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STATE SELECTION OF PHOSPHATE AND OIL LANDS.

December 18, 1912.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed.

Mr. MURRAY, from the Committee on the Public Lands, submitted the following

REPORT.

[To accompany H. R. 26812.]

The Committee on the Public Lands, having had under consideration H. R. 26812, by Mr. French, entitled "A bill to provide for State selection of phosphate and oil lands," reports the same back to the House with certain amendments and recommends that the bill as amended do pass.

Amend, page 1, line 6, after the word "shall," by inserting, "if otherwise available under existing law."

Amend, page 2, by striking out all of section 3 and inserting in lieu thereof a section reading as follows:

SEC. 3. That upon satisfactory proof of full compliance with the provisions of the laws under which selection is made and this act, the State shall, upon approval of the selection by the Secretary of the Interior, be entitled to have the lands certified to it, with a reservation to the United States of all the phosphates and oil in the land so certified, together with the right in the United States, or persons authorized by them, to prospect for, mine, and remove the same; but before any person shall be entitled to enter upon the lands certified for the purpose of prospecting, mining, or removing phosphates or oil therefrom he shall furnish, subject to approval by the Secretary of the Interior, a bond or undertaking as security for the payment of all damages to the crops and improvements on said lands by reason of such prospecting for and removal of phosphates or oil. The reserved phosphate and oil deposits in approved selections under this act shall not be subject to exploration or entry, other than by the United States, except as hereinafter authorized by Congress.

At the time Idaho was admitted into the Union as a State certain grants of land were made for the use of various State institutions. The State has not made selection of lands aggregating the total of the grants made by the Government and is at this time desirous of selecting an area that is embraced within a phosphate withdrawal of the Federal Government.

The bill proposes to authorize the selection to be made, providing the Government shall retain whatever oil or phosphate deposits may exist in the area. As the purpose of the withdrawal is fully protected

by the provisions of the bill and as the surface of the lands that may be selected by the State can be made of immediate use through settlement and the granting of grazing permits, the committee feels that it is wholly advisable that the bill be enacted into law.

It also appears that for the purposes of administration in handling whatever oil or phosphate deposits may be discovered or in prospecting for the same, the language of the bill is ample and carefully drawn.

The committee transmits herewith as a part of this report the report of the honorable Secretary of the Interior upon the pending measure, addressed to the honorable chairman of the Committee on the Public Lands of the House of Representatives.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
Washington, December 11, 1912.

The CHAIRMAN COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC LANDS,

House of Representatives.

SIR: I have been requested to submit report upon II. R. 26812, introduced December 6, 1912, by Mr. French, and entitled "A bill to provide for State selection of phosphate and oil lands."

The bill is confined in scope to unreserved public lands of the United States in the State of Idaho which have been withdrawn or classified as phosphate or oil lands or are valuable for those deposits, and proposes to subject the surface of the lands to selection by the State in satisfaction of its indemnity school and other land grants, the title to pass with a reservation to the United States of all the phosphates and oil in the land.

The department is informally advised that the surface of all or a part of the lands in question possesses some value for grazing, and it is deemed proper and advisable that use of this resource by the State should be permitted, provided the deposits of phosphate and oil therein are reserved to the United States for such future disposition as may be deemed advisable by Congress and the lands are otherwise subject to selection. It may be that some of the lands will be found to be valuable because of other mineral deposits, which it is not the purpose of the proposed legislation to waive, and in order to remove any question in this respect, I suggest inserting the following in line 6, page 1, of the bill, after the word "shall," viz., "if otherwise available under existing law." Section 3 of the bill provides that the State shall be entitled to a patent. Under the existing practice patents are not issued to States upon land selected by them in satisfaction of indemnity land grants, but the selection lists are approved by the Secretary of the Interior and the lands "certified" to the State. The department would have no objection to a change in method, but believes that if patent be directed to be issued in this instance the provision should be made applicable to all States entitled to grants of public lands. There should also be provision in section 3 similar to that contained in the act of Congress approved June 22, 1910 (36 Stat., 583), to provide for agricultural entries on coal lands, namely, that any person who enters unon the lands to prospect for or remove the mineral from the land should execute a bond as security for payment of damages to the crops or improvements on the surface of the land. I have, therefore, to recommend that section 3 of the bill be amended to read as follows: "SEC. 3. That upon satisfactory proof of full compliance with the provisions of the laws under which selection is made and this act, the State shall, upon approval of the selection by the Secretary of the Interior, be entitled to have the lands certified to it, with a reservation to the United States of all the phosphates and oil in the land so certified, together with the right in the United States, or persons authorized by them, to prospect for, mine, and remove the same; but before any person shall be entitled to enter upon the lands certified for the purpose of prospecting, mining, or removing phosphates or oil thereform he shall furnish, subject to approval by the Secretary of the Interior, a bond or undertaking as security for the payment of all damages to the crops and improvements on said lands by reason of such prospecting for and removal of phosphates or oil. The reserved phosphate and oil deposits in approved selections under this act shall not be subject to exploration or entry, other than by the United States, except as hereinafter authorized by Congress."

