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NPS Role
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The Civilian Conservation Corps and the National Park Service, 1933-1942: An Administrative History Chapter Two: The National Park Service Role |
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ADMINISTRATIVE RELATIONSHIPS
The magnitude of administering the ECW program brought the National Park Service in close working contact with the Departments of War, Labor, and Agriculture, as well as with other bureaus within the Department of the Interior. Roosevelt had originally intended that the Department of the Interior and the Department of Agriculture would jointly administer the entire program. It soon became apparent, however, that to implement the program as quickly as he wished, an effective recruiting system would be required. The Forest Service and Park Service did not have enough manpower or expertise to recruit enrollees or operate the camps 24 hours a day. This brought the Departments of Labor and War into the program as full participants.
The Army and War Department
The Army wanted to be of assistance during the 1933 mobilization of the ECW but expressed reluctance to cooperate with other government agencies. President Roosevelt overcame these misgivings and convinced the Army to supply equipment and men for operating the conditioning program and administering the camps. The camp administrator was called the camp commander and he was assisted by a supply sergeant, a mess sergeant, and a cook (see chapter 3). The Army at first set up the camps using regular Army officers, but early in 1934 these men were replaced by reserve officers. (At the same time the Army replaced noncommissioned officers in camp personnel positions with men chosen from among the camp enrollees). The War Department wished to rotate commissioned camp officers to different camps every few enrollment periods so that they would not assume they had permanent positions at specific camps. The Forest Service and Park Service were concerned about this policy because they believed that the longer the commissioned camp officers could remain in place, the more proficient and knowledgeable they would become about their work and the needs of the park or forest area. Within the ECW advisory council, a struggle arose among the Park Service, the Forest Service, and the Army over the question of camp officer rotation. In 1934 the Forest Service and the Park Service joined forces to oppose this Army policy. Colonel Duncan K. Major, the Army representative in the advisory council, responded that the rotation policy had not reduced the camps' work efficiency nor had it adversely affected camp morale. Colonel Major ended his argument by stating that neither the National Park Service nor the Forest Service could dictate Army policy. This disagreement continued over the next several years. [24]
The rotation question was but one of several conflicts between the Army and the Park Service over daily camp operations. Another source of contention involved the balance between men needed for camp maintenance and those required for project work. Gradually, the army camp commanders began to hold back more and more enrollees from daily project work for housekeeping duties around the camp. The Park Service superintendents complained that such tasks constituted unnecessary ''overhead'' and detracted from the primary mission of performing conservation work. After several months of disagreement the Army and the Park Service agreed in August 1933 that camp commanders could keep 23 to 26 men around camp for housekeeping duties. [25]
The Army also opposed the use of locally employed men (LEMs). These people were hired by the National Park Service and were not under Army control. Park Service officials saw the LEM program as a way in which men skilled in conservation work could be hired. The army officials were uncomfortable with this program and it remained a source of irritation until the termination of the CCC program. [26]
As the summer of 1933 drew to a close, Army and NPS officials recognized that conflicts between the camp commander and park superintendent would occasionally arise. Procedures were established for conflict resolution, which emphasized the need for settlement on the local level if at all possible. Such a system emphasized the need for the park superintendents and the camp commander to have a close working relationship. If problems could not be worked out on the camp level, the park superintendent would then contact the liaison officer or corps commander at the appropriate army corps headquarters. If a satisfactory solution could still not be reached by both parties at this level, they could notify their superiors to bring the matter up during a meeting of the advisory council. The advisory council decision would be passed down to the appropriate camp officials. Only the most difficult matters went through the entire process. [27]
The issue of establishing side camps away from the main 200-man camps was the most difficult conflict to resolve. The purposes of the side camps were to construct trails, build firebreaks, install fire lookouts, provide emergency fire details, and control tree disease in areas that were inaccessible to large groups. In April 1933 the Forest Service requested that President Roosevelt permit the use of such camps to do some of the proposed conservation work; the request was turned down.
