States, respectively, in which the same may be together with the lands and tenements thereunto belonging and together with the jurisdiction of the same.

When the law which resulted in the Lighthouse Service was passed in 1789, Virginia had collected the materials for a lighthouse at Cape Henry, at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, but construction had not been commenced. The lighthouse at Cape Henry at the entrance to Chesapeake Bay was the first built by the United States, the work being included in the first appropriation made by Congress for lighthouse purposes, on March 26, 1790.

Former Commissioner of Lighthouses George R. Putnam, in his book entitled "Lighthouses and Lightships of the United States," quotes from a letter dated December 18, 1789, from Governor Randolph of Virginia, to President Washington, in which Governor Randolph says:

"The State some years ago placed upon the shore at Cape Henry nearly a sufficient quantity of materials to complete such a lighthouse as was at that time thought convenient, which have been in the course of time covered by sand. Measures are being taken to extricate them from this situation."

An octagonal sandstone tower was built, and the light shown in 1792.

The story of the Lighthouse Service is one of heroic service, valiant endeavor, patient endurance, trying hardship, lonely vigil, and unceasing vigilance. At times there enters tragic suffering and extreme hazard.

Secretary Redfield, of the Department of Commerce in the administration of President Wilson, said:

"The Government has a fleet of vessels in its service whose duty it is to go where no other vessels are allowed to go, and who, through storm, darkness, and sunshine, do their work for humanity without any boasting, without any advertising, with none to trumpet their praises and with only their own sense of duty to guide them. The story of the Service is full of brave deeds, and I honor the men who have done and are doing these things."

Illustrative of the dangers suffered by these sentinels of the coasts are the damages and losses in life and property sustained by the Service on the occasion of the September (1938) hurricane. An assistant keeper of a station in Narragansett Bay lost his life; the wife of another keeper was drowned, and in a third case a keeper lost both wife and son. The Whale Rock Light Station, in the western passage of Narragansett Bay, close to Narragansett Pier, was completely swept from its base and destroyed. In this catastrophe the first assistant keeper, Walter B. Eberle, the only person at the station at the time, lost his life. The head keeper at the time was on shore and was prevented from returning to the station by the severity of the storm.

At the Palmer Island Light Station, in New Bedford Harbor, Mass., the dwelling and all other buildings with the exception of the light tower were swept away. The wife of the keeper, Mrs. Arthur A. Small, who had first taken refuge in the tower, lost her life in an attempt to go to the assistance of her husband, when she saw him washed away by a heavy sea. Though Mr. Small, through desperate efforts, had saved himself and had seen his wife washed away, he returned to his post, remained throughout the storm, and kept his light in operation until he was relieved the next morning.

Diamond Shoals lightship, stationed off Cape Hatteras, N. C., was caught in the center of the tropical hurricane of September 1933, and was forced off its station notwithstanding its 5,500-pound anchor and 12 tons of anchor chain. The vessel dragged into the edge of the dangerous Diamond Shoal, but was gotten off again. President Roosevelt sent the officers and crew of the Diamond Shoals lightship a letter of commendation and appreciation for the heroic work done by them.

Volumes could be written of the heroic vigil and daring service of all engaged in this work whether on lightships, lighthouses, tenders, or any other branch. Sometimes their stations are destroyed by ice, and sometimes they become havens of refuge as in June 1916, when 155 persons from the wrecked steamer Bear were taken aboard Blunts Reef lightship, California, and cared for until taken off, or as in October 1916, when South Pass lighthouse gave shelter in the rooms of the tower to 75 people throughout the night of the hurricane, or as at Ocracoke, N. C., when 27 persons took refuge in the light tower when their dwellings were destroyed in the storm of September 1933.

It has been well said that the lightkeeper "stands his vigil for all humanity, asking no questions as to the nationality or purpose of him whom he directs to safety.

We are likely to forget the part played by the Lighthouse Service in time of It has cooperated in all wars and national emergencies with the military

war.

and naval forces of the United States. As reported in the United States Lighthouse Service written in 1915 by John S. Conway, Deputy Commissioner of Lighthouses, and revised in 1923, the Lighthouse Service participated in the War of the Revolution, War of 1812, Seminole War, War between the States, SpanishAmerican War, and World War. The author says:

"On April 11, 1917, the President issued an Executive order transferring 30 lighthouse tenders to the War Department, and 15 lighthouse tenders, 4 light vessels, and 21 light stations to the Navy Department, including a total of 1,120 persons employed thereon. The tenders transferred to the War Department were subsequently transferred to the Navy Department. These vessels and stations after that time performed various duties under these departments, and also continued the maintenance of the aids to navigation and other duties necessary for the Lighthouse Service. On January 31, 1918, another lighthouse tender was transferred, making 1,132 persons and 50 vessels transferred. In addition to this number of persons, 152 employees of the Service joined the Army or Navy, making with those transferred a grand total of 1,284 employees who entered the military services, or approximately 22 percent of the normal force of the Lighthouse Service. These persons were all awarded Victory Medals by the Navy Department. In July 1919 all vessels and personnel were retransferred to the Department of Commerce.

