STATEMENT OF THE MANAGERS ON THE PART OF THE HOUSE.

The effect of the change agreed upon in conference is to strike from the House amendment the following language: "Provided alienated land shall be acquired in the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior at a cost of not more than $5 per acre."

There are only 80 acres of alienated land in the proposed park. It is not desired to purchase said land.

CONGRESS

REIMBURSEMENT

TO UNITED

STATES FOR MOTIVE

POWER, CARS, ETC., ORDERED FOR RAILROADS.

NOVEMBER 14, 1919.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed.

Mr. MERRITT, from the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, submitted the following

REPORT.

[To accompany S. 3319.]

The Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, to whom was referred the bill (S. 3319) to provide for the reimbursement of the United States for motive power, cars, and other equipment ordered for railroads and systems of transportation under Federal control, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report thereon with amendment and as so amended recommend that it pass. Amend the bill as follows:

After the word "corporation" in lines 1 and 2, page 2, insert a

comma.

In line 2, page 2, after the word "carrier, insert a comma. In line 17, page 2, strike out the words "any other provisions and insert the following words: "the first paragraph."

In line 22, page 2, after the words "provisions of," insert the following words: "the first and second paragraphs of."

The Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, having considered H. R. 10209, asks to have S. 3319, already passed by the Senate and identically the same bill, considered in lieu of H. R. 10209, and recommends that the bill do pass as amended.

The bill gives the President power to receive for the reimbursement of the United States, for approximately $400,000,000 advanced to provide motive power, cars, etc., for the railroads and other transportation systems, certain shares of stock or obligations of a corporation to be organized for the purpose of owning such equipment or equipment obligations, the general arrangement being what is briefly and generally known as an equipment trust.

It is thought by the Railroad Administration that the President. already has such power under the Federal control act of March 21, 1918, but the counsel for the bankers, who propose to sell the securities of the equipment trust corporation, advised that the power is not certain, and hence the necessity of passing this enabling act.

The object of the act and the formation of the corporation is to provide means for financing approximately said sum of $400,000,000, which the United States has advanced for the purchase of railway equipment, and it is agreed by the Railroad Administration and by the bankers that such an equipment trust is the only feasible plan under which the Government can be reimbursed by the public for a considerable part of this $400,000,000. In round figures the plan contemplates that as a result of this operation the Government will receive approximately $225,000,000, while the Railroad Administration will have to take the obligations of the equipment corporation for approximately $175,000,000. These figures will probably be slightly and proportionately reduced, as it is probable that the entire obligation will not amount to as much as $400,000,000.

The plan proposed seems to provide absolute security for the equipment trust obligations which are sold to the public, and at the same time to make it sure that the United States will eventually be reimbursed for its total expenditure, and, as above stated, it will immediately receive in cash some $225,000,000, which would not be practicable under any other plan proposed.

The details of the arrangement and in fact whether this arrangement or some modification of it will be entered into are, by the act, left to the discretion of the President.

This enabling act has received the indorsement of the United States Railroad Administration, as is evidenced by copy of a letter, printed herewith, from Mr. Sherley, Director of the Division of Finance of the United States Railroad Administration.

UNITED STATES RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION,

Washington, October 27, 1919.

MY DEAR MR. ESCH: In accordance with power conferred upon him by the second paragraph of section 6 of the act of March 21, 1918, commonly called the Federal control act, the President through the Director General of Railroads ordered for the railroads under Federal control a large number of freight cars and locomotives which were allocated to the several railroads in varying numbers.

To enable the railroad corporations to reimburse the United States for the cars and locomotives ordered for them it was agreed after consultation between the representatives of the Director General of Railroads and the several railroad corporations and the bankers whose services and facilities the railroads ordinarily used in the financing of their obligations, that it was desirable to finance as far as might be ticable through a single equipment trust the equipment so ordered and allocated.

prac

Pursuant to this determination a financial plan was worked out by the group of bankers. Upon the submission of the plan, the railroad companies and the Railroad Administration agreed that it was satisfactory as a basis for carrying out the proposed equipment trust. A copy of said plan is attached hereto. After the presentation of this plan counsel for the bankers reached the conclusion that there was doubt as to the power of the Director General, under the act of March 21, 1918, to consummate it. We have not concurred in this opinion, but inasmuch as the bankers who are expected to market the securities are unwilling to act against the advice of their counsel, it seems necessary, if a plan along the lines suggested by them is to be carried out, to ask of Congress legislation that will remove the doubt expressed, and we beg to advise that the bill which is presented for the consideration of your committee is in our judgment, as to form and scope, satisfactory for this purpose, and in view of the circumstances above set forth, we should be glad if the same, meeting with the approval of Congress, should be enacted.

Sincerely, yours,

Hon. J. J. ESCH,

House of Representatives, Washington, D. C.

