The plat of survey of sec. 16 in T. 49 N., R. 9 E., N. M. P. meridian, was approved April 3, 1874. Under the act of March 3, 1875 (18 Stat., 474), sections 16 and 36 in every township were granted to the State of Colorado. The State was admitted into the Union August 1, 1876 (19 Stat., 665). The title of said section 16 included in the bill, therefore, passed to the State August 1, 1876. No indemnity lieu lands have ever been allowed to the State for said section, or any part thereof, and the United States Government has no further jurisdiction over the land. It therefore appears that the town can only acquire title to said section through the State or its grantees. The S. of sec. 25, and the SE. of sec. 26, T. 51 N., R. 8 E., N. M. P. M., contain 480 acres. The NW. of SE. of said sec. 26, appears from the tract book in the General Land Office to be subject to the Denver & Rio Grande Railway Co.'s right of way, and the W. of SE. is covered by the power site withdrawal made by Executive order of July 2, 1910. Otherwise the land in said sections 25 and 26 appears to be unappropriated public land. I therefore recommend the amendment of the bill by inserting after the word "years," in line 4 on page 1, the word "from," by striking out of line 9, page 1, the words 'all of section sixteen, township forty-nine north," and all of lines 10 and 11, and the words " acres, more or less, and " in line 12, by inserting after the word "patent" in line 7 on page 2 the words "shall be,” and by striking out of lines 8 and 9, page 2, the words "subject to the existing laws and regulations concerning public parks." These words do not designate what laws and regulations and may as well be omitted. When so amended I see no objection to the passage of the bill. Very truly, yours, FRANKLIN K. LANE. All of the amendments recommended by the Secretary of the Interior have been approved by your committee. The Secretary of the Interior has also recommended to the President the issuance of an Executive order withdrawing this land from all forms of entry pending consideration of this bill by Congress, and that order has been duly issued and the land is now held subject to this legislation, as will appear from the following letter of the Secretary of the Interior: Hon. EDWARD T. TAYLOR, House of Representatives. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, MY DEAR MR. TAYLOR: I am in receipt of your letter of December 15, 1915, relative to report on H. R. 21, a bill to "Authorize the city of Salida, Colo., to purchase certain public lands for public park purposes," and in reply I have the honor to advise you that I have this day submitted to the House Committee on the Public Lands a favorable report on the bill as to sections 25 and 26 therein mentioned. The committee's attention is called to the fact that section 16 is school land granted and passed to the State years ago and that the Government has no jurisdiction over the same. The city may, however, be able to secure title to that section through the State or its grantees. I have also this day transmitted a form on an Executive order to the President for his consideration, with a letter recommending the execution thereof for the lands in sections 25 and 26 described in the bill. Your inclosures are herewith returned. Cordially, yours, FRANKLLIN K. LANE. This bill was introduced at the request of the mayor and the president of the commercial club of the city of Salida, and also the chairman of the board of county commissioners of that county, as will be shown by the following letter: Hon. ED. T. TAYLOR, Glenwood Springs, Colo. THE SALIDA COMMERCIAL CLUB, DEAR SIR: We would appreciate your assistance in securing dedication of plots shown in accompanying plat as Castle Garden and Box Canon to the city of Salida as a public park and playground for the use of Salida citizens and tourists. Thanking you in advance for your kind efforts in the matter, we are, J. D. RANDOL, President Commercial Club. Mayor City of Salida. D. P. Cook, Chairman Board County Commissioners. R. B. MILLER, Democratic City Chairman. W. E. CRUTCHER. F. L. BATEMAN. The city engineer of Salida has submitted a latter that gives a general description of this territory as follows: Mr. J. D. RANDOL, SALIDA, COLO., November 29, 1915. President the Salida Commercial Club, Salida, Colo. DEAR SIR: I herewith present map showing relative locations of the two plots of ground known as Castle Garden and Box Canyon, as it is desirous that the same shall be set aside permanently as public parks. Castle Garden is located in section 16, township 49 north, range 9 east, of New Mexico principal meridian, and covers practically all of that section, and is about 2 miles distant from the business portion of the city of Salida, Colo. The entrance to Castle Garden is about one-fourth mile from the main traveled auto road, known as the Rainbow Route, and it will be an easy matter to build a suitable road to this park. The ground in Castle Garden is not suitable for agricultural purposes or grazing or mineral land, and seems to be better adapted for a park than any other purpose. Box Canyon is situated in the houth half of section 25, township 51 north, range 8 east, and the southeast quarter of section 26, township 51 north, range 8 east, New Mexico principai meridian, and is about 10 miles from Salida, Colo., however the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad passes the mouth of the canyon, and the main traveled auto road to Buena Vista now passes within about 3 miles from the canyon. This ground is not suitable for agricultural or grazing purposes and so far as known no mineral has been found on it. It is known for its picturesque and rugged scenery, and consequently is more valuable to the public for a park than anything else. Yours, very truly, CLYDE H. JAY, City Engineer. The school section referred to is eliminated, so that the remainders of the land sought to be taken by this bill for public park purposes aggregates 480 acres. The city desires to acquire title to this land for the purpose of preserving it as a scenic spot for a recreation and outing place for the people of that city and county. The present law regarding parks for cities and towns, approved September 30, 1890 (26 Stat., 502), is as follows: That incorporated cities and towns shall have the