*

"The vessels of the Lighthouse Service did practically all of the work on the defensive entrance nets, they did mine laying, they placed floating practice targets, buoys, and marks for military uses; they were employed as patrols, and on much special duty. The light vessels and lighthouses acted as lookouts and reporting stations. Diamond Shoals light vessel, off Cape Hatteras, was sunk on August 6, 1918, by a German submarine, after reporting by radio the presence of a submarine, thus warning and saving many vessels. The larger highthouse tenders were almost continuously in the danger zone, and were sent to buoy the wreck of torpedoed vessels. During the raid of October 1916, by the German submarine U-53, in the vicinity of Nantucket Island, the crews of three torpedoed vessels were given refuge aboard Nantucket Shoals light vessel. At one time there were 115 shipwrecked men on board the lightship, and 19 small boats cared for. By the evening of October 8, 1916, these men were all safely transferred to vessels of the United States Navy in response to radio messages from the lightship. Had it not been for the light vessel, it is probable that few of these shipwrecked men would have been saved, as on the next 2 days heavy shifting gales and a very rough sea were experienced in that locality."

The perils to lightships and their crews are illustrated by the case of the lightship No. 117 occupying the Nantucket Shoals station with which the steamship Olympic collided on May 15, 1934, in a dense fog. The lightship sank on station with a loss of 7 members of its crew. Boats from the Olympic were immediately put over and 7 of the 11 officers and crew who were aboard the lightship were picked up but 3 of these died the same day of injuries.

Your committee believe that the public generally should know more of the great work of the Lighthouse Service, and that it is eminently fitting and proper that the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of this great Service should be celebrated throughout the United States and in all of its Territories and possessions.

O

76TH CONGRESS 1st Session

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SENATE

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REPORT No. 359

WAIVER OF STOCKHOLDERS' LIABILITY BY FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION

MAY 2 (legislative day, MAY 1), 1939.—Ordered to be printed

Mr. GLASS, from the Committee on Banking and Currency, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany S. 1701]

The Committee on Banking and Currency, to whom was referred the bill (S. 1701) to amend section 12B of the Federal Reserve Act, as amended, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment in the nature of a substitute, and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.

The effect of this amendment will be to require the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to waive any claim for stockholders' liability against the stockholders in a reorganized bank which had closed prior to the effective date of the first amendment requiring such waivers (May 25, 1938). The reason for extending the exception to a period prior to such effective date in the case of a reorganized bank is that upon the reorganization of a bank which closed shortly before our amendment the depositors had been persuaded to utilize a portion of their deposits for the purpose of furnishing capital to the bank. Thereby they became stockholders, and unless the now uniform waiver rule is extended to them they will be compelled to pay to the insurance corporation as stockholders the amount they had once sacrificed as depositors in order to reorganize the bank.

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MAY 2 (legislative day, MAY 1), 1939.-Ordered to be printed

Mr. BuLow, from the Committee on Civil Service, submitted the

following

REPORT

[To accompany S. 444]

The Committee on Civil Service, to whom was referred this bill (S. 444) for the relief of John F. Thomas, having considered same, report favorably thereon and recommend that it do pass.

The purpose of this bill is to authorize the Civil Service Commission to consider the retirement application of Mr. Thomas as if he had been involuntarily separated from the service and not separated by removal for cause on charges of misconduct or delinquency.

A study of the voluminous evidence submitted in this case reveals that John F. Thomas was dismissed from the guard service at the Federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kans., in 1925, after having had more than 15 years of service, on the grounds that he failed to take adequate steps to prevent the escape of a prisoner. Inasmuch as he was dismissed for cause the provisions of the civil service retirement law were not applicable to him.

For many years Thomas has contended that his dismissal was unjust and the evidence submitted in support of his contention as well as a thoroughgoing investigation of the whole case by the Department of Justice appears to bear this out.

In commenting on this case the Attorney General said in part:

In 1937, because of the continued insistence of Mr. Thomas that an injustice had been done to him, a comprehensive investigation of this matter was conducted by the Bureau of Prisons. The report of the investigation indicates that Mr. Thomas' version of the facts is worthy of credence and concludes with the statement, "This man has been dealt with most severely. There is nothing to indicate that he is primarily responsible for the escape of the prisoner."

In view of the foregoing I find no objection to the enactment of the bill, if the Congress is inclined to extend Mr. Thomas the relief which is proposed in the pending measure.