SWAGAR SHERLEY, Director Division of Finance.

ALLOTMENT OF LANDS, CROW TRIBE OF INDIANS.

NOVEMBER 14, 1919.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed.

Mr. HERNANDEZ, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, submitted the following

REPORT.

[To accompany S. 2890.]

Your Committee on Indian Affairs has considered S. 2890, providing for the allotment of the lands of the Crow Tribe, for the distribution of tribal funds, and for other purposes, and with amendments recommend that the bill do pass.

This bill is important in that it distributes among the Crow Tribe a large tract of land which is among the richest and most fertile territory in the State of Montana. The Indians have reached a position where, in the opinion of your committee, the ownership of these lands can be safely intrusted to them. Exhaustive hearings were held in the Senate and the report of that body bears out the assertion that the allotment of this land should be made.

Your committee has made amendments to the bill principally for the reason that the lands affected under its provisions are now to a great extent subject to 5 and 10 year leases. Your committee is of the opinion that it would be unfair to the Indian whose lands are to be disposed of under these long-term leases to allow them to be acquired by the lessees in large tracts, for the reason that lands encumbered by leases for a long term ordinarily do not sell to the best advantage. Your committee further believes that with the amendments suggested the Indians are fully protected in their rights; that the time has arrived when these lands should be allotted, and that the allotment would contribute to a large extent to the satisfaction and benefit of the tribe. Therefore your committee reports favorably upon the bill as amended and recommends its passage. The amendments are as follows:

Page 3, line 12, after the word "person," insert the words "company or corporation."

Page 3, line 12, after the word "owns," strike out the words "at least" and insert the words "at the time of approval more than."

Page 3, line 14, after the word "Reservation," insert the words "nor shall any sale be made by any Indian to any person, company, or corporation of more than 640 acres of land.”

Page 3, line 21, after the word "imprisonment" insert a semicolon and the words "and no land shall be sold or offered for sale by any Crow Indian upon which there is an unexpired lease. Any sale made in violation of this provision shall be void."

Page 4, line 2, before the word "tribe," insert the word "Crow"; same line, strike out the word "at" and insert the words "six months after."

Page 4, section 4, after the word "may," strike out the comma and the words "upon request of the tribal council."

Page 4, line 24, change the word "provision" to the word "provisions."

Page 5, line 22, strike out the word "mineral" and insert the word "mining."

Page 6, line 9, change the word "fifty" to the word "twenty-five.' Page 6, line 25, after the word "constructed," add the words "by the Government for the irrigation of Indian lands."

Page 10, line 2, after the word "Indians," strike out the colon and words beginning with "Provided" to and including the word "council."

Page 11, line 8, after the word "of," insert the word "live." Page 11, line 13, after the word "the," insert the word "live." Page 11, line 25, strike out the word "them" and insert in lieu thereof the words "such live stock."

So that the bill will read>

AN ACT To provide for the allotment of lands of the Crow Tribe, for the distribution of tribal funds, and for other purposes.

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 he hereby is, authorized and directed to cause to be allotted the surveyed lands and such unsurveyed lands as lie north of the line between townships five and six south, together with such unsurveyed lands contiguous to those now surveyed and within two miles therefrom as the commission hereinafter provided for may find to be suitable for allotment, within the Crow Indian Reservation in Montana, not herein reserved as hereinafter provided, among the members of the Crow Tribe, as follows, namely, one hundred and sixty acres to the heirs of every enrolled member entitled to allotment, who died unallotted after December 31, 1905, and before the passage of this act; next, one hundred and sixty acres to every allotted member living at the date of the passage of this act, who may then be the head of a family and has not received allotment as such head of a family; and thereafter to prorate the remaining unallotted allotable lands and allot them so that every enrolled member living on the date of the passage of this act and entitled to allotment shall receive in the aggregate an equal share of the allotable tribal lands for his total allotment of land of the Crow Tribe. Allotments made hereunder shall vest title in the allottee, subject only to existing tribal leases, which leases in no event shall be renewed or extended by the Secretary of the Interior after the passage of this act, and shall as hereinafter provided be evidenced by patents in fee to competent Indians, except as to homesteads as hereinafter provided, but by trust patent to minors and incompetent Indians, the force and legal effect of the trust patents to be as is prescribed by the general allotment act of February 8, 1887 (Twentyfourth Statutes, page 388). Priority of selection, up to three hundred and twenty acres, is hereby given to the members of the tribe who have as yet received no allotment on the Crow Reservation, and thereafter all members enrolled for allotment hereunder shall in all respects be entitled to equal rights and privileges, as far as possible, in regard to the time, manner, and amount of their respective selections: Provided, That Crow Indians who are found to be competent may elect, in writing, to have their allotments, except as herein provided, patented to them in fee. Otherwise trust patents shall be issued to them. No patent in fee shall be issued for lands