After sufficient ore had accumulated in stockpiles large-scale tests could be made on the ores and a flow sheet designed. The sampler would furnish enough data in regard to the proper size of the mill for the district. After the mill was erected the ores could be treated directly in the mill and any deficiency in the daily supply could be made up from the stockpile in order that the mill be operated continously.

Ores above a certain value per ton are to be shipped to smelters, the object of the custom plant being to take ores which under existing conditions are not commercial.

By first stockpiling the ores, as above outlined, the risks inherent in all mining ventures are to some extent eliminated. The risk the Government would have to take would be on the capital outlay for sampling plants. Bearing in mind that the sampler would handle ores hauled in by trucks and not railroad cars it might be possible to construct standard samplers at reasonable costs.

The Government would lose the interest on the money paid for ores stockpiled, but since this is primarily an unemployment relief measure some loss is to be expected.

In general the above project is substantially self-liquidating, and in areas containing available ores of gold, silver, and the strategic war minerals, it is estimated that the relief rolls will be permanently reduced to a marked degree.

AUTHORIZING EXCHANGE AUTHORITY AND ADDITION OF PUBLIC LANDS TO WILLAMETTE NATIONAL FOREST, OREG.

Mar 9, 1935.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of

the Union and ordered to be printed

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

following

REPORT

[To accompany H. R. 1418)

The Committee on the Public Lands, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 1418), to authorize an extension of exchange authority and addition of public lands to the Willamette National Forest in the State of Oregon, after careful consideration of same, report favorably thereon with the recommendation that the bill do pass the House with the following amendment:

Page 2, insert the following section, to be known as "Section 2.":

SEC. 2. Any lands within the above described area which are part of the land grant to the Oregon and California Railroad Company, title to which revested in the United States under the act of June 9, 1916 (39 Stat. 218), shall remain subject to all laws relating to said revested land grant.

Facts concerning the proposed legislation are set forth in the favorable report of the Secretary of the Interior, under date of April 23, 1935, and the favorable report of the Secretary of Agriculture, under date of April 25, 1935, which reports are hereinbelow set out in full and made a part of this report, as follows:

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

Washington, April 28, 1985. Hon. RENÉ L. DEROUEN, Chairman Committee on the Public Lands,

House of Representatives. MY DEAR MR. DEROUEN: I have received your request for report on H. R. 418, to authorize an extension of exchange authority and addition of public ends to the Willamette National Forest in the State of Oregon.

The bill would extend the provisions of the National Forest Exchange Act of Iarch 20, 1922. (42 Stat. 465), as amended, over lands in private ownership ithin the therein-described area adjacent to said forest, and would authorize idition thereto by proclamation of the President of the lands in public ownership ithin such area where found by the Secretary of Agriculture to be chiefly valuable I Dational-forest purposes, subject to valid existing claims. This would permit private owners to exchange their lands within the area for an equal value of national-forest timber or land in the State, including such publicly owned lands within the area as may be added to the national forest by proclamation, the reconveyed lands to become part of the national forest.

The lands described in the bill, amounting to a little over 85,000 acres, have largely passed out of Government ownership under the public-land laws. The unappropriated public lands involved aggregate 20,000 acres, and there are also included 5,590 acres of undisposed of Oregon and California railroad grant lands, title to which revested in the United States under the act of June 9, 1916 (39 Stat. 218), which would be subject to inclusion in the national forest where found of the prescribed character.

These revested lands have been classified in the manner required by such act as follows: 4,515 acres as agricultural, 511 acres as power site, and 564 acres as timberlands, the total value of the land and timber being fixed at $33,265.

No provision is made in the bill for payment for these revested lands, and their inclusion in the national forest would therefore deprive the Oregon and California land-grant fund, which is already far short of the total charges existing against it, of receipts in money which might otherwise be obtained and placed to the credit of this fund if the land and timber were allowed to remain subject to disposal and sale as provided by the Revestment Act.

The question of reimbursing such fund by transfer of moneys from national forest receipts was submitted to the Bureau of the Budget in connection with S. 1679, proposing to add certain revested lands to the Rogue River National Forest in Oregon and, as indicated in this Department's report on that bill under date of April 5, the Acting Director of that Bureau stated that such legislation would not be in accord with the financial program of the President. It is accordingly suggested that the revested lands be excepted from the terms of the bill under consideration by adding a section as follows:

“Sec. 2. Any lands within the above-described area which are part of the land grant to the Oregon and California Railroad Company, title to which revested in the United States under the act of June 9, 1916 (39 Stat. 218), shall remain subject to all laws relating to said revested land grant."

Notwithstanding the fact that the Secretary of the Interior is charged with the administration and disposition of the public lands, the bill leaves to the Secretary of Agriculture the determination of the lands to be added. No addition of any such lands to a national forest should be authorized except upon recommendation of the Secretary of the Interior as well as the Secretary of Agriculture. I therefore suggest that the bill be amended by changing the word “Secretary” in line 12, page 1, to "Secretaries”, and by inserting after “Agriculture” in the same line the words "and of the Interior.”

If the bill be amended as above indicated, I will interpose no objection to its enactment. I am not informed as to the necessity for the exchange legislation proposed, which is primarily a matter for consideration by the Secretary of Agriculture. Sincerely yours,

T. A. WALTERS, Acting Secretary of the Interior.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,

Washington, D, C., April 25, 1935. Hon. RENÉ L. DEROUEN, Chairman Committee on the Public Lands,

House of Representatives. DEAR MR. DEROUEN: Receipt is acknowledged of your letter of April 5, enclosing copy of H. R. 1418, a bill to authorize an extension of exchange authority and addition of public lands to the Willamette National Forest in the State of Oregon, and asking for a report thereon.

This bill is identical with H. R. 8697 of the Seventy-third Congress on which this Department made a favorable report to the Committee on Agriculture on April 13, 1934.

The proposed legislation would extend the Forest Exchange Act to certain lands adjoining the Willamette National Forest, Oreg., and give the President authority within the area described to give a national-forest status to publicly owned lands. The area is on the middle watershed of the McKenzie River and comprises an acreage of approximately 83,000 acres, of which 57,000 acres are in private ownership and the balance made up of 20,000 acres of public land and approximately 5,400 acres of revested Oregon and California Railroad grant lands. The lands have practically no agricultural value. They are forest-producing and undoubtedly should be managed as such. The proposed legislation would make it possible for the privately owned lands to be acquired by exchange under the forest exchange law, that is, such lands, if found to be chiefly valuable for forestry purposes, could be exchanged for national-forest land or timber in the State of Oregon which did not exceed in value the privately owned lands offered to the United States in exchange.

If the lands covered by this bill were added to the Willamette National Forest, they could be managed with the adjoining national-forest property so as to produce the maximum results as forest lands. The cost of administration would be very low since the lands could be looked after almost entirely by the personnel now employed for administering the Willamette National Forest. An additional appropriation would not be required.

It will be noted that the proposed legislation is permissive in character in that it would merely authorize exchanges under existing law and would confer authority on the President to give a national-forest status to the publicly owned lands described in the bill if he thought such action desirable in the public interest. While the bill does not specifically exempt the revested Oregon and California grant lands from its provisions, the status of such lands as fixed by the act approved June 9, 1918 (39 Stat. 218) apparently would exclude them from the operation of the bill if it were enacted into law, and they would not be affected. The Department recommends that H. R. 1418 be favorably considered by your committee. Very sincerely yours,

H. A. WALLACE, Secretary. O