derived from such bonuses, royalties, and rentals shall be paid into, reserved, and appropriated as a part of the reclamation fund created by the act of Congress, known as the reclamation act, approved June 17, 1902, and for past production 20 per centum, and for future production 371⁄2 per centum of the amounts derived from such bonuses, royalties, and rentals shall be paid by the Secretary of the Treasury after the expiration of each fiscal year to the State within the boundaries of which the leased lands or deposits are or were located, said moneys to be used by such State or subdivisions thereof for the construction and maintenance of public roads or for the sup port of public schools or other public educational institutions, as the legislature of the State may direct: Provided, That all moneys which may accrue to the United States under the provisions of this act from lands within the naval petroleum reserves shall be deposited in the Treasury as "Miscellaneous receipts." SEC. 36. That all royalty accruing to the United States under any oil or gas lease or permit under this act on demand of the Secretary of the Interior shall be paid in oil or gas. Upon granting any oil or gas lease under this act, and from time to time thereafter during said lease, the Secretary of the Interior shall, except whenever in his judgment it is desirable to retain the same for the use of the United States, offer for sale for such period as he may determine, upon notice and advertisement on sealed bids or at public auction, all royalty oil and gas accruing or reserved to the United States under such lease. Such advertisement and sale shall reserve to the Secretary of the Interior the right to reject all bids whenever within his judgment the interest of the United States demands; and in cases where no satisfactory bid is received or where the accepted bidder fails to complete the purchase, or where the Secretary of the Interior shall determine that it is unwise in the public interest to accept the offer of the highest bidder, the Secretary of the Interior, within his discretion, may readvertise such royalty for sale, or sell at private sale at not less than the market price for such period, or accept the value thereof from the lessee: Provided, however, That pending the making of a permanent contract for the sale of any royalty, oil or gas as herein provided, the Secretary of the Interior may sell the current product at private sale, at not less than the market price: And provided further, That any royalty, oil, or gas may be sold at not less than the market price at private sale to any department or agency of the United States. Sec. 37. That the deposits of coal, phosphate, sodium, oil, oil shale, and gas, herein referred to, in lands valuable for such minerals, including lands and deposits described in the joint resolution entitled "Joint resolution authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to permit the continuation of coal mining operations on certain lands in Wyom ing," approved August 1, 1912 (Thirty-seventh Statutes at Large, page 1346), shall be subject to disposition only in the form and manner provided in this act, except as to valid claims existent at date of passage of this act and thereafter maintained in compliance with the laws under which initiated, which claims may be perfected under such laws, including discovery. Sec. 38. That, until otherwise provided, the Secretary of the Interior shall be authorized to prescribe fees and commissions to be paid registers and receivers of United States land offices on account of business transacted under the provisions of this act. Approved, February 25, 1920. The proposed legislation meets the approval of the Secretary of the Interior as shown in a letter addressed to the chairman of the Public Lands Committee of the House and appears below: Hon. DoN B. COLTON, Chairman Committee on the Public Lands, WASHINGTON, December 23, 1930. tatives House of Representatives. MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: In compliance with your request of December 6, for a report on H. R. 14248, which is a bill providing for the disposition of certain substances on the public domain, there is transmitted herewith a memorandum on the subject that has been prepared by the Commissioner of the General Land Office. After a review of the proposed measure, I agree with Commissioner Moore. RAY LYMAN WILBUR, Secretary. Very truly yours. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Memorandum for the secretary, H. R. 14248. I have the request of the committee on the Public Lands, House of Representatives, for report on H. R. 14248, to provide for the disposition of asphalt, gilsonite, elaterite, and other like substances on the public domain. In its report on H. R. 68, Seventieth Congress, first session, which was a bill practically identical, the department, January 20, 1928, made certain suggestions which have now been incorporated in H. R. 14248. The bill proposes to extend to the minerals named the policy of the Government to dispose of its mineral deposits by leases, rather than by sale, and I recommend that it be enacted. C. C. MOORE, Commissioner. The report on H. R. 68, Seventieth Congress, first session, which is mentioned in the Secretary's letter is herein set out and fully explains the purpose and necessity for the enactment of this legislation. A similar bill to the above had the favorable consideration of the Committee on the Public Lands during the Sixty-ninth