POMONA REMOUNT STATION

MAY 20, 1949.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. COOLEY, from the Committee on Agriculture, submitted the

following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 3003]

The Committee on Agriculture, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 3003) to transfer the Pomona station of the Agriculture Remount Service, Department of Agriculture, at Pomona, Calif., 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 7, insert after the word "which" the following: "tract, originally in the ownership of W. K. Kellogg,'

Page 1, line 9, strike out "by W. K. Kellogg".

STATEMENT

This bill authorizes and directs the Secretary of Agriculture to convey to the W. K. Kellogg Foundation the real property of the Agriculture Remount Station at Pomona, Calif. The property will not be used by the Government for a remount station after June 30, 1949, and in the opinion of the committee the conveyance directed by this bill is the only equitable disposal which can be made of the property. The bill was considered simultaneously with a similar bill (H. R. 3022) by Mr. Shafer.

In 1922, W. K. Kellogg of Battle Creek, Mich., purchased and developed a tract of about 812 acres, lying 4 miles west of the city of Pomona, Calif., for the purpose of propagating the Arabian horse in the United States. In addition to the cost of the land and improvements, very considerable sums were spent by Mr. Kellogg in importing the finest Arabian breeding stock and in the operation of the ranch. Mr. Kellogg personally operated the ranch and the breeding work until 1932.

In 1932, the bulk of the property was transferred to the University of California under an agreement which provided for its operation by the university for the continued breeding of Arabian horses. At the same time, Mr. Kellogg established an endowment fund with the university, in the amount of approximately $600,000, for the operation of the ranch and the furtherance of research in livestock production. The deed to the property and the instrument establishing the endowment fund provided for a reverter to the W. K. Kellogg Foundation if the property ceased to be used for the purpose for which it was donated.

In 1943, Mr. and Mrs. Kellogg and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation entered into a new agreement with the University of California under which the property was transferred to the War Department as a remount station and the university retained the endowment fund. At approximately the same time, Mr. and Mrs. Kellogg and the foundation also deeded to the United States for a consideration of $34,496.56, which was paid to the foundation, all right and interest in about 56 acres of the land containing extensive improvements which had not been conveyed to the university.

While the transfer to the United States contained no stipulation as to the use of the property, it was clearly indicated by the Secretary of War that it would become part of the Army Remount Service and would be used to continue the breeding of Arabian horses.

In 1948 it was decided to discontinue the Army Remount Service and on July 1, 1948, the entire properties of the Remount Service were transferred to the Department of Agriculture pursuant to the act of April 21, 1948 (Public Law 494, 80th Cong.). The Service is now in the process of liquidation and will not be operated after July 1, 1949. The Pomona Station would have been closed January 1, 1949, except for the interest and cooperation of the Kellogg Foundation, which has contributed $13,000 a month for its operation since that date.

The W. K. Kellogg Foundation has been endowed, chiefly by Mr. Kellogg, with approximately $48,000,000 in funds which its charter limits to expenditures for charitable and educational purposes. Any property it owns can be used only for such purposes.

If the property of the Pomona Remount Station is transferred to the foundation, it will be turned over to some educational or other institution in California under an agreement, including appropriate financial arrangements, which will provide for its use for educational purposes and for the continued breeding of Arabian horses.

If the property is not transferred to the foundation, it will probably be declared surplus on July 1, 1949, by the Department of Agriculture and disposed of on the commercial market.

DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDATION

Approval of legislation similar to H. R. 3003 was recommended by the Secretary of Agriculture in the following executive communication dated February 10, 1949.

The SPEAKER, House of RepresentativeS.

FEBRUARY 10, 1949.

DEAR MR. SPEAKER: I transmit herewith, for the consideration of the Congress, a proposed bill to transfer the Pomona station of the Agriculture Remount Service, Department of Agriculture, at Pomona, Calif., to the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Inc., of Battle Creek, Mich.

In 1922, Mr. W. K. Kellogg, of Battle Creek, purchased and developed a tract of land containing approximately 812 acres, lying about 4 miles west of the city of Pomona, Calif., to be used in propagating the Arabian horse in the United States. For this purpose, Mr. Kellogg purchased in this and in foreign countries a number of outstanding purebred Arabian horses and shipped them to his Pomona ranch for breeding. Mr. Kellogg, himself, operated the ranch and the breeding work until 1932. In that year, the property was transferred to the University of California under an agreement which provided for the continued breeding of Arabian horses. At that time Mr. Kellogg established an endowment fund with the university reported to amount to about $600,000 for the operation of the Pomona ranch and for the furtherance of research in livestock production.

As we understand the matter, Mr. Kellogg in 1943 desired to secure the property for the War Department (now Department of the Army) as a patriotic measure, in order that the breeding of Arabian horses might become a part of the program of the Army Remount Service. Mr. Kellogg thereupon induced the regents of the University of California to deed the property to the United States through the War Department for a nominal consideration. As part of the agreement with the regents, Mr. Kellogg permitted the university to retain the endowment fund mentioned previously.

