VALLEY CITY, N. DAK., To Whom It May Concern: I, Esther Dancer, of Valley City, N. Dak., registered nurse, widow, declare that I have known Mary A. O'Kane (nee Mary A. Dancer) for 23 years. She is my stepdaughter. I first met her in December 1930, when she visited her father and me in Kansas City, Mo. At that time she looked very well and seemed to be in good health. In October 1931, when she visited us in San Antonio, Tex., she did not look as well, was thinner and her appetite was not too good. Also, she seemed to tire easily. In April 1932, her father received a letter from Dr. John W. Trask, medical officer in charge at the United States Marine Hospital, Chicago, Ill., advising him that Mary had active pulmonary tuberculosis. During the time she was a patient there, her father and I visited her on several occasions. In February 1934, her father received a letter from Dr. Trask advising that Mary had acute appendicitis but that there was no possibility of an operation. When it became necessary for Mary to leave the hospital after Dr. Trask was transferred, we were quite concerned as to where she would go until it was arranged for her to enter the Municipal TB Sanatorium in Chicago. At this time (September 1935) her father was in a hospital in Parsons, Kans., having had a coronary thrombosis in June 1935. Our two sons were very young and we had only a small cottage, so that we did not have a suitable place for her to stay; and we knew that it was essential that she have sanatorium care, and to be under the supervision of doctors who specialized in tuberculosis. JUNE 7 (legislative day, MAY 13), 1954.-Ordered to be printed Mr. LANGER, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany S. 3154] The Committee on the Judiciary, to which was referred the bill (S. 3154) a bill to provide for the relief of Milton Beatty and others by providing for determination and settlement of certain claims of former owners of lands and improvements purchased by the United States in connection with the Canyon Ferry Reservoir project, Montana, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon, with amendments, and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass. AMENDMENTS On page 2, line 10, after the word employee, strike all down to and including the word "Service". On page 4, line 17, after the comma after the word Christie, insert "George H. Christie". PURPOSE The purpose of the proposed legislation, as amended, is to provide for the establishment of a board of appraisal composed of 3 members to be appointed by the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture and the Chief Judge of the United States Court of the District of Montana to appraise the lands secured by the United States from the persons named in section 3 of the bill for the purpose of determining whether or not such persons received fair and adequate compensation for their lands. The bill further provides that should there be amounts reasonably found owing to such persons, the amounts thereof shall be certified to the Secretary of the Treasury for payment and the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized to make such payment. 42007 STATEMENT Hearings were held on this matter before a subcommittee of the Committee on the Judiciary on June 4, 1954, in which Senator Murray, Senator Mansfield, and Congressman Metcalf, all of Montana, appeared. As it appears from the record, the bill is to relieve an injustice to some 25 land owners in Broadwater County, Mont., whose land was taken by the Federal Government in the course of construction of the Canyon Ferry Dam. Congressman Metcalf held a hearing on this matter on October 15, 1953, the transcript of the hearing being made a part of the files of the Committee on the Judiciary. In testifying before the subcommittee, Congressman Metcalf stated the facts of the case as follows: The complaints about mispreresentation and discrimination in prices paid for land of approximately equal value prompted me to request the Bureau of Reclamation to assist him in holding a hearing to ascertain the actual facts I held a hearing on October 15, 1953, with the cooperation of the Bureau. The transcript of the hearing is here available as well as other statements on this controversy. The fact as elicited from this record and from correspondence the Montana delegation to Congress has had from interested individuals are as follows: When it was learned that extensive land acquisitions would be made in Broadwater County, Mont., to provide the lake behind Canyon Ferry Dam, a meeting was held on April 10, 1949, in the courthouse at the county seat in Townsend. One of the construction engineers made a memorandum of what was said at that meeting and a copy of that memorandum is an exhibit (E) in the Montana hearing. There is substantial agreement as to what occurred at that mass meeting at which representatives of the Government were present. However, the Bureau of Reclamation insists that people of Broadwater County misunderstood the Government's statement of its land acquisition policy. But all of the landowners agree on the gist of the Government's statement. An example of the landowner's understanding of the procedure is the statement of Mr. Hardgrove on page 40 of the transcript. He says that Mr. McCormick, the regional land officer, stated, "All this ground has been appraised by competent appraisers, there would be one set price, and that would be it, and that the only way you could change that price, unless there was a gradual increase in land value, was to wait until we condemn your ground." So in November when the buyer met with these people in most cases there was very little negotiating. They accepted the price that was offered. As one of them said, "I figured I was dealing with a man employed by the United States Government." It was only after they compared the prices received for their land and attempted to buy other land to replace the land taken that they found that there was a wide differentiation and they began to express their resentment. The Bureau of Reclamation contends that when proper consideration is given to the date of taking, improvements, severance damage, and other factors affecting fair market value and the prices paid compare favorably. This was not borne out by the testimony. Two adjoining parcels of land were purchased within 10 days of each other, improvements about the same and fertility and crop history identical. One parcel sold for $158 per acre, the other for $300 per acre. The transcript contains many such examples. Those who didn't accept the Government's final offer but who went to condemnation received even more. Now if this was a case of individuals dealing in the open market where one wanted to sell and the other to buy such discrepancies would not be grounds for complaint. But the Broadwater County landowners were not in that category. Most of them were born in the area. Some of them were the third generation on their farms. Some of the abstracts had only the original patent and no other transfers except probate proceedings. They didn't want to sell, they weren't seeking buyers and they hadn't had an estimate of the value of land for years. They accepted the enforced sale and relied on their Government to deal fairly with them. The people who were the most cooperative received the least. The