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CONGRESS,

CONGRESS,

METALLIFEROUS MINERALS ON INDIAN RESERVATIONS.

APRIL 12, 1916.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed.

Mr. HAYDEN, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, submitted the

following

REPORT.

[To accompany H. R. 12426.]

The Committee on Indian Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 12426) to authorize mining for metalliferous minerals on Indian reservations, having carefully considered the same, recommends that the bill be amended, and that as so amended the bill do pass.

Amend the title of the bill by striking out the words "in the State of Arizona."

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On page 1, line 11, strike out the words "in the State of Arizona.' On page 2, strike out all of lines 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 and insert in lieu thereof the following:

SEC. 2. That after the passage and approval of this act unallotted lands within Indian reservations heretofore withheld from disposition under the mining laws may be declared by the Secretary of the Interior to be subject to exploration for and discovery of deposits of gold, silver, copper, and other valuable metalliferous minerals by citizens of the United States, and after such declaration mining claims may be.

On page 3, line 18, strike out the word "twenty" and insert in lieu thereof the word "eighty."

On page 4, line 25, strike out the word "two" and insert in lieu thereof the word "five."

On page 6, line 14, strike out the word "carry" and insert in lieu thereof the word "carrying."

On page 6, after line 20, insert a new section as follows:

SEC. 13. That the provisions of this act shall not apply to the Five Civilized Tribes and Osage Nation of Indians in Oklahoma.

The bill as amended will read as follows:

A BILL To authorize mining for metalliferous minerals on Indian reservations.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Secretary of the Interior be, and hereby is, authorized and empowered, under general regulations to be fixed by him and under such terms

and conditions as he may prescribe, not inconsistent with the terms of this act, to lease to citizens of the United States or to any association of such persons or to any corporation organized under the laws of the United States or of any State or Territory thereof, any part of the unallotted lands within any Indian reservation heretofore withdrawn from entry under the mining laws for the purpose of mining for deposits of gold, silver, copper, and other valuable metalliferous minerals, which leases shall be irrevocable, except as herein provided, but which may be declared null and void upon breach of any of their terms.

SEC. 2. That after the passage and approval of this act unallotted lands within Indian reservations heretofore withheld from disposition under the mining laws may be declared by the Secretary of the Interior to be subject to exploration for and discovery of deposits of gold, silver, copper, and other valuable metalliferous minerals by citizens of the United States, and after such declaration mining claims may be located by such citizens in the same manner as mining claims are located under the mining laws of the United States: Provided, That the locators of all such mining claims, or their heirs, successors, or assigns, shall have a preference right to apply to the Secretary of the Interior for a lease, under the terms and conditions of this act, within one year after the date of the location of any mining claim, and any such locator who shall fail to apply for a lease within one year from the date of location shall forfeit all rights to such mining claim: Provided further, That duplicate copies of the location notice shall be filed within sixty days with the superintendent in charge of the reservation on which the mining claim is located, and that application for a lease under this act may be filed with such superintendent for transmission through official channes to the Secretary of the Interior.

SEC. 3. That leases under this act shall be for a period of fifty years, with the preferential right in the lessee to renew the same for successive periods of ten years upon such reasonable terms and conditions as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, unless otherwise provided by law at the time of the expiration of such periods: Provided, That the lessee may, in the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior, be permitted at any time to make written relinquishment of all rights under such a lease and upon acceptance thereof be thereby relieved of all future obligations under said lease.

SEC. 4. That in addition to areas of mineral land to be included in leases under this act the Secretary of the Interior, in his discretion, may grant to the lessee the right to use, during the life of the lease, a tract of unoccupied land, not exceeding eighty acres in area, for camp sites, milling, smelting, and refining works, and for other purposes connected with and necessary to the proper development and use of the deposits covered by the lease.

SEC. 5. That the Secretary of the Interior, in his discretion, in making any lease under this act, may reserve to the United States the right to lease, sell, or otherwise dispose of the surface of the lands embraced within such lease under existing law or laws hereafter enacted, in so far as said surface is not necessary for use of the lessee in extracting and removing the deposits therein: Provided, That the said Secretary, during the life of the lease, is hereby authorized to issue such permits for easements herein provided to be reserved.

