PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS-NO. 10

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND GROUNDS,

Wednesday, December 15, 1926.

The committee this day met, Hon. Richard N. Elliott, chairman, presiding.

The CHAIRMAN. Gentlemen, the committee will be in order. Before we begin consideration of H. R. 14687, which was introduced by Mr. Underhill to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to acquire certain lands within the District of Columbia to be used as sites for public buildings, there is H. R. 13481, introduced by Mr. Watres to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to accept the title for post office site at Olyphant, Pa., with mineral reservations, that I desire to call to the attention of the committee. We will now hear from Mr. Watres for a few minutes on H. R. 13481. (H. R. 13481 reads as follows:)

[H. R. 13481, Sixty-ninth Congress, second session]

A BILL Authorizing the Secretary of the Treasury to accept title for post-office site at Olyphant, Pa., with mineral reservations

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the provision of the public building act of March 4, 1913, which authorizes the acquisition of a suitable site for the post office at Olyphant, Pennsylvania, be, and the same is hereby amended as follows:

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'Provided, That the Secretary of the Treasury may, in his discretion, accept a title which reserves or excepts all ores or minerals on the lands, with the right of mining same."

STATEMENT OF HON, LAURENCE H. WATRES, REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF PENNSYLVANIA

Mr. WATRES. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, H. R. 13481 was introduced by me on December 6, 1926, and is to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to accept title for post-office site at Olyphant, Pa., with mineral reservations. The fact of the matter is that there is not, I believe, a square foot of ground in the town of Olyphant that is not undermined. It is entirely underlaid with coal. Most of the mining has already been done, and therefore there is no adequate support of the surface at the present time. It is a matter of providing proper support. No ground could be secured which would not have a mineral reservation attached to the title. That, briefly speaking, is the substance of the bill. I do not believe

there is anything more than can be said. It is a matter of finding some support after the coal has been taken out.

Mr. LANHAM. Has a building already been authorized for Olyphant, Pa.?

Mr. WATRES. Yes; that is true.

Mr. LANHAM. Under the act of March 4, 1913?

Mr. WATRES. Yes; and, further, under the act of May 25, 1926. Mr. LANHAM. The act of May 25, 1926, simply made reference back to the act of March 4, 1913, and provided for the construction of those buildings which had not been erected under the act of March 4, 1913?

Mr. WATRES. Yes; I believe that is right.

Mr. LANHAM. Is there a special site contemplated for this particular post office?

Mr. WATRES. There have been several sites reported on, but I do not know that any particular site has been determined upon.,

Mr. LANHAM. Would the fact that there has been mining there make the foundation of a building so insecure that it would not be practicable to construct a building on one of these sites?

Mr. WATRES. No; because there are new buildings being constructed there all the time. There is no site, as a matter of fact, where a mineral reservation would not be necessary. Substantial buildings of considerable size are being erected there all the time. Mr. LANHAM. Are there any other minerals or ores there except coal?

Mr. WATRES. No.

Mr. Cox. Did I understand you to say that the coal has been removed? Mr. WATRES. The first mining has been done. However, that means that the coal has not been entirely removed in all cases. The first mining has been done, leaving pillars sufficient for support. I may say, Mr. Chairman, that I think in practically all of those towns the mining companies have done what they call flushing, which means that they have flushed culm back into the voids from where the coal has been taken, and that provides adequate support for the surface.

Mr. LANHAM. Is this bill as drawn satisfactory to the Treasury Department and the Supervising Architect?

Mr. WATRES. I understand so, because it was drawn in consultation with the office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury.

The CHAIRMAN. The Chairman will say that he called on the Treasury Department for a report on this bill and he understands a report has been made, although it has not as yet been received. However, the Secretary of the Treasury and the Supervising Architect are with us this morning.

Mr. MELLON. I am familiar with that section of the State of Pennsylvania and with the question of the locations where the coal has been mined. It all depends upon the depth of the coal and the time at which it was mined. If the coal is near enough to the surface, the land will all settle in time. The only question is whether it has settled-whether there is a substantial settlement and foundation.

The CHAIRMAN. Would the passage of this bill in any way hamper or handicap the work of the Treasury Department in the matter of construction?

Mr. MELLON. No; it might be essential or necessary in order to make the best location available the proper location.

Mr. WOODRUM. Mr. Watres, in the event some site is selected for the location of the postoffice and the ground has not been mined, with this mineral reservation the owners of the land would have a right to go there and mine under the postoffice building; is that right?

Mr. WATRES. That is correct, according to my understanding.

Mr. WOODRUM. Is there any question as to whether it might endanger the foundation of the Federal building if the building is put upon the land from which the coal has been taken? }

Mr. WATRES. There is no ground but what is underlaid with coal, and I understand that there could be there is no ground but what the first mining has already been done under. I can not state that as a positive fact and from my own knowledge, but I have been informed by the postmaster at Olyphant that under both of the sites which are being considered by the Treasury Department, the first mining has been done and culm has been flushed back into the voids created by the removal of the coal.

Mr. WOODRUM. That would make the surface secure, provided there is no further mining done there; but suppose there is further mining done after the erection of the building?

Mr. WATRES. If that should be done, it would be necessary to make further and adequate provisions for support of the surface. Mr. REED. Is there any obligation resting upon the coal companies to furnish that adequate support in case they do further mining there?

Mr. WATRES. No; there probably would not be.

Mr. WOODRUM. What is the estimated cost of the building that is to be erected at Olyphant?

Mr. WATRES. I think the appropriation calls for $50,000.

Mr. MELLON. If I may speak at this time, I will say that the Supreme Court of the State of Pennsylvania has decided that the mining companies are obliged to adequately support the surface in the event of withdrawing coal from beneath the surface.

Mr. WOODRUM. Can that be done with safety to the building? Mr. MELLON. This particular location may have been mined out and flushed back, and it will probably require an investigation by the Treasury Department to determine what actual conditions are. I think there are two seams of coal in that territory. There is the seam of 8 feet where the coal is made into Connellsville coke, and above that is a seam of 4 feet.

Mr. WOODRUM. The question I had in mind is this: The fact that it is desirable to put this mineral reservation in the title would suggest that there is an intention to do mining there in the future or to take coal out from beneath the site?

Mr. WATRES. This is simply following a general practice, and these reservations have been made for many and many years. Every deed for every lot in our city reserves the mineral rights. They were reserved by the original owners, and we can not get away from