Page images
PDF
EPUB
[blocks in formation]

JANUARY 7 (calendar day, JANUARY 8), 1932.-Ordered to be printed

Mr. REED, from the Committee on Military Affairs, submitted the

following

REPORT

[To accompany S. 428]

The Committee on Military Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 428) to provide for the payment of awards by the Patents and Design Board, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with the recommendation that it do pass amended as follows:

Page 1, lines 9, 10 and 11, strike out all of lines 9 and 10 and down to and including the word "sum" in line 11.

Page 1, line 12, strike out the word "directly" and insert in lieu thereof the following: "through the Bureau of the Budget."

The purpose of this bill is to amend section 10 of the act of July 2, 1926 (Air Corps act), and makes provison or the certification of awards of the Patents and Design Board to Congress for appropriations to cover the awards. The Secretary of War favors the passage of the bill and his letter to the chairman of the Senate Committee on Military Affairs, reporting on a similar bill in the Seventy-first Congress, is made a part of this report and reads as follows:

Hon. DAVID A. REED,

JANUARY 28, 1930.

Chairman Committee on Military Affairs, United States Senate.

DEAR SENATOR REED: Careful consideration has been given to the bill S. 2278 which you transmitted to the War Department on December 16, 1929, with request for the views of the War Department relative thereto.

The applicable provision of existing law on this subject appears in the Air Corps act of July 2, 1926 (44 Stat. 788-789) and is quoted below:

"SEC. 10 (r). A board to be known as the patents and design board is hereby created, the three members of which shall be an Assistant Secretary of War, an Assistant Secretary of the Navy, and an Assistant Secretary of Commerce. To this board any individual, firm, or corporation may submit a design for aircraft, aircraft parts, or aeronautical accessories, and whether patented or unpatentable, the said board upon the recommendation of the National Advisory Committee

for Aeronautics shall determine whether the use of such designs by the Government is desirable or necessary, and evaluate the designs so submitted and fix the worth to the United States of said design, not to exceed $75,000. The said designer, individual, firm, or corporation may then be offered the sum fixed by the board for the ownership or a nonexclusive right of the United States to the use of the design in aircraft, aircraft parts, or aeronautical accessories and upon the acceptance thereof shall execute complete assignment or nonexclusive license to the United States: Provided, That no sum in excess of $75,000 shall be paid for any one design."

The changes that will be brought about in existing law by the proposed legislation and the effect of such changes, stated briefly, are as follows:

The existing law makes no provision for the certification of the awards of the board to Congress for appropriations to cover such awards. If enacted into law, S. 2278 will cover this discrepancy.

It is the opinion of the War Department that the awards of the board should be certified through the Bureau of the Budget. To permit this to be done, it is recommended that the word "directly," in line 12, be omitted from the bill.

The passage of this bill would supply the one element needed to enable the board to function effectively and for this reason its enactment, with the foregoing amendment, is recommended.

Sincerely yours,

PATRICK J. HURLEY,

Secretary of War.

Your committee is advised that the Secretary of War has not changed his attitude on this subject.

[ocr errors]

72D CONGRESS 1st Session

}

SENATE

{

REPORT
No. 46

WAR-TIME RANK FOR RETIRED OFFICERS OF THE ARMY

JANUARY 7 (calendar day JANUary 8), 1932.—Ordered to be printed

Mr. REED, from the Committee on Military Affairs, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany S. 461]

The Committee on Military Affairs, to which was referred the bill (S. 461) to amend the act entitled "An act to give war-time rank to retired officers and former officers of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and/or Coast Guard of the United States," approved June 21, 1930, so as to give class B officers of the Army the benefits of such act, reports favorably thereon with the recommendation that it do pass. The act of June 21, 1930, above referred to, gives war-time rank, without pay, to retired officers and former officers of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard who served during the World War, except those retired under the provisions of section 24b of the national defense act. Investigation shows that there were 28 officers of the Army who were honorably retired under section 24b, whose retirement was not due to misconduct, neglect, or avoidable habits, who would be benfited by this legislation. They have good military records and the majority of them are veterans of two wars.

Your committee believe that these officers, who served faithfully during the World War, but whose retirement in class B was not due to misconduct, neglect, or avoidable habits, should receive the benefits of the above mentioned act of June 21, 1930, and recommends favorable action on this bill.

The Secretary of War recommends enactment of the bill S. 461, his letter reads as follows:

Hon. DAVID A. REED,

Chairman Committee on Military Affairs,

and

WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, December 30, 1931.

United States Senate.

DEAR SENATOR REED: Careful consideration has been given to the bill S. 461, Seventy-second Congress, to amend the act of June 21, 1930, by eliminating the restriction now placed on the advancement of class B retired officers to World

for Aeronautics shall determine whether the use of such designs by the Government is desirable or necessary, and evaluate the designs so submitted and fix the worth to the United States of said design, not to exceed $75,000. The said designer, individual, firm, or corporation may then be offered the sum fixed by the board for the ownership or a nonexclusive right of the United States to the use of the design in aircraft, aircraft parts, or aeronautical accessories and upon the acceptance thereof shall execute complete assignment or nonexclusive license to the United States: Provided, That no sum in excess of $75,000 shall be paid for any one design."

The changes that will be brought about in existing law by the proposed legislation and the effect of such changes, stated briefly, are as follows:

The existing law makes no provision for the certification of the awards of the board to Congress for appropriations to cover such awards. If enacted into law, S. 2278 will cover this discrepancy.

It is the opinion of the War Department that the awards of the board should be certified through the Bureau of the Budget. To permit this to be done, it is recommended that the word "directly," in line 12, be omitted from the bill.

The passage of this bill would supply the one element needed to enable the board to function effectively and for this reason its enactment, with the foregoing amendment, is recommended.

Sincerely yours,

[blocks in formation]

Your committee is advised that the Secretary of War has not changed his attitude on this subject.

O

« PreviousContinue »