SEC. 6. That any successor in interest or assignee of any lease granted under this act, whether by voluntary transfer, judicial sale, foreclosure sale, or otherwise, shall be subject to all the conditions of the approval under which such rights are held and also subject to all the provisions and conditions of this act to the same extent as though such successor or assign were the original lessee hereunder.

SEC. 7. That any lease granted under this act may be forfeited and canceled by appropriate proceedings in the United States district court for the district in which said property or some part thereof is situated whenever the lessee, after reasonable notice in writing, as prescribed in the lease, shall fail to comply with the terms of this act or with such conditions not inconsistent here with as may be specifically

recited in the lease.

SEC. 8. That for the privilege of mining or extracting the mineral deposits in the ground covered by the lease the lessee shall pay to the United States, for the benefit of the Indians, a royalty which shall be five per centum of the gross value of the output of the minerals at the mine, due and payable at the end of each month succeeding that of the extraction of the minerals from the mine, and an annual rental, payable at the date of such lease and annually thereafter on the area covered by such lease, at the rate of 25 cents per acre for the first calendar year thereafter; 50 cents per acre for the second, third, fourth, and fifth years, respectively; and $1 per acre for each and every year thereafter during the continuance of the lease, except that such rental for any year shall be credited against the royalties as they accrue for that year.

SEC. 9. That in addition to the payment of the royalties and rentals as herein provided the lessee shall expend annually not less than $100 in development work for each mining claim located or leased in the same manner as an annual expenditure for labor or improvements is required to be made under the mining laws of the United States.

SEC. 10. That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to examine the books and accounts of lessees, and to require them to submit statements, representations, or report, including information as to cost of mining, all of which statements, representations, or reports so required shall be upon oath, unless otherwise specified, and in such form and upon such blanks as the Secretary of the Interior may require; and any person making any false statement, representation, or report under oath shall be subject to punishment as for perjury.

SEC. 11. That all moneys received from royalties and rentals under the provisions of this act shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the Indians belonging and having tribal rights on the reservation where the leased land is located, which moneys shall be at all times subject to appropriation by Congress for their education, support, and civilization.

SEC. 12. That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to perform any and all acts and to make such rules and regulations not inconsistent with this act as may be necessary and proper for the protection of the interests of the Indians and for the purpose of carrying the provisions of this act into full force and effect: Provided, That nothing in this act shall be construed or held to affect the right of the State or other local authority to exercise any rights which they may have to levy and collect taxes upon improvements, output of mines, or other rights, property, or assets of any lessee. SEC. 13. That the provisions of this act shall not apply to the Five Civilized Tribes and Osage Nation of Indians in Oklahoma.

The Department of the Interior favors the passage of this legislation, as shown by the following letter:

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
Washington, April 10, 1916.

MY DEAR MR. STEPHENS: I have your request for report upon H. R. 12426, which proposes to permit prospecting for and leasing of metalliferous mineral deposits within Indian reservations in the State of Arizona for 50-year periods upon a flat royalty of 2 per cent of the gross value of the output at the mine, the proceeds to be deposited in the Treasury to the credit of the Indians.

I favor the enactment of this measure. I find that 5 per cent is the ordinary commercial leasing rate, and would suggest that in lieu of 2 per cent. It also appears that there is a public demand that mineral deposits in Indian reservations in other States be opened to development, and I therefore suggest that the words "in the the State of Arizona," in line 11, page 1, be stricken out, making the bill applicable to such deposits in all Indian reservations. It is also suggested that lines 5 to 11, page 2, be eliminated, and the following substituted therefor:

That after the passage and approval of this act unallotted lands within Indian reservations heretofore withheld from disposition under the mining laws may be declared by the Secretary of the Interior to be subject to exploration for and discovery of deposits of gold, silver, copper, and other valuable metalliferous minerals by citizens of the United States, and after such declaration mining claims may be."

