tion of the forest homestead law, and for other purposes, and requesting a report thereon:

The proposed legislation would withdraw lands within the Custer National Forest from listing or classification under the forest homestead law.

The forest homestead act requires the department to list for homestead entry lands within the national forests found to be chiefly valuable for agriculture and not needed for public purposes. No provision is made for the exception of cases which would be clearly detrimental to the best interests of established settlers and to the stability of the community.

While the Government lands within the Custer National Forest are as a whole clearly chiefly valuable for timber production and watershed protection, there are, intermingled with the timbered lands, areas of treeless land which are not of actual value either for present stands of timber or for the production of future stands. It is utterly impractical to exclude such lands from the national forests, since the presence of such adverse holdings would block the practical administration of the remaining more valuable timberlands. Such treeless lands can be made to produce scanty farm crops under cultivation, and there is occasional demand for their listing under the forest homestead act. However, these lands can not be profitably cultivated, but are of greatest value when used as supplementary pasturage for the stock of settlers who are cultivating a better class of soils. An agricultural home can be obtained upon these lands only by supplementing them with grazing privileges on the national forest. This can only be done by reducing the permits of established settlers below what would appear to be sound economics or social justice.

Under a strict interpretation of the law as it now stands the department would probably be required to list these lands as chiefly valuable for agriculture, although it is the judgment of this department that the economic welfare of the region demands that they be retained in public ownership and handled in connection with the adjoining national forest lands in such a way that the grazing resources may be utilized by farmers who are able on better located lands to grow the necessary forage crops to take care of their stock during the winter months.

Legislation similar in character to that proposed by this bill is proposed in Senate bill 532, on which this department made a favorable report on October 26, 1929, to the Senate Committee on Public Lands and Surveys. It was suggested, however, that there might be exceptional cases where lands should be listed and, therefore, it is believed that some discretion should be vested in the department in the matter. The following amendment was suggested for Senate bill 532, and it is also recommended that it be considered as an amendment to House bill 6130:

"Provided, however, That the Secretary of Agriculture may, in his discretion, list limited tracts when in his opinion such action will be in the public interest and will not be injurious to other settlers or users of the national forests. In the opinion of this department legislation of the character proposed by this bill would be in the public interest.

Sincerely yours,

ARTHUR M. HYDE, Secretary.

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AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION WORK

FEBRUARY 4, 1930.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. HAUGEN, from the Committee on Agriculture, submitted the

following

REPORT

[To accompany S. 3030]

The Committee on Agriculture, to whom was referred the bill (S. 3030) to amend an act entitled "An act to provide for the further development of agricultural extension work between the agricultural colleges in the several States receiving the benefits of the act entitled 'An act donating public lands to the several States and Territories which may provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts,' approved July 2, 1862, and all acts supplementary thereto, and the United States Department of Agriculture," approved May 22, 1928, having considered the same, report thereon with a recommendation that it do pass.

The bill, reported herewith, reads as follows:

[S. 3030, Seventy-first Congress, second session]

A BILL To amend an act entitled "An act to provide for the further development of agricultural extension work between the agricultural colleges in the several States receiving the benefits of the act entitled 'An act donating public lands to the several States and Territories which may provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts,' approved July 2, 1862, and all acts supplementary thereto, and the United States Department of Agriculture," approved May 22, 1928.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the provisions for payment of the installments of the appropriation authorized by the act entitled "An act to provide for the further development of agricultural extension work between the agricultural colleges in the several States receiving the benefits of the act entitled 'An act donating public lands to the several States and Territories which may provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts,' approved July 2, 1862, and all acts supplementary thereto, and the United States Department of Agriculture," approved May 22, 1928 (Forty-fifth Statutes at Large, page 711), be made upon the assent of the governors of the several States, duly certified to the Secretary of the Treasury, is hereby extended until January 1, 1932.

This bill was introduced to enable the State of Georgia to receive the benefits of the Capper-Ketcham Act. All the other State legisHR-71-2-VOL 2-14

latures have assented to the provisions of the act, and the bill merely extends the time in order that Georgia may do likewise.

