CHANGING THE NAME OF THE ISLAND OF PORTO RICO TO PUERTO RICO JANUARY 10, 1931.-Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed Mr. KNUTSON, from the Committee on Insular Affairs, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany S. J. Res. 193] The Committee on Insular Affairs, to whom was referred the joint resolution (S. J. Res. 193) to change the name of the island of Porto Rico to Puerto Rico, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon and recommends that the joint resolution do pass. This legislation is proposed in accordance with the will of the people of Porto Rico, as expressed in a concurrent resolution adopted by the Porto Rican Legislature in April last, a copy of which is embodied in this report. The legislative resolution stresses the desirability of thus doing justice to the history, language, and traditions of the island, and points out that the word "porto." although of Latin derivation has not been adopted into the language of the island. The resolution of the Porto Rican Legislature referred to is as follows: 1, Jose Munoz Rivera. secretary of the Senate of Porto Rico, do hereby certify: That the following concurrent resolution was unanimously approved by the Senate of Porto Rico on April 3, 1930 and by the House of Representatives on April 12: CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA OFFICALLY TO RESTORE THE TRUE NAME OF THIS ISLAND Whereas in accordance with all historical data relative to the discovery and colonization of our island, the original name given thereto by its discoverer and consecrated in the royal orders of the colonizing nation was Isla de San Juan; Whereas the first city founded on Porto Rican soil, and denominated Villa de Caparra, was given the name of Ciudad de Puertorrico; Whereas subsequently, and by virtue of the transfer of the old Ciudad de Puertorrico to the site now occupied by our capital city, the aforesaid names of San Juan and Puertorrico became the exclusive patrimony of our city and of our island, respectively; Whereas the history and traditions of our people have since then sustained and consecrated the name of Puerto Rico, given to our island, as its sole name; Whereas immediately following the change of sovereignty which took place in the island, the Congress of the United States of America, without justifying reasons, officially gave this island the name of Porto Rico; Whereas the aforesaid name of Porto Rico is an impure idiomatic compound partly formed of the foreign word porto, which, although of Latin origin, has not yet been adopted into our language, but is here used illegitimately to substitute the word puerto, genuinely Spanish, though no license, reasons of diction, or advantages of euphony exist to warrant such substitution; Whereas there are no reasons either in the history, the language, or the traditions of our people, supporting the legitimacy of the foreign term porto which officially forms part of the name of our island: Now therefore be it Resolved by the Senate of Porto Rico, the House of Representatives concurring: 1. To request the Congress of the United States of America, and the same is hereby requested, officially to restore to our island its true name of Puerto Rico in place of Porto Rico as it is now called, because it is considered that full justice will thus be done to our history, our language, and our traditions. 2. That for the proper purposes, a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Congress of the United States of America; to the Hon. Herbert Hoover, President. and to our Resident Commissioner, Hon. Felix Cordova Davila. For transmittal to His Excellency Herbert Hoover, President of the United States of America, as provided in the second paragraph of said resolution, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the seal of the Senate of Porto Rico at San Juan, P. R., on this the 6th day of May, 1930, A. D. (SEAL. O JOSE MUÑOZ RIVERA, TO EXTEND THE BOUNDARIES OF THE MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK, IN THE STATE OF WASHINGTON JANUARY 10, 1931.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed. Mr. EVANS of Montana, from the Committee on the Public Lands, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 15008] The Committee on the Public Lands, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 15008) to extend the south and east boundaries of the Mount Rainer National Park, in the State of Washington, and for other purposes, having considered the same, recommend that it be reported favorably to the House with the recommendation that it do pass with the following amendments: Page 3, line 3, strike out the words "due north" and insert in lieu thereof the word "northerly." Page 3, line 8, before the word "park" insert the word "said. " Page 3, line 9, strike out the period and insert a colon and add the following: "Provided, That no fee or charge shall be made by the United States for the use of any roads, in said park, built and maintained exclusively by the State of Washington. This proposed legislation will give Mount Rainier National Park a natural boundary on the east, the boundary that it should have had at the time the park was created. A full explanation of the necessity and importance of this measure is contained in a letter from Secretary of the Interior. The Secretary of Agriculture is also favorable toward the passage of this legislation. The letter from the Secretary of the Interior is herein set out in full for the information of the House. Hon. DoN B. COLTON, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Chairman Committee on the Public Lands, House of Representatives. MY DEAR MR. COLTON: I have received your letter of December 18, asking for the views of this department on H. R. 15008, a bill "To extend the south and east boundaries of the