TO AUTHORIZE THE CITY OF SALINA AND THE TOWN OF REDMOND, STATE OF UTAH, TO SECURE ADEQUATE SUPPLIES OF WATER FOR MUNICIPAL AND DOMESTIC PURPOSES THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUBTERRANEAN WATER ON CERTAIN PUBLIC LANDS WITHIN SAID STATE FEBRUARY 26, 1930.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed Mr. COLTON, from the Committee on the Public Lands, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 3203] The Committee on the Public Lands, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 3203) to authorize the city of Salina and the town of Redmond, State of Utah, to secure adequate supplies of water for municipal and domestic purposes through the development of subterranean water on certain public lands within said State, having considered the same, report it to the House favorably and recommend that it do pass with the following amendments: Page 2, line 4, after the word "are", insert a comma and the following: "subject to any valid existing rights initiated under the public land laws" and another comma. Page 2, line 10, after the word "operations", strike out the period and insert a colon and the following: Provided, That the operations hereby authorized shall be commenced within five years from the date of this act: Provided further That the lands hereby withdrawn shall be used for the purposes herein indicated and if the said lands shall cease to be so used, said lands shall revert to the status occupied prior to the date of this act. The information before the committee discloses that the city of Salina and the town of Redmond, State of Utah, are unable to secure adequate supplies of water for domestic purposes from any known source. This legislation, if enacted, would permit them to drill for water on the lands described in the hopes of developing an adequate water supply and protecting them in the use after the water is found. Communications from the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture are herein set out in full for the information of the House. HR-71-2-vol. 2-36 Hon. DoN B. COLTON, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Chairman Committee on Public Lands, House of Representatives. MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: There is transmitted herewith, in response to your request of January 7, for an opinion as to the merits of H. R. 3203, a memorandum submitted by the Commissioner of the General Land Office. After a review of the situation, I am in agreement with Commissioner Moore in his favorable report upon the bill. Very truly yours, RAY LYMAN WILBUR, Secretary. Memorandum for the Secretary. GENERAL LAND OFFICE, Washington, January 15, 1930. H. R. 3203 proposes to withdraw certain public land decribed therein and permit the city of Salina and the town of Redmond, Utah, to conduct drilling operations to secure water and make other necessary use of the land for the storage and transportation of water derived from such drilling operations. It is thought that the bill should be amended by inserting a time limit for carrying out the operations mentioned and by making provision for the restoration of the land if it should not be used for the purpose for which it was withdrawn. The land mentioned in T. 21 S., R. 2 E., is unsurveyed and as there may be existing claims not known to this office to all or part of said land, it is suggested that the withdrawal should be made subject to any valid existing rights initiated under the public land laws. The land is within the Manti National Forest, having been withdrawn by orders issued in 1903 and 1912. For this reason it is suggested that further report should be secured from the Department of Agriculture. C. C. MOORE, Commissioner. JANUARY 21, 1930. Hon. DoN B. COLTON, Chairman Committee on the Public Lands, House of Representatives. DEAR MR. COLTON: Reference is made to your letter of January 13, inclosing copy of H. R. 3203, a bill to authorize the city of Salina and the town of Redmond, State of Utah, to secure adequate supplies of water for municipal and domestic purposes through the development of subterranean water on certain public lands within said State, and asking for a report thereon. The proposed legislation would withdraw from all forms of entry and appropriation under the land laws of the United States certain described lands aggregating 1,240 acres lying within the boundaries of the Fishlake National Forest, State of Utah, which lands may be used by the towns of Salina and Redmond in developing a supply of water for domestic and municipal uses. It is understood that an adequate supply of surface water can not be obtained for the needs of these towns and that they, therefore, contemplate the driving of wells from which an artificial flow is hoped to be obtained. The towns are interested in protecting any water supply which they may secure in the manner proposed. The use of the national forest lands in question for this purpose is recognized as one of the highest uses to which they can be put. The obtaining of water for the needs of these two municipalities is a matter of highest importance to the communities. This department knows of no reason why any objection should be made to the proposed use of these national forest lands, and, therefore, recommends that favorable consideration be given to H. R. 3203. The enactment of the legislation would not impose any financial burden on the department. Sincerely yours, R. W. DUNLAP, Acting Secretary. O SUCCESSORS OF LUTHER BURBANK FEBRUARY 26, 1930.