The CHAIRMAN. I have received letters asserting that this land has timber upon it and some of them go so far as to say that the valuation runs as high as $50,000 worth of timber on a single quarter section. Of course, those figures may not be reliable, but I picked them up in the hearings we had three or four years ago, and they are given in mail which has come to me and which I have in the files of the committee.

Mr. WILLIAMS. I want to say that I found all of the people in western Oregon very much interested in this question. The land grant runs through eighteen counties, from the north to the south boundary of the State, through the valleys of the Willamette, Rogue, and Umpqua Rivers. The people feel, and I think they are right, that the thing to be desired most of all is a prompt and definite settlement of this situation; that prompt action of any kind would be better than long-delayed action of a much better kind, because they are in a desperate situation.

The CHAIRMAN. That is like the Indian's situation. An Indian would rather have $1 to-day than $1,000,000 a year ahead.

Mr. MCCLINTIc. If these lands go back to the Government, then all of these taxes will be stopped?

Mr. WILLIAMS. Yes.

Mr. MCCLINTIC. There will be no taxes from the lands if they go back to the Government?

Mr. WILLIAMS. No, sir.

Mr. LENROOT. I would like to ask a few questions with reference to the report of the Attorney General on the Senate bill. Is it true that there were two independent grants, that of 1866 and that of 1870% Mr. WILLIAMS. Yes.

Mr. LENROOT. Now, the Supreme Court held, in reversing the decree of forfeiture, that the provision with reference to the sale of land at $2.50 an acre and the other restrictions was not a condition subsequent to the covenant? The act of 1866 reserved the right to alter, amend, or repeal the act, having due regard to the rights of the company. The act of 1870 had no such provision. The report that was made on Senator Chamberlain's bill, I think, contains a great deal of information. At this point, Mr. Chairman, I will ask that Senator Chamberlain's bill be printed in the hearings.

The CHAIRMAN. Without objection Senate bill 30, which is only before us informally, will be incorporated in the record at this point, and immediately following the bill there will also be incorporated in the Attorney General's letter, which is a Senate document. (The bill and report follow:)

[S. 30, 64th Cong., 1st sess.]

A RILL To alter and amend an act entitled "An act granting lands to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Central Paci ic Railroad, in California, to Portland, in Oregon," approved July twenty-fifth, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, as amended by the acts of eighteen hundred and sixty-eight and eighteen hundred and sixty-nine, and to alter and amend an act entitled "An act granting lands to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from Portland to Astoria and McMinnville, in the State of Oregon," approved May fourth, eighteen hundred and seventy, and for other purposes.

Whereas by the acts of Congress approved April tenth, eighteen hundred and sixtynine (Fourteenth Statutes at Large, page two hundred and thirty-nine), and May fourth, eighteen hundred and seventy (Sixteenth Statutes at Large, page ninetyfour), it was provided that the lands granted to aid in the construction of certain railroads from Portland, in the State of Oregon, to the northern boundary of the State of California, and from Portland to Astoria and McMinnville, in the State of

Oregon, should be sold to actual settlers only, in quantities rot exceeding one hundred and sixty acres to each person and at prices not greater than $2.50 per acre; and Whereas the Oregon and California Railroad Company, beneficiary of said acts, has violated the terms under which the said lands were granted by selling certain of said lands to persons other than actual settlers, by selling in quantities of more than one-quarter section to each person, by selling at prices in excess of $2.50 per acre, and, finally, by refusing to sell any further portions of such lands to actual settlers at any price, and in so doing has willfully violated the terms of the statutes by which the said lands were granted; and

Whereas in the suit instituted by the Attorney General of the United States, pursuant to the authority and direction contained in the joint resolution of April thirtieth, nineteen hundred and eight (Thirty-fifth Statutes at Large, page five hundred and seventy-one), the Supreme Court of the United States, in its decision rendered June twenty-first, nineteen hundred and fiftcen (Two hundred and thirty eight United States, page ), ordered that the Oregon and California Railroad Company be enjoined from making further sales of lands in violation of the law, and that the said railroad company be further enjoined from making any sales whatever of either the land or the timber thereon until Congress should have a reasonable opportunity to provide for the disposition of said lands in accordance with such policy as Congress might deem fitting under the circumstances and at the same time secure to the railroad company all the value the granting acts conferred upon it; and

