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Klamath Agency administration budget deducted leaving balance as of Nov. 20, 1957

2, 485, 044. 97 3,803, 796. 71 853, 200.00

2,950, 596. 71

2, 190, 649. 76 759, 946. 95

Senator NEUBERGER. I think you are aware, if I am not mistaken that I managed to get a bill through the Senate last year to reimburse the tribal funds for what the Interior Department estimated to be the full termination costs.

Mrs. CRAWFORD. No, it could not possibly be, Senator Neuberger. In addition to all of these funds, we are losing costs in timber mortality and interest on money

Senator NEUBERGER. We are talking about tribal funds. We got a bill through the Senate to reimburse the tribe for their termination costs and the House of Representatives cut it in half. I just want the record to show that.

I wanted to ask you one question, Mrs. Crawford. Last October you said this at our subcommittee hearing in Oregon :

I am willing to go along with you if you can show me that we are getting a fair price for our property, because I want to be fair to you and everybody else, but I want this everlasting propaganda stopped against the Indians.

The question I wanted to ask you is this: If you felt that the appraisal price was fair, would you be willing to support one of these two bills that is presently before this subcommittee?

Mrs. CRAWFORD. I have to say to you, Senator, that I must have the appraisal, a certified appraisal, from the people who are employed and paid with our tribal fund, before I can answer you intelligently. Senator NEUBERGER. Thank you very much, Mrs. Crawford. We appreciate both you and your husband coming here today and giving us the benefit of your opinions.

Mr. CRAWFORD. Thank you, Senator Neuberger.

Senator NEUBERGER. I had hoped to conclude the hearings today, but we are going to hear from Mr. C. Robert Mathis, because I believe that the statements made in his letter should be amplified for the hearing's record.

There are a number of items I want included in the record. I have an article from the Christian Century, entitled, "Klamath Tribe Nears Crisis."

There are a great many messages which I think Mr. Gamble, the clerk, can classify and include as he sees fit and at his discretion, and some opinions and statements from representative groups in the State of Oregon and elsewhere.

The American Law Division of the Library of Congress has submitted at my request an analytical study of S. 3051 that will be inserted in the appendix.

We also have the chronological record of the informational meetings with tribal members and information made available to tribal members regarding termination proceedings. This has been received from the Management Specialists and made available to me through Mr. Lee of the Indian Affairs Bureau.

I believe it is a most impressive record and it bears out my opinion that the Management Specialists have made a conscientious effort to acquaint the tribal members with the proceeding and plans and programs contemplated and undertaken and I am going to ask that the full list of these various undertakings in context appear in the record. Senator NEUBERGER. Do you have anything else, Mr. Coburn? Mr. COBURN. No, I do not.

Senator NEUBERGER. We will stand in recess subject to the call of the committee chairman.

(Whereupon, at 12:04 p. m., the hearing in the above-entitled matter was recessed.)

AMENDMENTS TO THE KLAMATH TERMINATION ACT

OF 1954

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 1958

UNITED STATES SENATE,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS OF THE
COMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS,

Washington, D. C.

The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 3 p. m., in room 224 of the Senate Office Building, Senator Richard L. Neuberger (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.

Present: Senator Neuberger.

Present also: Hon. Al Ullman, Representative, Second Congressional District of Oregon; William H. Coburn, special counsel; James H. Gamble, professional staff member; Robert Wolf, forestry consultant, Subcommittee on Indian Affairs; and N. D. McSherry, assistant chief clerk.

Senator NEUBERGER. The subcommittee will be in order.

I would like to state for the record that this additional phase of the hearings on S. 2047 and on S. 3051 was called for the purpose of hearing the views and information and testimony of Mr. C. Robert Mathis. Mr. Mathis is a member of the legal firm of Davies, Richberg, Tydings, Landa & Duff, of 1000 Vermont Avenue NW., Washington, D. C.

On February 6, 1958, the subcommittee on Indian Affairs of the Interior Committee received from Mr. Mathis a letter which as I understand is already in the record. I will just incorporate it by reference again.

I should like to say that the key paragraph in the letter from Mr. Mathis, which occasioned this additional hearing, is the following, and I will quote it in full.

We represent a client who for some time has been and still is very much interested in purchasing the entire Klamath Forest, and all Klamath tribal lands for a cash consideration.

Because of the great responsibility which the subcommittee has regarding the future destiny of the Klamath Indian Reservation and its valuable resources and of our obligation to see that a fair and adequate settlement is made with the members of the Klamath Indian Tribe, it seemed to me that this hearing record would not be complete unless we obtained from Mr. Mathis all possible information and facts about the representation contained in his letter to us of February 6.

With that brief introduction, Mr. Mathis, we shall be pleased to hear from you, sir.

98089-58-pt. 2-15

525

STATEMENT OF C. ROBERT MATHIS, OF DAVIES, RICHBERG, TYDINGS, LANDA & DUFF, WASHINGTON, D. C.

Mr. MATHIS. Mr. Chairman, thank you.

After the letter of February 6, which was addressed to the chairman of this committee, I addressed a letter to the Honorable Hatfield Chilson, the Under Secretary of the Interior, dated February 7, 1958, and enclosed a copy of my letter to you.

At this time I should like to offer a copy of my letter to Under Secretary Chilson, and read it if I may.

MY DEAR MR. CHILSON: We enclose herewith for your information copy of letter which we have delivered today to Senator Neuberger, chairman of the Indian Affairs Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs.

We would have preferred to have discussed this matter with you before you appeared before the committee as a witness, but did not do so because we had no information that you planned to testify on these bills. We would also like to have discussed the subject of the letter with you before delivering it to Senator Neuberger, but we are informed that the hearings will probably be closed today and we were anxious to have the information contained in our letter incorporated in the record of the proceeding.

Before dispatching this letter to Senator Neuberger, we discussed the subject of it with our client; and he presently is interested in purchasing the Klamath properties in a cash transaction provided that they can be obtained at a fair market value without encumbrances by conveyance which may be unacceptable to him.

This potential purchaser would be interested in managing the property on a sustained-yield basis, but would not desire to be limited by Government regulations or forfeiture conditions such as those set forth in the subject legislation. It is difficult to perceive that any purchaser would be willing to buy the property under the conditions as set forth in section 28b of H. R. 10375 or similar provisions.

We would appreciate it very much if you will communicate with Senator Neuberger, informing him of our discussions with you during the middle of 1957, so that the record will be complete. If you elect to write to Senator Neuberger, will you please send a copy to the undersigned.

Sincerely,

DAVIES, RICHBERG, TYDINGS, LANDA & DUFF, By C. ROBERT MATHIS.

Senator NEUBERGER. Please proceed, Mr. Mathis.

Mr. MATHIS. For some time we have represented a client who has indicated a definite and strong interest in the purchase of the timberlands that are owned or designated as the Klamath Indian Reservation.

Before writing this letter to you, Mr. Chairman, I cleared its contents with our client so that I would be sure of where I stood on the statements that I made in there.

He approved my filing the letter with the committee.

At the present time he is not in a position to enter a bid under the Public Act because the land has not been offered for sale, and no appraisal or cruise of the timber has been made available to the public.

I do not know how we would go about getting that information. We would like the committee, if it can, to use its efforts to make such information available to prospective purchasers.

Recently a notice was published, a copy of which perhaps is in your record, indicating that these lands would soon be up for sale.

Pursuant to that, I requested that my name be placed on the list of those who would receive information regarding this sale. The notice was dated January 20, 1958, Klamath Falls, Oreg., over the name of T. B. Watters. Whether or not we have to go to Klamath

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