Mr. KEYES, from the Committee on Naval Affairs, submitted the following REPORT. [To accompany S. 4478.] The Committee on Naval Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (S. 4478) to create a Bureau of Aeronautics in the Department of the Navy, having considered the same, report favorably thereon with the recommendation that the bill do pass without amendment. The committee is of the opinion that the creation of a Bureau of Aeronautics in the Navy Department is necessary to properly consolidate under one head the various activities of the department pertaining to the field of aeronautics now conducted by several bureaus and offices of the department, and that it will tend to prevent duplication of effort. At the present time this work is carried on as an office under the supervision of the Chief of Naval Operations, who has testified before this committee in favor of creating such a bureau. The necessity for establishing such a bureau in the War Department was recognized by the Military Committees of both the Senate and the House and by Congress in the bill recently passed creating an Air Service as an independent arm of the Military Establishment. The Secretary of the Navy has commended this legislation in the following letter, which is made a part of this report: THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY, MY DEAR SENATOR: I am very glad to learn that you desire my opinion concerning the formation of a Bureau of Aeronautics in the Navy Department. I have become convinced that aviation is of such great importance to the Navy, and that the progress of aviation is a matter of such serious concern in future naval development, that the time has come to take definite steps to strengthen the position of aviation in the Navy Department. At a council meeting of the bureau chiefs, this idea was approved, and this principle has also been suggested by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. Hearings have been held before the House Naval Affairs Committee, and a bill has been drafted by Senator Keyes based upon this principle. The measure proposed by Senator Keyes and incorporated in his bill recently introduced is of vital importance, and meets with my hearty approval. I trust it will be shortly enacted into law. Very truly, yours, Senator C. S. PAGE, Chairman Naval Affairs Committee, JOSEPHUS DANIELS. United States Senate. Mr. CURTIS, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, submitted the following REPORT. [To accompany H. R. 15682.] The Committee on Indian Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 15682) making appropriations for the current and contingent expenses of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, for fulfilling treaty stipulations with various Indian tribes, and for other purposes, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1922, having considered the same, report the same to the Senate with various amendments, and present herewith information relative to changes recommended and comparative results of the same: Amount of bill as passed House.. Increase of bill by Senate committee. The amount of the bill reported to Senate.. Amount estimated... The bill as reported to the Senate is less than the estimates. $11, 194, 035. 30 2, 211, 709. 37 13, 405, 744. 97 15, 049, 589.97 1, 643, 845.00 Many items reported by the Committee on Appropriations of the House were eliminated from the bill on points of order. These items carried large sums and they provided the funds that were necessary to carry on the work of the Indian Bureau. These items have been restored by the Senate committee and explain, to a great extent, the increases recommended by the Senate committee. Mr. CURTIS, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, submitted the following REPORT. [To accompany S. 4159.] The Committee on Indian Affairs, to whom was referred the bill (S. 4159) for the relief of dispossessed allotted Indians of the Nisqually Reservation, Wash., having considered the same, report favorably thereon with the recommendation that the bill do pass without amendment. The Secretary of the Interior reports favorably upon the measure, as follows: The records show that, unknown to the department, proceedings were instituted early in 1918 by the authorities of Pierce County, Wash., to condemn approximately 3,300 acres of allotted Indian land on the Nisqually Reservation for the purpose of turning the same over to the Government for the use of the War Department in enlarging its activities at Camp Lewis. Immediate steps were taken to protect the interests of the Indians, with the result that the War Department agreed to purchase the lands and appointed a representative to act in connection with an official from the Indian Bureau in valuing them. The superintendent of the Cushman School was so designated, and appraised the lands and improvements at $93,760, and the War Department official at $57,920.60. April 18, 1918, a compromise was reached whereby the sum of $75,840 was paid for the lands, and a decree was entered by the local court vesting title in fee thereto in Pierce County. This compromise was accepted in view of the immediate war necessity, and with the understanding that should this amount not be sufficient to purchase other lands for the Indians and equip them equal to their abandoned holdings the Congress would be requested to supplement the amount of the compromise with a gratuity appropriation. Subsequently Special Supervisor L. F. Michael, of the Indian Service, was detailed to make a careful investigation of the entire matter, to the end that I might have sufficient information and data on which to request such an appropriation. The special supervisor, in his report of August 24, 1918, estimated the various amounts which these Indians should receive, as follows: 1. Actual value of lands surrendered over compromise appraisal.............. $17,920 250 2,500 Total..... 