Whereas it was expressly provided by section twelve of the act of July twenty-fifth, eighteen hundred and sixty-six (Fourteenth Statutes at Large, page two hundred and thirty-nine), that Congress might at any time, having due regard for the rights of the grantee railroad company, add to, alter, amend, or repeal the act making the grant; and

Whereas the aforesaid granting acts conferred upon the said railroad company the right to receive not more than $2.50 per acre for each acre of land so granted: Therefore

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the title to so much of the lands granted by the act of July twenty-fifth, eighteen hundred and sixty-six, entitled "An act granting lands to aid in the construction of a railroad and telegraph line from the Central Pacific Railroad, in California, to Portland, in Oregon," as amerded by the acts of eighteen hundred and sixty-eight and eighteen hundred and sixty-rine, and to so much of the lards granted by the act of May fourth, eighteen hundred and seventy, entitled "An act granting lands to aid in the construction of a railroad ard telegraph lire from Portland to Astoria and McMinnville, in the State of Oregon," as have not been sold by the Oregon and Califorr ia Railroad Company be, and the same is hereby, revested in the United States, and the United States shall pay the said Oregon and California Railroad Company the sum of $2.50 per acre for each acre of said lands out of money to be derived from the sale of said lands in the manner hereinafter provided. SEC. 2. That said lands are hereby classified into three classes, as follows:

Class one. Mineral lands, which shall include all of said lands which are chiefly valuable for minerals.

Class two. Timber lands, which shall include all of said lands which are nonmineral and have a growth of timber amounting to one million feet, board measure, to the quarter section. The term "quarter section" as herein used shall be held to mean any four contiguous forty-acre tracts or any number of smaller legal subdivisions which are contiguous, containing in the aggregate approximately one hundred and sixty acres.

Class three. Agricultural lands, which shall include all of said lands not falling within either of the two other classes.

SEC. 3. That lands of class one shall be disposed of under the mineral land laws of the United States and shall become subject to exploration and entry under said laws immediately upon the approval of this act.

SEC. 4. That lands of class two shall not be disposed of until after the timber thereon has been removed, when said lands shall automatically fall into class three and be disposed of in the manner hereinafter provided for the disposal of lands of that class. The timber on lands of this class shall be sold for cash to ci izens of the United States, associations of such citizens, and corporations created under the laws of the United States, or any State, Territory, or District thereof, under sealed bids and after such notice as the Commissioner of the General Land Office may deem necessary, but as soon after the approval of this Act as may be. The Commissioner of the General Land Office shall order as many sales as in his judgment may be necessary to insure an orderly conduct of the matter, and in the notice or notices to be issued as above

provided he shall designate the areas in which the timber shall be sold at the several sales so ordered.

The sales of timber herein provided for shall be made according to the smallest legal subdivision of land upon which the timber is growing, and any bid may include one or more such tracts, but where more than one tract is included in a single bid such bid must contain a separate offer for each smallest legal subdivision included therein.

All bids must be presented to the register and receiver of the land district in which the land containing the timber sought to be purchased is situated and within the time prescribed by the Commissioner of the General Land Office. As evidence of the bilder's good faith each bid must be accompanied by cash, certified check, or bank draft equal to ten per centum of the total amount of the bid, which shall be promptly returned to the bidder in the event his bid is rejected. All bids must be opened on the day fixed in the notice to be issued from the General Land Office, and all persons whose bids are accepted shall be immediately notified of such acceptance, upon which they shall, within thirty days of the receipt of such notice, pay to the receiver the balance of the purchase money, in default of which the bid shall be rejected and the earnest money which accompanied it shall be forfeited to the United States: Provided, That the register and receiver shall have the power, and it shall be their duty, to reject any bid where they have reason to believe that the purchase price offered is grossly inadequate, and from their decision rejecting a bid an appeal will lie to the Commissioner of the General Land Office and further appeal from the commissioner to the Secretary of the Interior, in accordance with the rules of practice governing proceedings in that department. Where bids are accepted and the entire purchase money paid within the time provided therefor, the register and receiver shall issue appropriate certificates and receipts and promptly forward the same to the Commissioner of the General Land Office.