Congress, but failed to receive consideration in the Senate. The report of the House committee on H. R. 5385, Sixty-ninth Congress, is herein set out for the information of the House, as follows: "The legislation is for the purpose of authorizing the Secretary of the Interior, under such rules and regulations as he may prescribe, to grant to qualified applicants prospecting permits, to which shall attach the exclusive right to prospect for asphalt, gilsonite, elaterite, and other like substances, which is not provided for in the mineral leasing act approved February 25, 1920. The bill follows closely the provisions of section 23 of the above act. The bill, as amended by the committee, would apply to those lands not known to be valuable for deposits of asphalt, gilsonite, elaterite, and other like substances and restricts the amount of land that may be embraced in a prospecting permit to 640 acres. Where the lands are known to contain these minerals the amount of land is restricted to 320 acres. "At the present time there is no law by which it would be possible to issue permits to persons desiring to prospect for the minerals mentioned which precludes the development of these valuable products. Present production rests with two or three companies, who more or less monoploize the industry. The passage of this legislation would open the gilsonite lands to exploration and encourage the development thereof and would give small companies or private individuals the right to compete with the present producers, who are not subject to or bound by any regulations governing the production of the minerals. "The legislation has the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, as is indicated in a letter addressed to the chairman of this committee, which letter is herein set out in full for the information of the House, as follows": Hon. N. J. SINNOTT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Chairman Committee on the Public Lands, House of Representatives. MY DEAR MR. SINNOTT: I have your request for report on H. R. 5385, to provide for the disposition of asphalt, gilsonite, elaterite, and other like substances on the public domain. The bill follows quite closely the provisions relating to sodium in section 23 of the mineral leasing act approved February 25, 1920 (41 Stat. 437). Section 1 of the bill authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to grant prospecting permits for the substances therein named "in lands belonging to the United States." Section 3 directs "that lands known to contain valuable deposits enumerated in this act and not covered by permits or leases shall be held subject to lease by the Secretary, * Construing similar provisions in the sodium act the department has uniformly held that no prospecting permit will be granted where the lands were known to be valuable for such mineral, and if H. R. 5385 should be enacted in the form in which it is drawn the department will give a like construction to the provisions in this bill similar to those in the sodium act. Section 13 of the mineral leasing act approved February 25, 1920, restricts prospecting permits for oil and gas to lands "not within any known geological structure of a producing oil or gas field." In other words, nothing is left for construction as to the class of lands on which a prospecting permit for oil and gas may be granted, and it is suggested that it would be well to amend the bill under consideration so as to remove any question whether lands known to be valuable for the minerals therein named may be included in prospecting permits. I recommend, therefore, that the words "and not known to be valuable for such deposits" be inserted after the word "Utah" and before "for" in line 9, page 1, of the bill. As section 4 of the bill might be interpreted to mean that a person, association, or coproration that has obtained permit or lease amounting to 640 acres in any State would thereafter be prevented from obtaining another permit or lease in such State, even though all interest in the prior permit or lease had been disposed of, it would be well to add, after the word "shall" and before "take," in line 22, page 3, the words "at one time." Very truly yours, HUBERT WORK. The bill has the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, as is indicated by his letter of January 20, 1928, to the chairman of this committee, which letter is herein set out in full for the information of the House, as follows: Hon. N. J. SINNOTT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Chairman Committee on the Public Lands, House of Representatives. MY DEAR MR. SINNOTT: I have your request for report on H. R. 68, to provide for the disposition of asphalt, gilsonite, elaterite, and other like substances on the public domain. The bill follows quite closely the provisions relating to sodium in section 23 of the mineral leasing act approved February 25, 1920 (41 Stat. 437). Section 1 of the bill authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to grant prospecting permits for the substances therein named "in lands belonging to the United States." Section 3 directs that lands known to contain valuable deposits enumerated in this act and not covered by permits or leases shall be held subject to lease by the Secretary. Construing similar provisions in the sodium act the department has uniformly held that no prospecting permit will be granted where the lands were known to be valuable for such mineral, and if H. R. 68 should be