The presidential order of May 21 covering this change follows:

“By virtue of the authority in me vested as Commander-in-Chief of the Army and by virtue of further authority upon me specifically conferred by ‘An act authorizing the President to coordinate or consolidate executive bureaus, agencies, and offices, and for other purposes, in the interest of economy and the more efficient concentration of the Government,’ approved May 20, 1918, I do hereby make and publish the following order:

“The powers heretofore conferred by law or by Executive order upon and the duties and functions heretofore performed by the Chief Signal Officer of the Army are hereby redistributed as follows:

I

“(1) The Chief Signal Officer of the Army shall have charge, under the direction of the Secretary of War, of all military signal duties, and of books, papers and devices connected therewith, including telegraph and telephone apparatus and the necessary meteorological instruments for use on target ranges, and other military uses; the construction, repair, and operation of military telegraph lines, and the duty of collecting and transmitting information for the Army by telegraph or otherwise, and all other duties usually pertaining to military signaling; and shall perform such other duties as now or are or shall hereafter be devolved by law or by Executive order upon said Chief Signal Officer which are not connected with the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps or with the purchase, manufacture, maintenance, and production of aircraft, and which are not hereinafter conferred, in special or general terms, upon other officers or agencies.

“(2) A Director of Military Aeronautics, selected and designated by the Commander in Chief of the Army, shall hereafter have charge, under the direction of the Secretary of War, of the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps of the Army, and as such shall be, and he hereby is, charged with the duty of operating and maintaining or supervising the operation and maintenance of all military aircraft, including balloons and aeroplanes, all appliances pertaining to said aircraft and signaling apparatus of any kind when installed on said aircraft, and of training officers, enlisted men, and candidates for aviation service in matters pertaining to military aviation, and shall hereafter perform each and every function heretofore imposed upon and performed by the Chief Signal Officer of the Army in, or in connection with, the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps, except such as pertains to the purchase, manufacture, and production of aircraft and aircraft equipment and as is not hereinafter conferred, in special or general terms, upon the Bureau of Aircraft Production; and all aeroplanes now in use or completed and on hand and all material and parts, and all machinery, tools, appliances, and equipment held for use for the maintenance thereof; all lands, buildings, repair shops, warehouses, and all other property, real, personal, or mixed, heretofore used by the Signal Corps in, or in connection with, the operation and maintenance of aircraft and the training of officers, enlisted men, and candidates for aviation service, or procured and now held for such use by or under the jurisdiction and control of the Signal Corps of the Army; all books, records, files and office equipment heretofore used by the Signal Corps, in, or in connection with, such operation, maintenance, and training; and the entire personnel of the Signal Corps as at present assigned to, or engaged upon work in, or in connection with, such operation, maintenance, and training, is hereby transferred from the jurisdiction of the Chief Signal Office and placed under the jurisdiction of the Director of Military Aeronautics; it being the intent hereof to transfer from the jurisdiction of the Chief Signal Officer to the jurisdiction of the said Director of Military Aeronautics every function, power, and duty conferred and imposed upon said Director of Military Aeronautics by subparagraph (2) of paragraph I hereof all property of every sort of nature used or procured for use in, or in connection with, the functions of the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps placed in charge of the Director of Military Aeronautics by subparagraph (2) of paragraph I hereof, and the entire personnel of the Signal Corps in charge of the Director of Military Aeronautics by subparagraph (2) of paragraph I hereof.

“(3) An executive agency, known as the Bureau of Aircraft Production, is hereby established, and said agency shall exercise full, complete, and exclusive jurisdiction and control over the production of aeroplanes, aeroplane engines, and aircraft equipment for the use of the Army, and to that end shall forthwith assume control and jurisdiction over all pending Government projects having to do or connected with the production of aeroplanes, aeroplane engines, and aircraft equipment for the Army and heretofore conducted by the Signal Corps of the Army, under the jurisdiction of the Chief Signal Officer; and all material on hand for such production, all unfinished aeroplanes and aeroplane engines, and all unfinished, unattached, or unassembled aircraft equipment; all lands, buildings, factories, warehouses, machinery, tools, and appliances, and all other property, real, personal, or mixed, heretofore used in or in connection with such production, or procured and now held for such use, by or under the jurisdiction and control of the Signal Corps of the Army; all books, records, files, and office equipment used by the said Signal Corps in or in connection with such production; all rights under contracts made by the Signal Corps in or in connection with such production; and the entire personnel of the Signal Corps as at present assigned to or engaged upon work in or in connection with such production are hereby transferred from the jurisdiction of the Signal Corps and placed under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Aircraft Production, it being the intent thereof to transfer from the jurisdiction of the Signal Corps to the jurisdiction of the said Bureau of Aircraft Production every function, power, and duty connected with said production, all property of every sort or nature used or procured for use in or in connection with said production, and the entire personnel of the Signal Corps, as at present assigned to or engaged upon work in or in connection with such production.

“Such person as shall at the time be chairman of the Aircraft Board created by the act of Congress approved October 1, 1917, shall also be the executive officer of said Bureau of Aircraft Production, and he shall be, and he hereby is, designated as Director of Aircraft Production, and he shall, under the direction of the Secretary of War, have charge of the activities, personnel, and properties of said bureau.

II

“All unexpended funds of appropriations heretofore made for the Signal Corps of the Army and already specifically allotted for use in connection with the functions of the Signal Service as defined and limited by subparagraph (1) of Paragraph I hereof shall be and remain under the jurisdiction of the Chief Signal Officer; all such funds already specifically allotted for use in connection with the functions of the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps as defined and limited by subparagraph (2) of Paragraph I hereof are hereby transferred to and placed under the jurisdiction of the Director of Military Aeronautics for the purpose of meeting the obligations and expenditures authorized by said section; all such funds already specifically allotted for use in connection with the functions hereby bestowed upon the Bureau of Aircraft Production, as defined and limited by subparagraph (3) of Paragraph I hereof, are hereby transferred to and placed under the jurisdiction of said Director of Aircraft Production for the purpose of meeting the obligations and expenditures authorized by said bureau in carrying out the duties and functions hereby transferred to and bestowed upon said bureau; and in so far as such funds have not been already specifically allotted to the different fields of activity of the Signal Corps as heretofore existing, they shall now be allotted by the Secretary of War in such proportions as shall to him seem best intended to meet the requirements of the respective fields of former activity of the Signal Corps and the intention of Congress when making said appropriations, and the funds so allotted by the Secretary of War to meet expenditures in the field of activity of the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps are hereby transferred to and placed under the jurisdiction of the Director of Military Aeronautics for the purpose of meeting the obligations and expenditures authorized by said section; and the funds so allotted by the Secretary of War to meet the expenditures in that part of the field of activity of the Signal Corps, which includes the functions hereby transferred to the Bureau of Aircraft Production, are hereby transferred to and placed under the jurisdiction of the Director of Aircraft Production for the purpose of meeting the obligations and expenditures authorized by said bureau.