Persons purchasing under the provisions of this section shall be given patents conveying to them the timber and expressly reserving the land to the United States. Timber thus purchased may be cut and removed at any time within the discretion of the purchaser, his heirs or assigns, and until it shall be removed the land upon which it stands shall be subject to the possession and control of the owner of the timber.

SEC. 5. That lands of class three, or agricultural lands, shall be subject to entry at the appropriate local land office by persons qualified to make entry under the general homestead laws of the United States: Provided, That no such person shall be given a patent until he has resided upon and cultivated the land for a period of five years and has paid the sum of $2.50 per acre for the lands so entered, of which 50 cents per acre shall be paid at the time of making application and $2 per acre shall be paid at the time of making proof of settlement and cultivation: Provided further, That the area cultivated shall be such as to satisfy the Commissioner of the General Land Office that the entry was made in good faith for the purpose of settlement and not for speculation. No person shall acquire the title to more than one quarter section of land under this section, nor shall any person make entry hereunder except for his own exclusive use and benefit. Persons applying to enter under the provisions hereof shall furnish such affidavits as to their qualifications and intentions and as to the character of the land and the quantity of timber growing thereon as the Commissioner of the General Land Office may require, and proof of residence and cultivation shall be made by the affidavits of the entryman and two disinterested witnesses, after such publication of notice as is required in homestead cases, which proof may be made at any time after five years and within seven years from the date of the allowance of the application. All affidavits and proofs made under the provisions of this act may be made before any officer qualified to take proof and affidavits under the general homestead laws.

No lands of class three shall become subject to entry or settlement until ninety days from and after the approval of this act, at which time said lands shall become subject to entry by the first qualified person appearing before the appropriate local land office: Provided, That during such period of ninety days persons qualified hereunder to enter said lands who were actually residing thereon on the first day of December, nineteen hundred and fifteen, shall have the preferred right to enter the quarter section upon which they were so residing, where such quarter section does not contain more than one million feet board measure of timber; and where the quarter section contains more than the said quantity of timber such actual resident may enter the forty-acre tract, or lot, or lots containing approximately forty acres, as the case may be, upon which his improvements, or the greater part thereof, are situated.

Entries made under the provisions of this section shall be subject to contest for fraud in their inception, failure to comply with any of the requirements of the laws

or regulations or for any other defect whatever, and persons who successfully contest such illegal entries shall acquire a preference right of entry similar to that acquired in a successful contest of homestead entries under existing laws.

SEC. 6. That persons entering lands of classes one and three shall pay the same fees and commissions as required under the mineral and homestead laws, respectively. Persons who purchase timber on lands of class two shall be required to pay a commission of one-fifth of one per centum of the purchase price paid, to be divided equally between the register and receiver, within the maximum compensation allowed them by law; and the register and receiver shall receive no other compensation whatever for services rendered in connection with the sales of timber under the provisions of section five of this act.

SEC. 7. That all moneys received from the disposition and sale of lands and timber under the provisions of this act shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States in a special fund to be designated "The Oregon and California Land Grant Fund,' which fund shall be disposed of in the following manner: The Commissioner of the General Land Office shall ascertain as soon as may be the exact number of acres of said lands granted to the Oregon and California Railroad Company which said company had not sold or disposed of on the day that the Attorney General filed suit against said company, as authorized and directed by the joint resolution of April thirtieth, nineteen hundred and eight (Thirty-fifth Statutes at Large, page five hundred and seventy-one); and all money derived from the sale of lands and timber, as herein before provided, shall be paid to the said railroad company, its successor or assign, until it has received a sum equal to $2.50 per acre for each acre of land so unsold, said payments to be made from time to time by the Treasurer of the United States, as the fund accumulates, upon the order of the Commissioner of the General Land Office. After said railroad company, its successor or assign, shall have been paid a sum equal to $2.50 per acre for each acre unsold as aforesaid, the proceeds derived from the sale of lands and timber, as provided in this act, shall be disposed of as follows: Forty per centum of said proceeds shall be paid to the State of Oregon for the establishment and support of common schools; forty per centum shall be paid to the respective counties in which the lands are situated to aid in the construction of roads, highways, and bridges, and for such other public purposes as the county authorities may direct; and the remaining twenty per centum shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of the United States. The moneys herein apportioned to the State of Oregon and the several counties thereof shall be paid to the treasurer of such State and counties in annual payments to be made by the Treasurer of the United States, upon the order of the Commissioner of the General Land Office, as soon as may be after the close of each fiscal year during which such moneys were received.