enacted in the form in which it is drawn the department will give a like construction to the provisions in this bill similar to those in the sodium act. Section 13 of the mineral leasing act approved February 25, 1920, restricts prospecting permits for oil and gas to lands "not within any known geologic structure of a producing oil or gas field," so that nothing is left for construction as to the class of lands on which a prospecting permit for oil and gas may be granted. It is suggested that it would be well to amend the bill under consideration so as to remove any question where the lands known to be valuable for the minerals therein named may be included in prospecting permits. I recommend, therefore, that the words "and not known to be valuable for such deposits" be inserted after the word "Utah" and before "for" in line 9, page 1, of the bill. Very truly yours, O HUBERT Work. DEPARTMENTS OF STATE, JUSTICE, COMMERCE, AND LABOR APPROPRIATION BILL, FISCAL YEAR 1932 JANUARY 13, 1931.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. SHREVE, from the Committee on Appropriations, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 161101 The Committee on Appropriations submits the following report in explanation of the accompanying bill making appropriations for the Departments of State and Justice and the judiciary and the Departments of Commerce and Labor for the fiscal year 1932. SCOPE OF THE BILL The bill embraces regular annual appropriations for the various branches of the Government service under the jurisdiction of the Departments of State and Justice and the judiciary and the Departments of Commerce and Labor. APPROPRIATIONS AND ESTIMATES The estimates of appropriations upon which this bill is based were submitted by the President in the Budget for the fiscal year 1932 and will be found in detail in that document as follows: Department of State: Chapter X, pages 441 to 460, inclusive; Department of Justice and the judiciary: Chapter VI, pages 363 to 383, inclusive; Department of Commerce: Chapter IV, pages 187 to 246, inclusive; and Department of Labor: Chapter VII, pages 385 to 395, inclusive. HR-71-3-VOL 1-32 Section 13 of the mineral leasing act approved February 25, 1920, restricts prospecting permits for oil and gas to lands "not within any known geological structure of a producing oil or gas field." In other words, nothing is left for construction as to the class of lands on which a prospecting permit for oil and gas may be granted, and it is suggested that it would be well to amend the bill under consideration so as to remove any question whether lands known to be valuable for the minerals therein named may be included in prospecting permits. I recommend, therefore, that the words "and not known to be valuable for such deposits" be inserted after the word "Utah" and before "for" in line 9, page 1, of the bill. As section 4 of the bill might be interpreted to mean that a person, association, or coproration that has obtained permit or lease amounting to 640 acres in any State would thereafter be prevented from obtaining another permit or lease in such State, even though all interest in the prior permit or lease had been disposed of, it would be well to add, after the word "shall" and before "take," in line 22, page 3, the words "at one time." Very truly yours, HUBERT WORK. The bill has the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, as is indicated by his letter of January 20, 1928, to the chairman of this committee, which letter is herein set out in full for the information of the House, as follows: Hon. N. J. SINNOTT, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Chairman Committee on the Public Lands, House of Representatives. MY DEAR MR. SINNOTT: I have your request for report on H. R. 68, to provide for the disposition of asphalt, gilsonite, elaterite, and other like substances on the public domain. The bill follows quite closely the provisions relating to sodium in section 23 of the mineral leasing act approved February 25, 1920 (41 Stat. 437). Section 1 of the bill authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to grant prospecting permits for the substances therein named "in lands belonging to the United States." Section 3 directs that lands known to contain valuable deposits enumerated in this act and not covered by permits or leases shall be held subject to lease by the Secretary. Construing similar provisions in the sodium act the department has uniformly held that no prospecting permit will be granted where the lands were known to be valuable for such mineral, and if H. R. 68 should be enacted in the form in which it is drawn the department will give a like construction to the provisions in this bill similar to those in the sodium act. Section 13 of the mineral leasing act approved February 25, 1920, restricts prospecting permits for oil and gas to lands "not within any known geologic structure of a producing oil or gas field," so that nothing is left for construction as to the class of lands on which a prospecting permit for oil and gas may be granted. It is suggested that it would be well to amend the bill under consideration so as to remove any question where the lands known to be valuable for the minerals therein named may be included in prospecting permits. I recommend, therefore, that the words "and not known to be valuable for such deposits" be inserted after the word "Utah" and before "for" in line 9, page 1, of the bill. Very truly yours, O HUBERT WORK. |