MEDAL FOR VICE PRESIDENT ALBEN W. BARKLEY

JUNE 14, 1949.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. SPENCE, from the Committee on Banking and Currency, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H. J. Res. 188]

The Committee on Banking and Currency, to whom was referred the joint resolution (H. J. Res. 188) to provide for the coinage of a medal in recognition of the distinguished services of Vice President Alben W. Barkley, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the joint resolution as amended do pass.

The amendment is as follows:

Strike out the last sentence of section 2 and insert in lieu thereof the following:

The proceeds of the sale of such bronze medals shall be reimbursed to the appropriation then current for the expenditure of the Bureau of the Mint chargeable for the cost of the manufacture of medals.

In more than a third of a century of service to his country few men have ever so endeared themselves in the hearts of their fellowmen as has the present Vice President of the United States, the Honorable Alben W. Barkley. As a distinguished Member of the House of Representatives, later as an outstanding leader of the Senate and now as Vice President of the United States his wise counsel and sound statesmanship have earned for him the ever-increasing admiration and respect of both his colleagues and the American people. It is particularly fitting that the Congress provide that a gold medal be struck and presented to Vice President Barkley in recognition of his distinguished public service and outstanding contribution to the general welfare of the Nation. It is also fitting that bronze duplicates of this medal be struck and made available for sale to the general public.

It is not intended that the action of the committee in favorably reporting this joint resolution shall in any manner be considered a precedent for the authorization of similar honorary medals.

AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR TO ISSUE TO JOHN WHITE BEAR A PATENT IN FEE TO CERTAIN LANDS

JUNE 14, 1949.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed

Mr. MORRIS, from the Committee on Public Lands, submitted the

following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 2592)

The Committee on Public Lands, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 2592) to authorize and direct the Secretary of the Interior to issue to John White Bear a patent in fee to certain lands, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.

The amendments are as follows:

Page 1, line 10, add the following:

: Provided, That when the land herein described is offered for sale, the Oglala Sioux Tribe, or any Indian who is a member of said tribe, shall have ninety days in which to execute preferential rights to purchase said tract at a price offered to the seller by a prospective buyer willing and able to purchase.

EXPLANATION OF THE BILL

The purpose of this bill is to authorize the issuance of a patent in fee to John White Bear, of Pine Ridge, S. Dak., covering 320 acres of his land allotment on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. No expenditure of Federal funds is required.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has recommended against the enactment of this bill on the ground that

Mr. White Bear is neither industrious nor progressive, not a steady worker and has accomplished nothing by his efforts.

The report continues:

As he has considerable land holdings, it was suggested to him that he consolidate his land to establish a grazing unit and operate a small livestock ranch. He appears to be more interested in selling his land than in operating it. The tribe

is interested in purchasing the land as it lies in an Indian-owned area adjacent to the Oglala Community Boarding School pasture.

If Mr. White Bear's land holdings consisted only of the half section of land covered by this bill, the committee would not recommend granting a patent in fee, in view of the Bureau's comments. However, Mr. White Bear owns four sections of land (2,560 acres) in addition to that covered by H. R. 2592 and needs cattle if he is to operate it as a grazing unit. His wife owns another 200 acres of land. The half section of land which Mr. White Bear wishes to sell is noncontiguous to his other holdings. He wants to sell it so that he can use the money to purchase cattle and fully utilize the other land he owns.

The 320 acres covered by this bill is surrounded on three sides by non-Indian-owned land. It is now leased by a non-Indian who wishes to purchase it.

Mr. White Bear is a high school graduate. He has two minor children whom he is sending to school. His desire to sell an isolated tract of land in order to buy livestock, thereby enabling him to utilize his other holdings, appears entirely reasonable to the committee.

The committee has amended H. R. 2592 to provide that the Oglala Sioux Tribe or any member thereof shall have a 90-day preferential period in which to purchase this land.

Enactment of this bill, as amended, is unanimously recommended by the Committee on Public Lands.

O

PERMITTING THE PROSPECTING, DEVELOPMENT, MINING, REMOVAL, AND UTILIZATION OF THE MINERAL RESOURCES WITHIN THE SUPERIOR NATIONAL FOREST, MINN., AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

JUNE 14, 1949.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. MARSHALL, from the Committee on Public Lands, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 4895]

The Committee on Public Lands, to which was referred the bill (H. R. 4895) to permit the prospecting, development, mining, removal, and utilization of the mineral resources within the Superior National Forest, Minn., and for other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

EXPLANATION OF THE BILL

The purpose of this bill is to permit the development of mineral resources in the Superior National Forest in Minnesota. No expenditure of Federal funds is required.

Ordinarily the national forest lands reserved from the public domain are subject to the general mining laws. However, the public domain lands of Minnesota were excluded from the application of general mining laws. Lands in the Superior National Forest, Minn., were withdrawn from mineral entry by the act of February 18, 1873. (See Revised Statute 2348.)

The committee finds that permits have been issued for the mining and removal of minerals from the Superior National Forest under a ruling of the Solicitor of the Department of Agriculture. The ruling stated that since these lands were not subject to entry under the general mining laws, the minerals could be disposed of under the general authority granted to the Secretary of Agriculture by the act of June 4, 1897, "to make rules and regulations governing the occupancy and use of the national forests".