Government has a twofold obligation when taking land under eminent domain. It has an obligation to the taxpayer to pay a price for the land that is not excessive and an obligation to the landowner to treat him fairly. This second obligation was not met in this case. There is not a charge of misrepresentation that will sustain a case in the Court of Claims. But good citizens have suffered substantial losses and they should be reimbursed. This is the only way in which it can be done. The committee, upon the basis of the testimony offered, believes that there is sufficient grounds to indicate that the landowners were not dealt with on as uniform a basis in respect to the amounts received by each of them as would seem desirable. There is evidence to indicate that parcels of land substantially the same were obtained at very greatly varying prices by the Government. The committee is somewhat at a loss to understand why this situation should exist and believes that the matter should be looked into in order to determine just what, if any, injustice may have been done. The committee therefore recommends this legislation as being meritorious and reports S. 3154 to the Senate for its favorable consideration. The reports from the Department of Justice, Administrative Office of the United States Courts, Department of Agriculture, and Department of the Interior, are attached hereto and made a part of this report. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Hon. WILLIAM LANGER, OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL, Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Washington, D. C. DEAR SENATOR: This is in response to your request for the views of the Department of Justice relative to the bill (S. 3154) "To provide for the relief of Milton Beatty and others by providing for determination and settlement of certain claims of former owners of lands and improvements purchased by the United States in connection with the Canyon Ferry Reservoir project, Montana." The bill would establish a board of appraisers to determine the fair value of certain lands and improvements purchased by the United States in connection with the Canyon Ferry Reservoir project in Broadwater and Lewis and Clark Counties, Mont. Board determinations would be arrived at with the concurrence of all members of the board and the board would certify to the Secretary of the Treasury the amount which the United States should pay to each of the former Owners enumerated in the bill. This Department has no information which would justify the reopening of these apparently closed voluntary transactions in which the Government negotiated and purchased lands or interests directly from the landowners without resort to condemnation proceedings. The Government has contracted in the past with large numbers of people for direct purchase of lands and interests. Exceedingly large amounts of money are involved. Insofar as this Department is advised, there appear to be no exceptional circumstances, or injustices arising out of Government action involved in the cases enumerated in the bill which would distinguish them equitably from the many other cases of Government purchase contractors who have no legitimate claim against the Government. To pay the beneficiaries of the bill additional sums would create a highly undesirable precedent. Accordingly, the Department of Justice is unable to recommend enactment of the bill. The Bureau of the Budget has advised that there is no objection to the submission of this report. Sincerely, WILLIAM P. ROGERS, Hon. WILLIAM LANGER, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, Washington 25, D. C., April 30, 1954. Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate. DEAR SENATOR LANGER: This is in reply to your request of March 24, 1954, for a report on S. 3154, a bill to provide for the relief of Milton Beatty and others by providing for determination and settlement of certain claims of former owners of lands and improvements purchased by the United States in connection with the Canyon Ferry Reservoir project, Montana. The bill authorizes the establishment of a board of appraisers to make an independent appraisal of lands previously acquired by the United States in connection with the Canyon Ferry Reservoir project and payment by the United States Treasury of any amounts determined justified over and above amounts previously paid to the parties involved at the time such lands were acquired. The bill also provides that the board of appraisers shall include an officer or employee of the Land Acquisition Division, Bureau of Reclamation, Department of the Interior, appointed by the Secretary of the Interior: one member to be an officer or employee of the Extension Service of the Department of Agriculture, appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture, and one member from private life qualified as an impartial appraiser. This Department has had no official responsibilities with respect to this project and has no materials in its files bearing directly upon it. Therefore, we feel we have no basis for recommending with respect to the merits of this particular bill. If the Congress deems it appropriate to enact such legislation and desires the participation of a member of the staff of the Department of Agriculture to serve on the proposed board of appraisers, we shall be glad to cooperate. However, we feel it advisable to indicate that staff members of the Extension Service are not engaged in land acquisition or formal land appraisal work. We would suggest, therefore, your committee might wish to give consideration to eliminating the phrase "of the Extension Service" in line 10, section 2 (a) of the bill, thus permitting the Secretary to designate such officer or employee of the Department as would appear to be best qualified by virtue of experience and other qualifications to serve on this appraisal board. The Bureau of the Budget advises that there is no objection to the submission of this report. Sincerely yours, E. T. BENSON, Secretary. ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES COURTS, Hon. WILLIAM LANGER, Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Washington, D. C. DEAR SENATOR LANGER: The bill about which you have inquired of me on March 24, 1954 (S. 3154) provides for the payment to persons specified in section 3 of the act and referred to as owners of the lands situated in Broadwater and Lewis and Clark Counties, Mont., which were purchased by the United States in connection with the Canyon Ferry Reservoir project, of amounts in full settlement of all claims against the United States to be determined by a board of appraisers. Section 2 provides that the board of appraisers shall consist of 3 members including 1 member from private life who is qualified as an impartial appraiser with respect to farm and grazing lands and improvements in Montana, selected by the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Montana, acting in his individual capacity. The bill provides for an unusual procedure for fixing the compensation of land purchased by the United States from the owners named in section 3. I am without sufficient information concerning the background and the reasons for it to warrant me in expressing an opinion on the subject. With kind regards. I am, Sincerely yours, HENRY P. CHANDLER. |