right, under rules and regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Interior, to purchase for cemetery and park purposes not exceeding one quarter section of public lands not reserved for public use, such lands to be within 3 miles of such cities or towns: Provided, That when such city or town is situated within a mining district the land proposed to be taken under this act shall be considered as mineral lands, and patent to such land shall not authorize such city or town to extract mineral therefrom; but all such mineral shall be reserved to the United States, and such reservation shall be entered in such patent. That law, however, is not applicable to this situation, because the site of the park is more than 3 miles from the city limits, and there is no suitable site within the distance allowed by that law. The bill recognizes the commendable public demand for cities and towns to select scenic spots for public park purposes, and your committee feels that no higher or better use can be made of a vacant piece of public domain than to allow a city to own and improve it and take a proprietary interest in preserving it as a healthful pleasure resort and an attractive place to hold their picnics and public outdoor gatherings. Therefore your committee respectfully recommend the passage of this bill. INCREASE IN NUMBER OF CADETS, UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY. APRIL 14, 1916.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed. Mr. DENT, from the Committee on Military Affairs, submitted the following 'REPORT. [To accompany S. 4876.] The Committee on Military Affairs, to whom was referred Senate bill 4876, having considered the same, report thereon with a recommendation that it do pass with the following amendments: 66 Page 1, line 7, strike out the word "sixty" and insert the word eighty," and after the word "large," in line 8, insert a comma and the words "twenty of whom shall have been recommended to the President as honor graduates of an educational institution having an officer of the Regular Army detailed as professor of military science and tactics under existing law, or any law hereafter enacted for the detail of officers of the Regular Army to such institutions, and which institutions are designated in War Department orders as 'honor schools' upon the determination of its relative standing at the last preceding annual inspection regularly made by the War Department. Page 1, line 9, strike out the word "sixty" and insert the word "eighty." Page 1, line 12, between the words "the" and "States," insert the following: "congressional district or of the." Page 2, line 11, after the word "Guard," insert the words "in as near proportion as possible." Page 2, line 15, strike out the words "two hundred" and insert the words "one hundred and eighty." Amend also by adding the following section, to be known as section 4: SEC. 4. That hereafter whenever all vacancies in cadetships at the United States Military Academy shall not have been filled as a result of the regular annual entrance examination, the President is hereby authorized to appoint candidates who were found qualified for admission at such entrance examination and for whom no vacancy would exist under present law: Provided, That the number of qualified candidates so appointed shall not be in excess of the number of such unfilled vacancies remaining at the time of such appointment: Provided further, That cadets admitted under the provisions of this section shall be credited to the United States at large and their admission shall not interfere with nor affect in any manner any appointment authorized under existing law or under any of the provisions of this act. The authorized number of cadetships at the Military Academy is temporarily increased by the number of admissions made in any year under the provisions of this section: Provided further, That whenever by the operation of this or any other law the corps of cadets exceeds its authorized maximum strength the admission of candidates as prescribed in this section shall cease until such time as the corps of cadets may be reduced below its authorized strength. In support of this bill the committee submit the following: Estimate of cost to make the United States Military Academy able to accommodate 1,200 cadets. Ordnance and quartermaster equipment_-_. Changes in camp grounds___. Changes in academic buildings and additional furniture_. Changes in mess hall and new mess hall furniture_. Changes in barracks____ For temporary construction for cantonment barracks, hospitals, and other temporary structures_. Total____ $56, 932 41, 000 42, 000 9, 663 2,000 108, 405 1 260, 000 There were 141 cadets admitted in 1911 and 82 were graduated; 128 cadets admitted in 1912 and 95 were graduated; 146 cadets admitted in 1913 and 92 were graduated; 146 cadets admitted in 1914 and 106 were graduated; 263 cadets admitted in 1915 and 163 graduated. In 1911, 58 per cent were graduated; 1912, 74 per cent were graduated; 1913, 63 per cent were graduated; 1914, 72 per cent were graduated; 1915, 61 per cent were graduated. The following are extracts from the report of the Superintendent United States Military Academy, 1915, pages 4 and 5: * * There were for the year 706 cadetships authorized and 611 cadets on the rolls, leaving 95 vacancies in the corps on July 1, 1915. This number of vacancies was reduced to 59 by the admission of 36 men on July 1, 1915. The plant to-day can easily handle 700 cadets. * The discharge of 20 cadets on July 9, 1915, for deficiency in studies at the annual examinations in June, 1915, which was delayed this year, brought the number of present cadet vacancies up to 79. For the March and May entrance examinations this year 683 cadidates were examined. * The following table shows the results: * Quali fied alternates for whom no vacancies exist (including 2 United States at large candidates), * 42. It will thus be seen that, at the beginning of the academic year, July 1, 1915, there were 79 vacant cadetships and 42 candidates who had taken the examination for admission to the United States Military Academy, and had been found qualified for admission thereto, but for whom no vacancies existed, they having been alternates, and their principals having been admitted. 1 $41,662.70 already estimated for (H. Doc. 432). |