderstanding about that, because $8,000,000 is for the purpose of housing the personnel, while the second subdivision is for the construction of new hospitals on leased and purchased property.

Lieut. DECKER. Yes. You see, they are figuring on acquiring this space in three different ways: First, by rental; second, by the purchase or leasing of land on which new construction is to be made; and third, by construction on Government-owned property, and in which we would not be interested in any way whatsoever.

The CHAIRMAN. Are they figuring anything for the purpose of buying land on which to build hospitals?

Lieut. DECKER. I do not know whether they are.

Maj. HOLDEN. They are in some cases. There is one case that has in contemplation the purchase of 400 acres at Chickamauga, and at Charleston consideration is being given to the leasing of a big piece of land, but there has been some kick back on that. There are some cases of that kind where they want to buy land and put up hospitals. However, the War Industries Board is knocking the last proposition very much, because they do not want to have any construction that can be avoided.

The CHAIRMAN. You figure on how many beds to be procured by rentals?

Lieut. DECKER. Thirty-eight thousand three hundred and thirtythree.

The CHAIRMAN. How many beds by building?

Lieut DECKER. The same number, sir. It is divided into thirds, and there is to be the same number each way. They have said that one-third of it would be by rentals, one-third of it by construction on leased or purchased property, and one-third of it by construction on Government-owned reservations.

The CHAIRMAN. You figure how much money for leases on a bed basis?

Lieut. DECKER. I have put a very high estimate. I figure an average of $150 per bed.

FOR HOUSING PERSONNEL.

The CHAIRMAN. You are figuring $3,899,980 for housing per sonnel?

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