The following telegram, dated February 4, 1930, from the Governor of Georgia, expresses the willingness of the State of Georgia to comply with the provisions of the act:

Hon. CHAS. R. CRISP,

House of Representatives:

Wire received.

All Federal appropriations for extension work have been and will be completely offset with funds from Georgia, in accordance with terms and provisions of various acts and agreements. L. G. HARDMAN, Governor.

O

INDEPENDENT OFFICES APPROPRIATION BILL, 1931

FEBRUARY 5, 1930.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. WASON, from the Committee on Appropriations, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 9546]

The Committee on Appropriations submits the following report in explanation of the accompanying bill making appropriations for the Executive Office and for sundry independent executive offices, boards, bureaus, and commissions, for the fiscal year 1931.

The bill embraces regular annual appropriations for the office of the President and for the independent establishments of the Government, and its order and arrangement follow the general outline submitted by the President in the Budget for the fiscal year 1931. A detailed tabulation will be found at the end of this report showing the amounts appropriated for the fiscal year 1930, the Budget estimates for 1931, the amount recommended to be appropriated in the bill for 1931, together with the increase or decrease in appropriations and estimates as compared with the amounts recommended in the bill.

APPROPRIATIONS AND ESTIMATES

The Budget estimates upon which this bill is based were submitted by the President in the Budget for the fiscal year 1931 and will be found in detail in Chapter II of that document, pages 33-121, inclusive, aggregating $553,684,038.

The total appropriations for the independent offices provided for in this bill for the fiscal year 1930 amounted to $693,859,840.

The amount recommended to be appropriated in the accompanying bill for the fiscal year 1931 is $552,372,213, which sum compared

with the regular annual and deficiency appropriations for 1929 and the estimates for 1930 is as follows:

It is $141,487,627 less than the total of the 1930 appropriations, and it is $1,311,825 less than the estimates submitted for 1931.

The 1930 appropriations include the $150,000,000 revolving fund for the Federal Farm Board. Since no estimate for that purpose for the fiscal year 1931 has been presented to Congress, a more accurate picture can be had by omitting that item from the total of the 1930 appropriations. Omitting the item referred to, the amount recommended in the bill is $8,512,373 in excess of the aggregate of the remaining appropriations for 1930. This increase is more than accounted for in the amounts recommended for the Veterans' Bureau, which are $11,250,000 in excess of the appropriations for that bureau for the current year.

In addition to the appropriations above mentioned permanent annual and indefinite appropriations made without annual action by Congress for the fiscal year 1931 are as follows:

Relief of indigent in Alaska..

Federal Board for Vocational Education_

Federal Power Commission..

Federal Reserve Board....

General railroad contingent fund..

Smithsonian Institution..

Veterans' Bureau _ _

Total....

$15,000 7, 367, 000 11, 250 2, 560, 336 1, 000, 000 60, 000

78, 530, 000

89, 543, 586

EXECUTIVE OFFICE

A Budget increase of $2,600 has been allowed for the purpose of effecting salary increases, principally in the lower grades. Most of the increases are in the sum of $60 to the individual employee.

Contingent expenses: The Budget increase of $8,500 for this item has been granted.

Maintenance of Executive Mansion and Grounds: Last year a $50,000 increase was included in this appropriation for extraordinary repairs, alterations, furnishings, etc. The Budget estimate of $135,000 for this activity for 1931, which is carried in the accompanying bill, is $31,000 under the current appropriation.

AMERICAN BATTLE MONUMENTS COMMISSION

The bill carries the Budget estimate of $1,000,000 for the work of the commission for the fiscal year 1931. The total authorization was increased by Congress a year ago from $3,000,000 to $4,500,000. The passage of the accompanying bill will bring the total appropriations within $204,250 of the amount authorized. The commission hopes to complete the work of the memorial projects within the $4,500,000 authorization, but it is possible some increase in the authorization will be necessary.

A complete statement of the commission's projects and the present status of the work thereon may be found in General Pershing's communication to the committee, on pages 3 and 4 of the hearings.