In June, Robert Stuart of the Forest Service and Horace Albright of the Park Service again recommended the use of side camps to accomplish work. They argued that without such camps up to 40 percent of the conservation work for parks and forests could not be accomplished. The Army opposed this idea. There were not enough men to supervise the enrollees in these camps and they feared a high desertion rate. Also the Army pointed out that such camps would add 10 percent to the food costs for the camps. ECW Director Fechner concurred with the Army's position, but on July 19 President Roosevelt ruled that the side camps could begin on a one-month trial basis. [28]
On July 22 Secretary of War George H. Dern sent a message to all corps area commanders on the procedures for setting up the side camps. No more than 10 percent of the camp's complement could be assigned to side camps. The men would work in these camps from Monday through Friday and return to the main camp on weekends. The Park Service would be responsible for providing shelter, transportation, and supervision for their side camps. The Army camp commander and the corps area commander had to give formal approval before the park superintendent could establish a side camp. Within two weeks of the start of the experiment, 300 side camps were established by the Forest Service and Park Service, and the 10 percent limit was exceeded. Chief Forester Stuart and NPS Director Albright reported to Director Fechner in August that the experiment had proven to be a great success and that the morale in the side camps was high, with no desertions. The side camp was subsequently made a permanent feature of the ECW program. President Roosevelt permitted the Army corps area commanders to determine how many men from the main camp could be assigned to work in side camps. [29]
Army officials again felt that their supervisory role was challenged when the question of how to deal with safety issues was raised. The Army held that it should be the sole determiner on safety matters, while the National Park Service wanted to be responsible for on-the-job safety. The Army compromised by agreeing to the formation of a safety committee composed of the camp commander, an NPS representative, and the Army medical officer. [30]
In May 1934 Conrad Wirth further irritated Army officials by suggesting that ECW enrollees within NPS camps be given a meritorious service certificate after completion of their term of duty. Colonel Major stated that the Army was opposed to such an action unless the certificate was given to all ECW participants and not just NPS camp enrollees. Wirth, supported by Frederick Morrell of the Forest Service, argued that the Army discharge form was inadequate as a record of service and an aid in seeking employment. Colonel Major maintained that the Army was the sole administrator in charge of personnel matters and had exclusive authority to issue any certificates. The Army was able to forestall the issuance of the NPS certificate until May 1935 when Director Fechner approved a modified version of the concept. The National Park Service was allowed to issue a certificate; however, the camp commander was not required to sign it and all reference to the Army was removed from the document. [31]
In 1935 Wirth and the Forest Service representative brought up the side camp issue again in the advisory council. The Park Service observed that conservation projects in mountainous western park areas could best be accomplished by using small side camps and requested that the 10 percent ceiling on side camps be increased. The Army agreed to let the corps area commanders increase this ceiling above 10 percent. In return, Colonel Major requested that the number of LEMs hired by the Park Service to supervise these camps be limited to 16 per camp. In this way the Army hoped to control the number of side camps. Further, the Army wanted all these men to be considered part of each state's ECW hiring quotas. Fechner and the Park Service agreed to both of these stipulations. [32]
The old conflict with the Army concerning the rotation of camp officers was revived on May 13, 1937, when the Army issued an order requiring reserve officers to remain on ECW duty for a total of only 18 months, with 25 percent of all the officers being granted special permission to serve for two years. The order further granted medical officers the right to remain on duty for three years. The date set for full implementation of that order was December 31, 1937. Both Fechner and the representatives of the Park Service and Forest Service reacted negatively, believing that it would prove detrimental to the work program. Director Fechner discussed the matter with President Roosevelt and gained his support in opposing the Army. On July 20 the Army issued a modification to the original order that allowed indefinite retention of 50 percent of the reserve officers in each corps area except for medical officers and chaplains. The next day during a meeting of the advisory council, the Army representative announced plans to replace all reserve officers in camps by July of 1938. The Park Service saw this action as a mistake, but could do nothing more to prevent it. [33]
During 1938 Director Fechner approved regulations that prohibited park superintendents from making fire inspections of the camps under Army jurisdiction. The park superintendents believed that since the camps were on Park Service property, they were responsible for fire safety in the camps. Even after Director Fechner's ruling, some park superintendents (such as at Vicksburg National Military Park) were able to obtain permission from the Army camp commander to inspect the camps for fire hazards. [34]
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