With these amendments the department recommends the enactment of the measure.

Very respectfully,

ADMISSION OF JOHN C. SCHOLTZ, A CITIZEN OF VENEZUELA, TO THE UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY.

JANUARY 7, 1913.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed.

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

following

REPORT.

[To accompany S. J. Res. 119.]

The Committee on Military Affairs, to whom was referred the joint resolution (S. J. Res. 119) authorizing the Secretary of War to receive for instruction at the United States Military Academy at West Point John C. Scholtz, a citizen of Venezuela, having considered the same, report thereon with a recommendation that it do pass.

On the 10th of June, 1912, a message was received from the President, transmitting a report from the Secretary of State, wherein it is pointed out that the passage of the resolution would be regarded as an act of courtesy by the Government of Venezuela, that it follows established precedents, and is transmitted with the assent of the Secretary of War.

62D CONGRESS, 3d Session.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. {

REPORT No. 1281.

EASTERN DIVISION OF MIDDLE JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF ALABAMA, WITH COURT AT OPELIKA.

JANUARY 7, 1913.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed.

JANUARY 9, 1913.-Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union discharged, referred to the House Calendar, and ordered to be printed.

Mr. CLAYTON, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following

REPORT.

[To accompany H. R. 27827.]

The Committee on the Judiciary report the bill (H. R. 27827) to amend section 70 of an act entitled "An act to codify, revise, and amend the laws relating to the judiciary," approved March 3, 1911, with the recommendation that the same do pass.

The purpose of the bill is to create a new division of the middle judicial district of Alabama, to be known as the eastern division of said district, and to comprise the counties of Chambers, Lee, Macon, Randolph, Russell, and Tallapoosa, and provides that terms of court shall be held at Opelika, in Lee County, Ala., on the first Mondays in April and November of each year.

The establishment of the proposed court is in accordance with the expressed wish and petitions of the members of the bar and the people of the six counties interested. It would mean a great saving and convenience to members of the bar and litigants of the counties comprised. Opelika is more accessible to the territory embraced than Montgomery, where all litigation from such territory must now be tried.

Opelika is the county seat of Lee County, Ala., and is in the midst of a prosperous and rapidly developing agricultural section. There are now 18 counties in the northern division of the middle judicial district, and 5 counties in the southern division. The creation of the eastern division will leave 12 counties in the northern division, with 5 counties in the southern division, and 6 counties in the eastern division.

The erection of a public building at Opelika has been authorized by law. The bill now reported by your committee provides that, until the Government building shall be erected, suitable court rooms, accommodations, etc., shall be furnished free of expense to the Government. This will be done by the authorities of Lee County at Opelika.

The bill does not create any new office.

SANITATION OF REPUBLIC OF ECUADOR.

JANUARY 10, 1913.-Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed.

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

following

REPORT.

[To accompany H. J. Res. 365.]

The Committee on Military Affairs, to whom was referred the House joint resolution 365, having considered the same, report thereon with a recommendation that it do pass with the following amendment in the nature of a substitute:

Strike out all after the enacting clause of the House joint resolution and insert as follows:

That the Secretary of War upon any future request of the Government of Ecuador is authorized to grant Colonel William C. Gorgas, and not exceeding two other officers of the Medical Corps, and not exceeding three officers of the Engineer Corps of the Army leave of absence, without pay, and that they be permitted to assist the Government of Ecuador in an advisory capacity in connection with the improvement of sanitary conditions in said Republic and to accept compensation therefor: Provided, That said compensation to said officers shall not exceed the amount paid to them on the Isthmus of Panama in connection with the construction of the Panama Canal: And provided further, That the United States shall not be liable for any expenditure hereunder, nor shall any money heretofore or hereafter appropriated in connection with or for the construction of the Panama Canal be expended for purposes of sanitation outside of the Canal Zone, except within the cities of Panama and Colon and other regions subject, under the terms of the treaty with Panama concluded November eighteenth, nineteen hundred and three, to the authority of the United States for the construction, maintenance, operation, sanitation and protection of the Panama Canal and other works necessary therefor. And hereafter the Secretary of War is directed to report to Congress all moneys spent for sanitation purposes in the cities of Panama and Colon and in the other regions subject, under the treaty aforesaid, to the authority of the United States.

SEC. 2. The permission hereby granted shall be held to terminate at such date or dates as the Secretary of War may determine.

Your committee thinks that the resolution as amended will meet the requirements of the situation in Ecuador, and will serve to insure the services of the officers of the Army desired by the Government of Ecuador.

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