Mount Rainier National Park, in the State of Washington, and for other purposes.' This bill authorizes an extension that is of such importance to Mount Rainier National Park as to amount almost to an emergency measure. I attach hereto for the information of the committee a report on this proposed legislation by Director H. M. Albright of the National Park Service. This report fully discusses the bill and its merits from the standpoint of the National Park Service. I heartily concur in the director's statements and urge that H. R. 15008 receive favorable consideration by Congress. Very truly yours, Memorandum for the Secretary: RAY LYMAN WILBUR DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Reference is made to letter of December 18, 1930, from the chairman Committee on the Public Lands, House of Representatives, transmitting a copy of H. R. 15008, to extend the south and east boundaries of the Mount Rainier National Park, in the State of Washington, and for other purposes, with request for report thereon. This bill proposes to add lands totaling approximately 34,000 acres to the Mount Rainier National Park, State of Washington. The lands adjoin the south and east boundaries of the park. This is a measure which if enacted into law would give Mount Rainier National Park a natural boundary on the east, the boundary that it should have had at the time the park was first established. No park boundary revision project now under consideration by the National Park Service has more merit or is of greater importance than the one covered by this legislation. Here Several purposes would be served by this boundary revision if approved by Congress, aside from giving the park the summit of the Cascades as a natural eastern boundary. Chinook Pass through which the new road from Yakima to Seattle runs would become a spectacular gateway to the park and no park would have a finer entrance than this new eastern gateway to Mount Rainier. we would establish an information service which would tell the story of the park and give visitors all required data regarding facilities in the park for their accommodation and amusement, as well as maps and pamphlets to guide visitors in their enjoyment of the park features. It is also of importance that this legislation be passed in order that the National Park Service may build its road connecting Paradise Valley and Yakima Park. It is necessary to build this road from the Paradise Valley region southeasterly through Stevens Canyon, thence over Cowlitz Ridge and up the Ohanapecosh River and Chinook Creek, to a connection with the new State highway coming through Chinook Pass. Our road plans are responsible for the suggested extension along the southern boundary which includes also Ohanapecosh Hot Springs. All of the land covered by the pending bill is within the Rainier National Forest. So far as we can ascertain there are no private holdings in the area and no commercial use of the lands may be reasonably expected in the future. Much of the timber has been burned and what remains does not appear to have commercial value. It is extremely important that there be no cutting of timber in these narrow valleys through which our scenic roads must run. The timber screen is very essential to the preservation of scenic resources. The National Park Service is confident that the lands involved in this contemplated extension have greater public value from a scenic standpoint than for economic development. There is only one amendment suggested and that is that on page 3, line 3, the word "due" should be stricken out and the word "north" changed to "northerly". With this amendment it is recommended that H. R. 15008 be enacted into aw and it is hoped that this may be done in the present session of Congress. HORACE M. ALBRIGHT, Director. O TO SAFEGUARD THE VALIDITY OF PERMITS TO USE RECREATIONAL AREAS IN THE SAN BERNARDINO AND CLEVELAND NATIONAL FORESTS JANUARY 12, 1931.-Referred to the House Calendar and ordered to be printed Mr. SWING, from the Committee on the Public Lands, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 13547] The Committee on the Public Lands, to whom was referred H. R. 13547, having considered the same, report the bill favorably with the following amendment: Strike out all after the enacting clause and substitute the following: That where a special use permit to use for other than pasture purposes a tract of land not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres in area in the San Bernardino and Cleveland National Forests has been issued under the regulations of the Secretary of Agriculture, the land so rented shall not be subject to appropriation, entry, alienation, or adverse use or occupancy unless such permit is discontinued or revoked. Amend the title so as to read: A bill to safeguard the validity of permits to use recreational areas in the San Bernardino and Cleveland National Forests. The purpose of this legislation is to protect lessees of the Government in the San Bernardino and Cleveland National Forests in the State of California against harassment by persons filing alleged mining claims upon cabin-site lots occupied by permittees of the United States Forest Service in recreational areas. Thousands of people are the beneficiaries of these special-use permits in these two national forests. Last year a count of people entering ran over 2,000,000. The 10 southern counties which surround these two forests have a population approximating nearly 3,000,000 people. The recreational areas in these mountains are the playground for hundreds of thousands of people eachy ear. This, together with water conservation constitutes the highest use to which these national forests can be put to-day. At the same time the Government draws a substantial revenue from this source in the form of rentals. |