Judith Mountains forest fire, Sept. 2, 1937-Continued

R. F. Cranston, being first duly sworn deposes and says:

That he is a duly elected, qualified, and acting member of the Board of County Commissioners of Fergus County, Mont., and is and was at all of the times herein mentioned, the chairman of said board of county commissioners; that said board of county commissioners on or about the 30th day of August 1937 ordered and authorized Pat McEnerney to take charge of a crew of men for and on behalf of Fergus County, Mont., for the purpose of extinguishing a certain forest fire, then raging in the Judith Mountains in Fergus County, Mont.; that the said Pat McEnerney did take charge of said crew of men and the extinguishing of said forest fire on or about the said 30th day of August 1937 and for a period of approximately 3 weeks the said Pat McEnerney was in charge of said crew of men in fighting and extinguishing said forest fire; that the said fire was burning in the timber and grass lands in said mountains over lands owned principally by the United States Government, which said lands were unappropriated lands covered mostly with timber and grasses; that it was necessary for Fergus County to fight and extinguish said fire in order to protect the surrounding Government lands, which consist of several thousand acres in that vicinity and also the adjoining privately owned lands; that the principal acreage located in the vicinity where said fire was raging at that time is Government-owned lands of the United States of America; that the destruction of said timber of said lands would destroy the watershed of the said mountains to the great detriment of the agricultural lands surrounding the said mountains as said destruction of timber would permit the running-off of the snows and rains to the detriment of the surrounding lands and also would permit the destruction of the soil and vegetation growing on said land; that said Fergus County, Mont., in the fighting of said fire paid for labor, supplies, transportation, and other incidental expenses the total sum of $1,675.04, all of which was a necessary and proper charge in fighting and extinguishing said fire; that the total amount of the same was paid

by warrants issued on the general fund of said Fergus County, Mont., and that the same has not been repaid to Fergus County, Mont. R. F. CRANSTON, Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners of Fergus County, Mont. Subscribed and sworn to before me this 31st day of March 1938. [SEAL] AARON R. SHULL, Notary Public for the State of Montana, Residing at Lewistown, Mont. My commission expires July 9, 1938.

75TH CONGRESS 3d Session

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

REPORT No. 2291

HOLDERS OF UNPAID NOTES AND WARRANTS OF VERDE RIVER, ARIZ., IRRIGATION AND POWER DISTRICT

MAY 5, 1938.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House and ordered to be printed

Mr. RYAN, from the Committee on Claims, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany S. 3002]

The Committee on Claims, to whom was referred the bill (S. 3002) to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to make settlement with the holders of certain unpaid notes and warrants of the Verde River Irrigation and Power District, having considered the same, report thereon with the recommendation that it do pass with the following amendments:

Page 1, line 4, after the word "pay", insert "in full settlement of all such claims against the United States,".

Amend the title of the bill to read:

For the relief of the holders of the unpaid notes and warrants of the Verde River Irrigation and Power District, Arizona.

STATEMENT OF FACTS

This proposed legislation directs the Federal Emergency Administrator of Public Works to pay, in full settlement of all such claims against the United States, out of any unexpended fund under his control, not to exceed $46,024.41, in making settlements with the holders of the unpaid notes and warrants of the Verde River Irrigation and Power District issued in payment for property, services, or supplies furnished, in furtherance of the Verde reclamation project, Arizona, to the district during the period from November 2, 1933, when an allotment of $4,000,000 for the construction of the Verde project was authorized by the said Administrator, to October 3, 1934, when said allotment was canceled, with the provisions that any expenditures of the district not incurred as a result of the proposed construction of said Verde reclamation project with funds of the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works shall not be approved for payment; and that in making said settlement with the holders of said notes and

H. Repts., 75–3, vol. 2- -63

warrants, the Administrator shall consider the reasonable value of the services performed or materials furnished, for which said notes or warrants were given; and where said notes or warrants have been transferred by the original holders, the Administrator shall also consider the price or prices paid by the transferees.

In its amended form, the bill has the approval of the Interior Department, and inasmuch as we concur in the Department's findings, and the facts as determined by the Senate Claims Committee, the latter's report is hereto appended and made a part of this report. A clause providing that the settlements made shall be in full against the United States has been inserted by your committee, and the title of the bill has been amended to conform with its language.

[S. Rept. No. 1391, 75th Cong., 3d sess.]

The Committee on Claims, to whom was referred the bill (S. 3002) to authorize the Secretary of the Treasury to make settlement with the holders of certain unpaid notes and warrants of the Verde River Irrigation and Power District, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with the recommendation that the bill do pass with the following amendment:

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof the following: "That the Federal Emergency Administrator of Public Works is hereby authorized to pay, out of any unexpended fund under his control, not to exceed $46,024.41 in making settlements with the holders of the unpaid notes and warrants of the Verde River Irrigation and Power District issued in payment for property, services, or supplies furnished in furtherance of the Verde reclamation project, Arizona, to the district during the period from November 2, 1933, when an allotment of $4,000,000 for the construction of the Verde project was authorized by the said Administrator, to October 3, 1934, when said allotment was canceled: Provided, That any expenditures of the district not incurred as a result of the proposed construction of said Verde reclamation project with funds of the Federal Emergency Administration of Public Works shall not be approved for payment under this act: Provided further, That in making said settlement with the holders of said notes and warrants the Administrator shall consider the reasonable value of the services performed or materials furnished for which said notes or warrants were given; and where said notes or warrants have been transferred by the original holders, the Administrator shall also consider the price or prices paid by the transferees.'

The Acting Secretary of the Interior recommends enactment of this bill, with certain minor changes.

On November 2, 1933, an allotment of $4,000,000 was made under title II of the act of June 16, 1933 (48 Stat. 210), for the construction of the Verde reclamation project in Arizona, for the irrigation of lands in the Verde River Irrigation and Power District. Before work was started, a careful investigation of the project showed it to be economically infeasible, on account of the high per-acre cost, estimated to be $472. The unexpended and unobligated portion of the allocation was canceled October 3, 1934. During the period while the allotment was outstanding, the district incurred considerable expense in connection with the project, and issued warrants and notes to meet its obligations for such expense. The holders of these notes and warrants have not been paid.

At the time the said funds were allocated, the district had outstanding contracts with other parties for the construction of the project which presented legal obstacles to the immediate undertaking of the project by the United States. At the suggestion of the Department of the Interior the district undertook to clear away these obstacles before execution of a contract with the United States and thus incurred considerable legal expense which undoubtedly would not have been incurred if the construction of the project was not believed assured.

The itemized account of notes and warrants issued by the district between November 3, 1933, and October 2, 1934, presents a total of $46,024.41. In its original form the bill authorized payment up to $56,000 in settlement of these claims. No reason is shown for this discrepancy, and the maximum amount made available in the bill should be reduced to that submitted in the district's account, or $46,024.41.