During the period that the Pomona ranch was held by the university, there was within the property an improved tract of about 52 acres retained by Mr. Kellogg as a country estate on which he lived for a portion of each year and on which his daughter maintained a residence. This tract of 52 acres, Mr. Kellogg sold to the United States, together with all improvements for the sum of $34,496.56. It is our belief that this sum represents the appraised value of a life interest held by the daughter in an improved tract of about 5 acres. The remainder of the tract of 52 acres would appear to be a donation. This purchase was made by the War Department in order to have title to all of the land lying within the boundaries of the station, including two reservoirs which are an important part of the water system of the station. While the instruments conveying the property to the United States contained no stipulations as to its use or other reservation, a letter addressed to Mr. Kellogg at that time by the Secretary of War, Henry L. Stimson, indicated a clear understanding that the property would become an important part of the Army Remount Service and that the property would continue to be used for the breeding of Arabian horses.

By an act of Congress approved April 21, 1948 (Public Law 494), the Pomona station, together with the three other remount stations and all horses and other property of the Army Remount Service, was transferred to the Department of Agriculture. The act directed the Secretary of Agriculture to administer the property in such manner as would best advance the livestock and agricultural interests of the United States, including improvement in the breeding of horses suited to the needs of the United States. Public Law 785, Eightieth Congress, approved June 25, 1948, appropriated the sum of $425,000 to carry out the provisions of Public Law 494 for the fiscal year 1949. This sum was not sufficient to operate the four remount stations acquired from the Department of the Army and it was determined to close two of the stations. The station at Front Royal, Va., has already been closed as a remount station and the property will be utilized in carrying out experiments in livestock and pasture improvement in cooperation with the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station.

When the decision to close the Pomona station became generally known, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, an organization established to carry out the philanthropic plans of W. K. Kellogg, expressed a desire to acquire the property on behalf of Mr. Kellogg in order that it may be used in the future in the general welfare through educational, or other means, with the provision, however, for the continued use of a part of the property for the breeding of Arabian horses. Inasmuch as lack of funds would have necessitated the closing of the Pomona station on December 31, 1948, the Kellogg Foundation has entered into a cooperative agreement with this Department providing for the continued operation of the station until June 30, 1949, or until the termination of the agreement by either party, whichever occurs first. The foundation is contributing the sum of $13,000 monthly to meet its responsibility under the cooperative agreement.

In the President's budget for the fiscal year 1950, transmitted to the Congress on January 10, 1949, there is no provision for an appropriation to carry out the program of the Agriculture Remount Service. It is necessary, therefore, to dispose of all the property as a remount service.

In reviewing the history of the Pomona station from its establishment in 1922 to the present time, it is our opinion that the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, repre

senting the philanthropic interests of W. K. Kellogg who was primarily responsi ble for the transfer of the property to the United States has a strong equitable interest in the return of the property. This interest, we believe, arises out of the following incidents:

1. Development of the property in 1922 for the propagation of Arabian horses in this country.

2. Agreement incident to the transfer in 1932 to the University of California that the breeding of Arabian horses would be continued.

3. In 1943, relinquishment of the substantial sum of about $600,000 to the University as a condition precedent to the transfer of property to the United States. 4. In 1943, sale of additional property to the United States by Mr. Kellogg at a price far below its true value which must have been for the purpose of giving clear title to an unbroken tract of land.

5. Understanding between War Department officials and Mr. Kellogg that property would continue indefinitely in the breeding of Arabian horses, as indicated by Mr. Stimson's letter mentioned previously

6. Lack of funds for continued Federal operation of the property as a remount station.

7. Expressed desire of the Kellogg Foundation that the property be used in the general welfare, educational and health, which will undoubtedly call for further expenditures by the foundation.

8. Failure of Foundation to acquire property will perhaps result in sale to private persons for personal gain.

In view of the foregoing, it is our view that there is ample justification for an act of Congress transferring the property to the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, and the enclosed draft bill is recommended for the favorable consideration of the Congress.

The Bureau of the Budget advises that, from the standpoint of the President's program, there is no objection to the submission of this proposed legislation. A similar letter is being sent to the President of the Senate.

Sincerely,

CHARLES F. BRANNAN, Secretary.

81ST CONGRESS 1st Session

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

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REPORT No. 645

CITRUS BLACKFLY, WHITE-FRINGED BEETLE AND THE HALL SCALE

MAY 20, 1949.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. COOLEY, from the Committee on Agriculture, submitted the following

REPORT

(To accompany H. R. 4263]

The Committee on Agriculture, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 4263) to amend section 102 (a) of the Department of Agriculture Organic Act of 1944 to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out operations to combat the citrus blackfly, white-fringed beetle, and the Hall scale, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

STATEMENT

Section 102 of the Department of Agriculture Organic Act of 1944 (7 U. S. C. 147a) is the section of the act authorizing the Secretary of Agriculture to carry out, independently or on a cooperative basis, operations or measures to eradicate, suppress, control, or prevent or retard the spread of certain specified insect pests and plant diseases known to be destructive to our agriculture.

Pests and plant diseases now included in the section are Japanese beetle, sweetpotato weevil, Mexican fruit flies, citrus canker, gypsy and brown-tail moth, Dutch elm disease, phony peach and peach mosaic, cereal rusts, corn borer, and pink bollworm and thurberia weevil. The section contains a proviso which authorizes the Secretary to cooperate with Mexican authorities in carrying out control operations in Mexico against three of these pests, viz, Mexican fruitflies, pink bollworm, and thurberia weevil.

Authority to conduct general research and experiments on insect pests and plant diseases-and to conduct emergency preventive or eradication measures in the United States in the case of acute outbreaks is contained elsewhere in the act and is not affected or changed in any way by this legislation.