AGRICULTURAL ENTRIES ON COAL LANDS IN ALASKA. January 31, 1917.—Ordered to be printed. Mr. SMOOт, from the Committee on Public Lands, submitted the following REPORT. [To accompany S. 41.] The Committee on Public Lands, to which was referred the bill (S. 41) to provide for agricultural entries on coal lands in Alaska, having had the same under consideration, beg leave to report it back to the Senate with amendments, and as thus amended recommend that the bill do pass. The bill was referred to the Department of the Interior and the Secretary of that department furnished the committee with the following report thereon: Hon. HENRY L. MYERS, Chairman Committee on Public Lands, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, United States Senate. MY DEAR SENATOR: I am in receipt of a copy of Senate bill No. 41, entitled "A bill to provide for agricultural entries on coal lands in Alaska," transmitted for information as to the law and facts involved and for such suggestions as I may desire to make. This bill appears to be similar in terms to Senate bill No. 2511, Sixty-third Congress, second session, on which a report was submitted by the department dated August 7, 1913, and which is printed in the report of the Committee on Public Lands, No. 166, of the same session, to which you are referred. The suggestions made by the department with respect to certain changes in the wording of the bill were adopted, and the present bill is similar to the former bill as amended so as to cover those suggestions. Senate bill No. 1064, now pending before your committee, contains provision for surface entries and patents under all the laws applicable to the nonmineral lands in Alaska on lands withdrawn, classified or valuable for coal, phosphate, nitrate, potash, oil, gas, or asphaltic minerals, and if that bill should be enacted homestead entries on coal lands in Alaska would be provided for thereby. Should your committee be of opinion that it is desirable to allow surface patents under homestead entries only, in Alaska, as provided in this bill, I recommend that the bill be amended so as to provide that such entries may be made on lands withdrawn, classified, or valuable for oil or gas, in addition to coal lands. I make this recommendation in view of the fact that there are some known oil lands in Alaska the surface of which is in all probability as desirable for agricultural purposes as is the surface of the coal lands. Very truly, yours, O FRANKLIN K. LANE. Mr. SMOOT, from the Committee on Public Lands, submitted the following REPORT. [To accompany S. 7767.] The Committee on Public Lands, to which was referred the bill (S. 7767), relating to the temporary filling of vacancies occurring in the offices of register and receiver of district land offices, having had the same under consideration, beg leave to report it back to the Senate with amendment, and as thus amended recommend that the bill do pass. The bill was referred to the Department of the Interior and the Secretary of that department furnished the committee with the following report thereon: Hon. H. L. MYERS, Chairman Committee on Public Lands, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, United States Senate. MY DEAR SENATOR: I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your request for a report on S. 7767, authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to temporarily fill vacancies in the office of register or receiver of any local United States land office. Under existing laws registers and receivers act jointly in many classes of cases and neither can act without the other. This fact makes it very important that a bill of the character here proposed be enacted, since it frequently happens that considerable intervals of time elapse during which one or the other of these offices is vacant, thus delaying the transaction of public business and inconveniencing applicants for public land. I therefore recommend that the proposed bill be enacted into law, but suggest that before its passage it be amended by substituting the word "or" for "and" in line 11. Cordially, yours, FRANKLIN K. LANE, Secretary. O JANUARY 31 (calendar day, FEBRUARY 1), 1917.-Ordered to be printed. Mr. BRYAN, from the Committee on Appropriations, submitted the following REPORT. [To accompany H. R. 20453.] The Committee on Appropriations, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 20453) making appropriations for fortifications and other works of defense, for the armament thereof, for the procurement of heavy ordnance for trial and service, and for other purposes, reports the same to the Senate without amendment, and presents herewith statements showing the amounts estimated for fortifications and other works of defense in the Book of Estimates for the fiscal year 1918, the amounts provided by the bill as passed by the House of Representatives, the amounts recommended by the committee, and the amount appropriated by each of the fortification appropriation acts for the fiscal years 1877 to 1917, inclusive. Amount of regular and supplemental estimates for 1918.... Amount of House bill...... $64, 533, 481. 21 Amount of bill as reported to the Senate... Amount of appropriations for 1917... The bill as reported is less than the regular and supplemental esti- The bill as reported exceeds the appropriations for 1917.. 51, 396, 593. 00 51,396, 593. 00 28, 547, 550.00 13, 136, 888. 21 22,849, 043. 00 Estimates, 1918. House bill, 1918. Senate committee, 1918. FORTIFICATIONS APPROPRIATIONS. Comparative statement showing the appropriations for 1917, the estimates for 1918, the amounts provided by the House bill, and the amounts recommended by the Senate Committee on Appropriations for 1918. Installation and replacement of electric-light and power plants at sea Modernizing older emplacements.. Construction of fire-control stations, etc., and for purchase, manufacture, and test of range finders and other instruments. Maintenance of Coast Artillery war instruction material, labor, etc. coast fortifications..... Sea walls and embankments, construction. Casemates, galleries, etc., for submarine mines Protection, preservation, and repair of fortifications.. Plans for fortifications.. Maintenance and repair of searchlights, equipment, tools, etc. Roads, trails, water and sewer systems, etc..... Sites for fortifications and seacoast defenses Operation and maintenance of fire-control installation. Purchase, manufacture, etc., of airships. Total, fortifications and other works of defense. Armament for fortifications: Mountain, field, and siege cannon, purchase, equipment, etc.. Ammunition for mountain, field, and siege cannon, experiments, etc. Seacoast cannon for coast defense, purchase, manufacture, test, etc Ammunition, etc., for seacoast cannon, experiments, etc.. pmont and Ammunition, subcaliber guns, for seacoast artillery practice, including machinery, tools, etc... Alteration and maintenance of mobile artillery, etc. (including $500,000 Ammunition, subcaliber guns, etc., for mountain, field, and siege artil- Alteration and maintenance of seacoast artillery, including purchase and manufacture of machinery, tools, etc.... |