Whereas it is our understanding and belief that it will be incumbent upon the Secretary of the Interior to make appropriate recommendations to the Congress concerning said directions for preparation and payment of a roll of eligible tribal members, and that the Secretary of the Interior will undoubtedly call upon the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, who in turn will undoubtedly desire expressions of opinions on the subject from the tribes concerned: Be it therefore

Resolved, That the Coquille Tribe, in general meeting assembled at Empire, Oreg., on this 12th day of August 1951, after fully and carefully studying and discussing the subject at various meetings at various times, hereby proclaims the wishes, hopes, and desires of the Coquille Tribe as follows:

1. That the Federal Government be asked to appropriate funds to cover clerical and extra help to bring rolls of four tribes involved to a current condition.

2. That tribes be considered in compiling eligibility of their members, who will partake in the various claims.

3. That the area office under E. Morgan Pryse be considered as a headquarters for final enrollment.

4. That payment of all competent adult claimants from such rolls be paid on a per capita basis, in full.

5. That payment to minors and incompetents be made in accordance with existing Federal regulations pertaining to disbursement of individual trust funds, except that when Federal jurisdiction over the Indians of the Coquille Tribe is terminated, then the laws of the State governing such cases shall take effect and be applied.

6. That the four tribes, themselves, be allowed to set a date of closure of rolls after the appropriation has been certified by Congress.

7. That the area office at Portland be designated as the place of payment to the Indians of the four tribes involved; that said office be instructed to disburse the claims payment.

8. That the Coquille Tribe go on record as vetoing any use of claims moneys in performing tribal, communal, or collective enterprise.

9. That all claims payments, as far as is possible, be made prior to withdrawal of Federal supervision, due to the fact that the area office would still be available and the various taxes exempt.

Be it further

Resolved, That the Coquille Tribe would appreciate immediate consideration of the above-mentioned recommendations in order to expedite final payment of the claims heretofore described.

CERTIFICATION

The undersigned, as secretary, hereby certifies that the Coquille Tribe met in general council regularly called, noticed, convened, and held at Empire, Oreg., on this 12th day of August 1951; that a quorum of said general council was present and voting; that the foregoing resolution was passed by the affirmative vote of 21 members, with dissenting vote of no members; that the said resolution has not been rescinded or amended in any way.

Attest:
Approved:

ANN ANDERSON, Secretary.

FRED C. SANDBERG, Chairman. E. MORGAN PRYSE, Area Director.

RESOLUTION

Whereas it is our understanding that on January 3, 1950, the United States Court of Claims entered judgment for the value of lands as of 1855, plus interest from that date, as compensation for the taking of original Indian title by the United States from the Tillamook, Coquille, Too-too-to-ney, and Chetco Tribes, and that on April 9, 1951, the Supreme Court of the United States reversed the said award to the extent that interest on the value of the lands from 1855 was denied: and

Whereas it is our understanding and belief that the next step in said claims case will constitute an appropriation by Congress and that usually the act appropriating judgment funds contains directions for making the payment roll; and

Whereas it is our understanding and belief that it will be incumbent upon the Secretary of the Interior to make appropriate recommendations to the Congress concerning said directions for preparation and payment of a roll concerning said

directions for preparation and payment of a roll of eligible tribal members, and that the Secretary of the Interior will undoubtedly call upon the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, who in turn will undoubtedly desire expressions of opinions on the subject from the tribes concerned: Be it therefore

Resolved, That the Chetco Tribe, in general meeting assembled at Siletz, Oreg., on this 29th day of July 1951, after fully and carefully studying and discussing the subject at various meetings at various times, hereby proclaims the wishes, hopes, and desires of the Chetco Tribe as follows:

1. That the Federal Government be asked to appropriate funds to cover clerical and extra help to bring rolls of four tribes involved to a current condition. 2. That tribes be considered in compiling eligibility of their members, who will partake in the various claims.

3. That the area office, under E. Morgan Pryse, be considered as a headquarters for final enrollment.

4. That payment of all competent adult claimants from such rolls be paid on a per capita basis, in full.

5. That payment to minors and incompetents be made in accordance with existing Federal regulations pertaining to disbursement of individual trust funds, except that when Federal jurisdiction over the Indians of the Chetco Tribe is terminated, then the laws of the State governing such cases shall take effect and be applied.

6. That the four tribes, themselves, be allowed to set a date of closure of rolls after the appropriation has been certified by Congress.

7. That the area office at Portland be designated as the place of payment to the Indians of the four tribes involved; that said office be instructed to disburse the claims payment.

8. That the Chetco Tribe go on record as vetoing any use of claims moneys in performing tribal, communal, or collective enterprise.

9. That all claims payments, as far as is possible, be made prior to withdrawal of Federal supervision, due to the fact that the area office would still be available and the various taxes exempt.

Be it further

Resolved, That the Chetco Tribe would appreciate immediate consideration of the above-mentioned recommendations in order to expedite final payment of the claims heretofore described.

CERTIFICATION

The undersigned, as secretary, hereby certifies that the Chetco Tribe met in general council regularly called, noticed, convened, and held at Siletz, Oreg., on this 29th day of July 1951; that a quorum of said general council was present and voting; that the foregoing resolution was passed by the affirmative vote of members, with dissenting vote of members; that the said resolution has not been rescinded or amended in any way.

Attest:

Approved:

--

GLADYS HUDSON, Secretary.