20, 670 Subsequently complaints as to inadequate compensation, etc., were received from some of the Indians, including Peter Kalama, one of the dispossessed allottees, and another official of the Indian Bureau, Special Agent Charles E. Roblin, investigated the matter and reported, March 20, 1919, that the complaints were in the main not well founded, and that with but few exceptions homes had been purchased and provided for the Indian families who were so dispossessed; that in the cases where lieu lands had not been actually purchased, owing to delays caused in part by the Indians themselves, proper steps had been taken to acquire the same. In the main Special Agent Roblin concurred in the previous report and recommendation of Special Supervisor Michael, and added the sum of $225.83 to the amount recommended by the latter as necessary to reimburse and place these dispossessed Indians in as good condition as they were at the time they gave up their homes. The said report of Special Supervisor Ellis establishes that he made an exhaustiv investigation; that the War Department needs these lands in connection with other lands adjacent thereto for most effective training of troops, and intends to retain them; that owing to war-time conditions and influences the county attorneys at the time of the condemnation proceedings took the fullest advantage of the situation, with the result that the Indians received considerably less than their lands were worth, and have not been provided with lands of like character and location and of equal advantage and acreage; that when the improvements planned are completed the dispossessed Nisquallies will be comfortably located in their new homes, but will not have as much land nor be able to secure a living as easily and conveniently as they did in their old homes; and that, considering the matter as a whole, the special supervisor does not believe it necessary nor advisable to attempt to acquire the lands in question and return the Indians to their former homes. Mr. Ellis's report further shows that the appraisers in fixing the value of the lands of the Indians failed to take into consideration (1) their fishing rights, (2) their immunity from taxes, and (3) the cost of removing their dead to new burying grounds. With respect to fishing rights the report shows that the main dependence of these Indians for meat was fish, secured by them from the Nisqually River where it passes through the reservation, and where they fished unmolested and dried large quantities of salmon for winter use during the salmon run; that the average Indian family consumed from $100 to $200 worth of fish annually, which would average in the case of the dispossessed Indians from $1,300 to $2,000 worth of fish per annum. This privilege, if capitalized at a small rate, would amount to more than the $20,670 suggested gratuity appropriation. Concerning their immunity from taxes, your attention is invited to the fact that the Nisqually lands were alloted to them under the treaty of March 16, 1854 (10 Stat. L., 1043), which provides that they shall be "exempt from levy, sale, or forfeiture,' and were thus made untaxable for an indefinite period, or until the State legislature, with the consent of Congress, should remove such restrictions. The taxes on these lands so exempted by treaty would, as shown by the appraisers of Pierce County, amount to nearly $1,666.25 per annum; and this tax, if capitalized at a low rate, would, as reported by Special Supervisor Ellis, amount to about $38,000. However, this amount could be eliminated should the Congress by appropriate legislation place on their new homes the same restrictions as to exemption from levy, sale, or forfeiture as were imposed by the said treaty on their reservation lands. Concerning the matter of the Indian graves, the report shows that there are 160 bodies buried on the reservation, in five graveyards, and that the Indians are desirous of removing these bodies to other lands near their present homes, which would amount to $6,000. In other words, the total amount so recommended as reimbursement for these Indians would, including the items for the actual value of the land surrendered over the compromise and for reimbursement for approximately 25 heads of families for moving expenses, amount approximately to $85,000. It appears from the record in this case that these lands are desired by the War Department for military purposes. I feel very strongly, however, that the splendid spirit manifested by the Indians in promptly surrendering their old homes, of inestimable value to them, to aid our country should not go unnoticed and the Indians be actually made to suffer financially or otherwise by their sacrifice. To the end that these Indians may be repaid for what they have lost in giving up their old homes, I would suggest to your favorable consideration a gratuity appropriation of $85,000. The following item is accordingly offered: For payment of 25 heads of families of the Nisqually Reservation in Washington, or expended for their benefit, in the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior, as compensation for the difference between the appraised value and the compromise price paid for approximately 3,300 acres of allotted land taken for military purposes; |