The Federal Government acquired the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal property in 1938 for the purpose of preserving it as a historicalrecreational parkway. The canal has been partially restored from Georgetown to Seneca, Md., and is being utilized for recreational purposes, but above Seneca the canal has been so seriously damaged that it is felt that restoration would prove too costly. This is unfortunate, as the canal traverses some of the most scenic areas of the eastern seaboard. Also, many important historic sites are located on or near the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. Inasmuch as the Federal Government owns the lands along the route of the canal, consideration has been given to the advisability of constructing a parkway which would parallel the canal. At Great Falls the parkway would connect with the George Washington Memorial Parkway, leading into Washington, D. C.; at Harpers Ferry, it would connect with the Blue Ridge Parkway; and at Cumberland, it would connect with the transcontinental highways leading to the north and west. The Department of the Interior urges that this legislation be enacted so that a study may be made of the proposed parkway, thus enabling the Congress to have a full and comprehensive report as to the project's feasibility and probable cost. H. R. 5155 is explained further in Under Secretary Chapman's communication of March 29, 1948, addressed to Hon. Richard J. Welch, chairman of the Committee on Public Lands, which is hereinbelow set forth and is made a part of this report. The Committee on Public Lands unanimously recommends the enactment of this legislation. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Hon. RICHARD J. WELCH, Chairman, Committee on Public Lands, House of Representatives. MY DEAR MR. WELCH: Your committee has requested a report on H. R. 5155, entitled "A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to have made by the Public Roads Administration and the National Park Service a joint reconnais sance survey of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal between Great Falls, Md., and Cumberland, Md., and to report to the Congress upon the advisability and practicability of constructing thereon a parkway, and for other purposes." This Department recommends the enactment of H. R. 5155. The sole purpose of this legislation is to authorize a joint reconnaissance study by the Public Roads Administration and the National Park Service of the federally owned Chesapeake & Ohio Canal between Great Falls and Cumberland, Md., to determine the advisability and practicability of constructing a parkway along this route, through the expenditure of funds already appropriated to the National Park Service for parkways, and the preparation of a report including the estimated cost of the construction of such a parkway. A Potomac route to the west was the dream of George Washington in the days following the Revolution, when our young Nation clustered along the Atlantie seaboard looked to the trade routes of the Ohio for expansion. Out of Washington's earlier personal efforts to establish a trade route to Cumberland evolved the formation of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal Co., and on July 4, 1828, President John Quincy Adams turned the first spadeful of earth for the canal in Georgetown. It was completed to Cumberland, Md., in 1850 and continued in operation, its principal traffic being the transportation of coal, until the flood damage in 1924 and the trend of the times made its repair uneconomical. The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal property was acquired by the Federal Government in 1938 to be preserved as a historical recreational parkway. It has been partially restored from Georgetown to Seneca, Md., a distance of approximately 22 miles. This section is being utilized for recreational purposes. Above Seneca the canal has been so seriously damaged that it is believed that its restoration for strictly recreational purpose by the Federal Government would prove too costly. A cursory study would indicate that it might be feasible, however, to construct a scenic highway along the route of the old canal from Great Falls to Cumberland, Md., that would utilize the Federal lands already acquired for parkway purposes. Many important historic sites are located on or near the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, and a parkway through such an area would traverse sections rich in scenic value. The area along the canal in springtime, when dogwood, laurel, rhododendron, and other beautiful flora is in bloom is transformed into a veritable garden. The Potomac, with its many picturesque rapids and lake-like pools walled in by wooded mountainsides, constitutes a scenic wonderland now hidden from the eyes of the millions of Americans who cou'd enjoy its inspirational beauty if it were opened to their view through the establishment of the proposed parkway. At Great Falls the parkway would connect with the authorized George Washington Memorial Parkway, leading into the National Capital and to the many important and traditional places of historic and scenic interest in Washington and its environs. At Harpers Ferry the parkway would connect with the Blue Ridge Parkway as it has been projected northward from the Shenandoah Mountains. At Cumberland the parkway would connect with other great highway systems of the Nation leading to the north and west. It is believed that the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal lends itself particularly well to the treatment proposed without too great an expenditure of Federal funds, but a study of the feasibility and practicability of constructing such a parkway should nevertheless be undertaken in order that the Congress may be fully apprised of the cost of such a project. This Department has not received clearance from the Bureau of the Budget on the submission of this report. Therefore, I cannot advise you concerning the relationship of the views expressed herein to the program of the President. Sincerely yours, OSCAR L. CHAPMAN, Under Secretary of the Interior. O 80TH CONGRESS 2d Session } HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES REPORT No. 1685 AMENDING SECTION 203 OF THE HAWAIIAN HOMES COMMISSION ACT, DESIGNATING CERTAIN PUBLIC LANDS AS AVAILABLE HOME LANDS APRIL 7, 1948.