ARCHIE BEN, Chairman.

E. MORGAN PRYSE, Area Director.

83D CONGRESS 2d Session

}

SENATE

REPORT No. 1326

AUTHORIZING THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR TO ISSUE TO JAKE ALEXANDER A PATENT IN FEE TO CERTAIN LANDS IN THE STATE OF ALABAMA

MAY 13, 1954.-Ordered to be printed

Mr. BUTLER of Nebraska, from the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 1128]

The Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 1128) authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to issue to Jake Alexander a patent in fee to certain lands in the State of Alabama, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

EXPLANATION OF THE BILL

This bill authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to issue a patent in fee to Jake Alexander for a tract of land in the State of Alabama, of which he has been in continuous possession since 1900 and on which he has paid taxes during that time. Your committee believes the equities are clear in this case.

This case has been thoroughly studied during the last two Congresses, and an identical bill was passed by the House of Representatives in the 82d Congress, but was not acted upon in the Senate before adjournment. Senator Sparkman has introduced in this Congress an identical bill, S. 287, on which there has been received a favorable, if amended, report from the Department of the Interior, which is as follows:

Hon. HUGH Butler,

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Washington 25, D. C., June 10, 1953.

Chairman, Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs,

United States Senate, Washington 25, D. C.

MY DEAR SENATOR BUTLER: This is in reply to the request of your committee for a report on S. 287, a bill authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to issue to Jake Alexander a patent in fee to certain lands in the State of Alabama. This

is a companion bill to H. R. 1128, passed by the House of Representatives on April 14, 1953, on which your Committee has also requested a report.

I would have no objection to the enactment of this bill if it were amended to require a reasonable payment for the public lands to be conveyed. Such a requirement would be in line with the existing provisions of law applicable to claims of this type, as embodied in the Color of Title Act of December 22, 1928 (43 U. S. C., 1946 ed., sec. 1068 et seq.), as well as with the proposed liberalization of that legislation now before the House of Representatives in the form of H. R. 1308, a bill to amend the Color of Title Act.

S. 287 and H. R. 1128 would grant about 160 acres of land to Jake Alexander, without consideration. The lands involved are described as the SENE1⁄4, NESE sec. 31, T. 7 S., R. 6 W., and ENW1⁄4 sec. 6, T. 8 S., R. 6 W., both Huntsville meridian, Alabama.

These lands are unappropriated public lands withdrawn from entry as part of the William Bankhead National Forest. No patent ever issued for these lands transferring title to them out of public ownership; nor has any right to title to these lands ever been acquired against the Federal Government. Entries have been made on these lands in the past, but they were relinquished or duly canceled.

In a letter dated September 7, 1951, to Representative Jones, who introduced H. R. 1128, the Bureau of Land Management reported to the Congressman: ***that the records of this Bureau and the papers submitted by you contain no evidence of the issuance of such patent or the existence of any justifiable claim by Mr. Alexander against the United States. The papers you submitted appear merely to be lists compiled by Lawrence County employees, possibly for tax purposes. In some cases the notations on these lists may have been based upon applications to purchase lands under the credit system but even in such cases no payment was evidently made by the applicants and no other steps taken to secure a right to patent.'

With this letter the Bureau of Land Management submitted a statement giving a detailed history of the status of the lands in issue. This statement is quoted in House Report 172, to accompany H. R. 1128, at pages 2 and 3. of the letter and statement are enclosed.

Copies

Mr. Alexander could not obtain title to these public lands under the present Color of Title Act of December 22, 1926 (43 U. S. C., 1946 ed., sec. 1068 et seq.), because he has apparently never cultivated nor improved these lands. A bill, H. R. 1308, to liberalize the provisions of the Color of Title Act is, however, now pending before the House of Representatives. This bill would waive the requirement of cultivation or improvement in cases where the color-of-title claim originated not later than January 1, 1901, and is supported by evidence of payment of taxes by the claimant and his predecessors for the period since that date. From available information, it would appear that Mr. Alexander could meet the requirements of that bill.

Both the existing Color of Title Act and H. R. 1308 follow the policy of requiring some compensation to the Federal Government for any lands patented thereunder. In determining the price of the lands, however, the Secretary of the Interior must exclude the value of improvements placed by the applicant or his predecessors on the land; and the Secretary is also required to give full effect in his appraisal to the applicant's equities.

The effect of S. 287 and H. R. 1128 would be to give Mr. Alexander a preferred position, in comparison with other color-of-title claimants, by excepting him from the reasonable requirements with respect to compensation that are contained in the existing law, and that would be continued in force under H. R. 1308. In support of such an exemption, the argument has been advanced that certain county records (which are set forth and discussed in the attached statement) purport to show a grant of title by the United States for the lands in issue. This argument is a specious one for several reasons. First, the records in question are clearly incorrect. Second, since these records were not prepared by or under the control of the Federal Government, the responsibility for their incorrectness should not be placed upon it. Third, the records are not of the type on which a chain of title is customarily founded, since they do not, on their face, purport to be an actual recording of an actual patent or other instrument of conveyance. Fourth, even if they were records of the type customarily made under State laws providing for the recording of conveyances, the rights of a person acquiring property in reliance on records made under those laws are rights to be protected against unrecorded transactions, and do not extend to the point of permitting the true owner of property to be deprived thereof merely because, as in the present