The latter amendment is suggested for the reason that there may be cases where the opening of all lands within a given Indian reservation to exploration and prospecting would be destructive of the rights and interests of the Indians or inadvisable from the standpoint of public policy, and the proposed amendment gives some discretion to the officers of the United States in that connection.

In line 14, page 6, the word "carry" should be "carrying."
With these amendments, I recommend the bill be enacted.
Cordially, yours,

Hon. JOHN H. STEPHENS,

Chairman Committee on Indian Affairs,

(Signed)

House of Representatives.

FRANKLIN K. LANE.

The following table shows the area of unallotted lands included within Indian reservations in the Rocky Mountain and Pacific Coast States which will be opened to prospecting for gold, silver, copper,

and other valuable metalliferous minerals in the event that this bill becomes a law:

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Utah..

Washington.
Wyoming..

55, 453 4, 313, 416 687, 912

1,889, 880 1, 208, 469

306, 880

3, 150, 075

608, 526 It is well known that many of the reservations in the Western States contain large and valuable deposits of minerals, but in the absence of suitable legislation there has been no development of these resources. The Indians have not engaged in mining because they do not possess either the knowledge or the capital that is required to conduct extensive mining operations. It is the opinion of your committee that this bill offers a workable plan that will bring about development and which fully protects the interests of the Indians.

The leasing provisions of this bill have been taken without material change from applicable sections of H. R. 406, a bill to authorize exploration for a disposition of coal, oil, gas, phosphate, potassium, or sodium, and H. R. 408, a bill to provide for the development of water power and the use of the public lands in relation thereto, which recently passed the House. These measures were so thoroughly discussed both in the Sixty-third and in the present Congress that it is presumed that a detailed explanation of the nature of the leases provided for in this bill is unnecessary.

The attention of those who, as a matter of principle, object to the adoption of the leasing system on the public domain is directed to the fact that the lands that may be leased for mining purposes under the provisions of this bill are the tribal property of the Indians and that it has never been the policy of the Government to permit mining on Indian reservations under the general mi ing laws. These lands have been set aside for the exclusive use and benefit of the Indians, and they are entitled to receive the same income from their property as any other private proprietor.

Owing to the present high prices of metals this is a most opportune time for the passage of a measure of this character and it is certain that its enactment into law will mean the immediate development of many valuable mines. It is the hope of your committee that a number of the Indian tribes will in time receive a sufficient income from royalties and rentals from their mineral lands, so that it will be no longer necessary to make gratuity appropriations from the Treasury for their education, support, and civilization.

As originally introduced, this bill applied to the State of Arizona only, but if the bill is made general in its scope over one-half of the total area that will be opened to prospecting and development will still be located within that State. The area of the newly created Papago Reservation in Arizona is not included in the above table, because the mineral lands within that reservation have not been withdrawn from entry or withheld from disposition under the mining laws.

TERM OF PATENT NO. 21053.

APRIL 13, 1916.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed.

Mr. OGLESBY, from the Committee on Patents, submitted the following

REPORT.

[To accompany S. 4889.]

The Committee on Patents, to whom was referred S. 4889, respectfully report that they have had the same under consideration, and that the bill be amended as hereinafter set forth, and, as so amended, that the bill do pass.

Amendment No. 1: In line 6, strike out the word "permanently." Amendment No. 2: In line 7, after the word "extended," insert for a period of fourteen years from and after the passage of this act."

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Amendment No. 3: Strike out all of lines 10, 11, and 12.

The purpose of this bill is to secure for the incorporated association known as the Daughters of the American Revolution the exclusive right to use the insignia or badge adopted by them and upon which they obtained a design patent in 1891, said design patent now having expired. The purpose of securing this protection is not commercial, but in order to enable the association to prevent the manufacture, sale, and use of the insignia except with the consent of the association. Under the regulations of the association, members even are not permitted to wear this badge until they obtain a permit issued by the registrar general of the Daughters of the American Revolu

tion.

The design patent having expired, there is no way the desired protection can be secured other than by act of Congress.

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