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. WELCH, from the Committee on Public Lands, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 5173] The Committee on Public Lands to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 5173) to amend section 203 of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, designating certain public lands as available home lands, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. E PLANATION OF THE BILL The purpose of this bill is to withdraw from the public lands on the Island of Kauai, Territory of Hawaii, approximately 400 acres of land now under sugar cultivation and to place the land under the jurisdiction of the Hawaiian Homes Commission for use as home sites. The Territorial legislature and the Governor of Hawaii recommend the enactment of this legislation. No expenditure of Federal funds is involved. The Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1920 was enacted in order to carry out a comprehensive rehabilitation program for native Hawaiians. Under this act, land has been set aside for settlement by native Hawaiians and a revolving fund established for loans to finance homes and improvements. The program has proved very successful in its operations. On the Island of Kauai, no land is available at present for the edministration of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act. The Hawaiian Homes Commission has conducted a survey of the area covered by this bill and has given careful study to the advisability of establishing a homesteading project there. The Commission found that the lands are in close proximity to schools and churches and that an ample water supply may be developed at a minimum of expense. At hearings held before a subcommittee of the Committee on Public Lands, witnesses from the Territory of Hawaii testified that one scource of the Territory's acute housing shortage is the lack of available home sites. They stated that there is no known opposition in the Territory to H. R. 5173. It will be noted that H. R. 5173 provides that the transfer of the lands to the Hawaiian Homes Commission is subject to the terms of the existing lease held by the sugarcane growers. This bill has the approval of the Department of the Interior, as stated in the Under Secretary's letter of March 5, 1948, addressed to Hon. Richard J. Welch, chairman, Committee on Public Lands, which is hereinbelow set forth and is made a part of this report. The Committee on Public Lands unanimously recommends the enactment of H. R. 5173. Hon. RICHARD J. WELCH, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Chairman, Committee on Public Lands; House of Representatives. MY DEAR MR. WELCH: This is in reply to your request for an expression of my views on H. R. 5173, a bill to amend section 203 of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act designating certain public lands as available home lands. The proposed legislation would withdraw a parcel of about 400 acres from the public lands of the Territory of Hawaii and add it to the jurisdiction of the Hawaiian Homes Commission for use as home sites. Since section 203 of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act (42 Stat. 109, 48 U. S. C., sec. 697) expressly excludes all cultivated sugar lands from lands "available" for home sites, action of the Congress is necessary since the acreage involved is sugar lands and presently under lease and being cultivated. I recommend that the bill receive favorable consideration by your committee. I believe that the Congress should assist the Legislature of Hawaii in its attempt to meet the problem raised by the insufficiency of land available for home sites by lifting the prohibition of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act as to the use of sugar lands, with respect to the area covered by H. R. 5173. In view of the imminent consideration of H. R. 5173 by your committee, this report has not been submitted to the Bureau of the Budget for its consideration. Therefore, I am unable to state the relationship of the views expressed herein to the program of the President. Sincerely yours, OSCAR L. CHAPMAN, Under Secretary of the Interior. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 2a, rule XIII, of the Rules of the House of Representatives, proposed changes in existing law are indicated below with the matter proposed to be omitted in black brackets and the new matter proposed to be inserted in italics: To section 203 of title II of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of July 9, 1921 (42 Stat. 109; 48 U. S. C. 697) add the following: Cultivated sugarcane lands: That parcel of Anahola, Island of Kauai, comprising four hundred and one and four hundred and twenty-three one-thousandths acres, hereinafter described and being portion of the land covered by general lease numbered 2724 to the Lihue Plantation Company, Limited, notwithstanding the fact that said parcel is cultivated sugarcane land, subject however, to the terms of said lease, said parcel being more particularly described as follows: Being a portion of land described in general lease numbered 2724 to the Lihue Plantation Company situate in the district of Anahola, Kauai, Territory of Hawaii, beginning at the northwest corner of this parcel of land, the coordinates of which referred to government triangulation station south base are three thousand and forty |