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed Mr. SWING, from the Committee on the Public Lands, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 9169] The Committee on the Public Lands, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 9169) for the relief of the successors of Luther Burbank, introduced by Mr. Lea of California, having considered the same, report thereon, with the recommendation that it do pass with the following amendment: Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof the following: That the time within which Luther Burbank, his heirs, or successors in interest, must make payment and comply with the other provisions of the act of Congress approved August 24, 1912, entitled "An act to patent certain semiarid lands to Luther Burbank under certain conditions," be, and the same is hereby extended until five years from the passage of this act. On the 24th of August, 1912, an act was approved permitting Luther Burbank to select certain public lands for experiment in the production of spineless cacti on condition that Burbank, his heirs or successors in interest, might acquire title to such lands upon the terms therein specified. CONDITIONS UNDER THE ACT OF 1912 The lands selected were to be portions of the unappropriated nonmineral, nonirrigable, nontimber, and unreserved public lands, located in California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada, as Burbank might select, and not to exceed 12 sections in all. The act carried the right to enter upon the land and propagate spineless cacti, with incidental possessory rights, for that purpose. The act provided that the lands selected shall be approved by the Secretary of the Interior when the Commissioner of the General Land Office certifies that the lands selected are of the character above mentioned. Patent was authorized to be issued to Luther Burbank, his heirs or successors, for all or any of the legal subdivisions of the land set aside upon payment at the rate of $1.25 per acre. The issuance of the patent was also conditioned on the production of 100,000 growing plants of spineless cactus of a character suitable for animal food, upon said lands for a period of two years. It was also required to be shown to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Interior that the lands to be patented are suitable for the growth of spineless cactus and available for domestic animal food. For various reasons the selections by Mr. Burbank and approval thereof by the Secretary of the Interior were greatly delayed until practically all of the lands were set aside on the 6th day of June, 1925. Consequently, the 5-year period provided for in the act will expire on the 6th day of June, 1930. The object of this proposed act is simply to extend the time in which the successors of Mr. Burbank may comply with the conditions required for the acquirement of the title to the lands involved. LOCATION OF LANDS The lands finally selected are all in the State of Arizona. An elaborate search was made to find lands suitable for the experimental purposes involved. The selection of 6 tracts, aggregating nearly 12 sections, was made of lands ranging in elevation from 400 to 3,000 feet, having normal annual precipitations from 5 to 15 inches and a wide range of extreme maximum and minimum temperatures, the idea being to allow experiment under a distinct variety of climatic conditions. EFFORTS TO PERFORM CONDITIONS Nearly 500,000 pounds of cuttings were planted, some failing because of unusual droughts and an important part of them being destroyed by rabbits and other rodents. The successors of Mr. Burbank, profiting by the experience in the efforts so far made, purpose by necessary irrigation and protection against rabbits and other rodents to complete the experiment and comply with the conditions under which title to patent was to issue. Information furnished the committee shows that the cost so far incurred toward perfecting this experiment and acquiring the lands aggregates more than $20,000. The public has all to gain and nothing to lose by the perfection of this experiment and conveyance of the title on the conditions specified. Title to the lands will not pass until the price specified is paid, a price that is sufficient to compensate the Government for the value of the lands and also on condition that the experiment is a demonstrated success. The amount of money heretofore expended and the present determination of the interested parties to make good on the experiment furnish conclusive evidence of their good faith. This bill, as amended, has the recommendation of the Secretary of the Interior, as set forth in the following letter, which is appended hereto and made a part of this report: DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Hon. DoN B. COLTON, Chairman Committee on the Public Lands, House of Representatives. MY DEAR MR. COLTON: In response to your request for a report on H. R. 9169, granting a 5-year extension to the act of August 24, 1912, with regard to patenting certain semiarid lands to Luther Burbank for experiments in the growing of spineless cacti, I am inclosing a report from the Commissioner of the General Land Office dated February 7, 1930. After consideration of the question, I recommend the passage of the bill if its wording is changed as proposed by Commissioner Moore. Very truly yours, Memorandum for the Secretary. H. R. 9169 has been received from your office with the request of the chairman Committee on Public Lands for a report to that committee. The bill proposes to extend the time allowed within which to comply with the provisions of the act of August 24, 1912, entitled “An act to patent certain semiarid lands to Luther Burbank under certain conditions." The original act allows five years from the date of the order setting aside the lands selected under the provisions of the act, and the first of these orders was on June 5, 1925. The proposed bill contains a reference to "The lands granted to Luther Burbank.' The original act merely granted the right to enter upon, make improvements, and propagate spineless cacti on lands to be set aside for that purpose, and to make payment and receive patent upon submitting satisfactory proof of compliance with the provisions thereof. The use of the quoted phrase might lead to the contention that the lands had heretofore been granted to Burbank. It is therefore recommended that the proposed act be amended to read as follows: "Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the time within which Luther Burbank, his heirs or successors in interest, must make payment and comply with the other provisions of the act of Congress approved August 24, 1912, entitled 'An act to patent certain semiarid lands to Luther Burbank under certain conditions,' be, and the same is hereby, extended until five years from the passage of this act. With this change in the wording of the bill it is thought the substitute will accomplish the same purpose as the bill submitted and remove a possible doubt in its interpretation. As thus amended, this office has no objection to its enactment. |