SEC. 8. That the Commissioner of the General Land Office, under the supervision of the Secretary of the Interior, shall have authority to enforce, by appropriate regulations, all of the provisions of this act; and any person, applicant, purchaser, entryman, or witness who shall swear falsely in any affidavit required hereunder, or under the regulations to be issued by the Commissioner of the General Land Office, shall be guilty of perjury and liable to the penalties prescribed therefor.

Hon. H. L. MYERS,

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, Washington, D. C., January 29, 1916.

Chairman Committee on Public Lands,

United States Senate.

SIR: In response to the request of your committee for information as to the law and the facts and for suggestions relating to Senate bill No. 30, Sixty-fourth Congress, first session, concerning the Oregon & California Railroad land grants, I submit the following. The figures given are, for the most part, only approximately correct, but they serve the purpose for which they are employed.

28885-PT 1-16- -2

THE LAND GRANTS.

For the purpose of "aiding" in the construction of a railroad and telegraph fine from Portland, Oreg., to the northern boundary line of California and from Portland to Astoria, in the same State, Congress, by the act of 1866, as amended by the act of 1869 and the act of 1870, granted to certain railroad companies 3,200,000 acres of land. It was provided in each act that the grantee must sell the land

to actual settlers only in quantities not greater than one-quarter section to one purchaser and at a price not exceeding $2.50 per acre

and the act of 1866 further provided that Congress might at any time, "having due regard for the rights" of the railroad companies, "add to, alter, amend, or repeal" the act. No like provision appears in the act of 1870, but the act of 1866 embraces nearly all the lands dealt with in Senate bill No. 30.

The lands patented to the railroad companies amount to 2,900,000 acres, leaving unpatented 300,000 acres.

It was stipulated at the trial of the Government's case against the railroad company hereinafter mentioned that the value of the land. embraced in the suit "exceeds thirty million dollars." To this must be added about $5,000,000 for the sold lands, making a total of $35,000,000. Some put the value as high as $50,000,000. The timber thereon, it should be observed, constitutes the chief value. The railroad company's interest in the 2,300,000 acres unsold, at $2.50 per acre, is $5,750,000. Deduct this from the total value of the lands, $35,000,000, and we have a balance of $29,250,000, the Government's present interest under the decision of the Supreme Court, as I shall presently show.

VIOLATIONS OF THE GRANTS.

Prior to 1894 few sales were made in quantities greater than 160 acres to one purchaser, but after that, and until the lands were withdrawn from sale in 1903, no attention was paid to the restrictive provisions of the grants. Sales were made of from 1,000 to 20,000 acres to a single purchaser and at prices ranging from $5 to $40 per acre, there being one sale to a single purchaser of 45,000 acres at $7 per

acre.

Previous to the institution of the Government's suit in 1908 the grantees had disposed of 820,000 acres, of which 524,000 were sold without reference to the restrictive provisions, leaving a balance of 2,300,000 acres.

THE GOVERNMENT'S SUIT.

Pursuant to the joint resolution of Congress approved April 30, 1908, the Attorney General commenced a suit in equity against the railroad company (both grants having been merged in one company) concerning this balance of 2,300,000 acres. The bill sets forth three prayers in the alternative:

(a) That the unsold lands be forfeited and the company required to account for any moneys received "on account of the lands, and for general relief." Or, if that be denied,

(b) That a receiver be appointed to sell the lands and account for the proceeds "as the court shall direct." Or, if that be denied,