DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, SIR: Referring to your communication of the 20th ultimo inclosing H. R. 17934, entitled "A bill to provide for a land district in Wasatch and Uinta counties, in the State of Utah, to be known as the Uinta land district, and for other purposes," with the request that I furnish such information and suggestions as I may deem proper to aid your committee in the further consideration of said bill, I have the honor to hand you herewith copy of a report thereon by the Commissioner of the General Land Office, dated the 31st ultimo. The Commissioner recommends certain amendments to the bill and when amended as suggested he is of the opinion that it should become a law. I concur in the Commissioner's conclusion and have the honor to recommend that when amended as suggested by the Commissioner the bill be enacted into law. Very respectfully, E. A. HITCHCOCK, Secretary. The CHAIRMAN OF THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC LANDS, House of Representatives. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, GENERAL LAND OFFICE, SIR: I have, by your reference for report in duplicate, bill H. R. 17934, entitled "A bill to provide for a land district in Wasatch and Uintah counties, in the State of Utah, to be known as the Uintah land district." Section 1 of this bill declares that the land district named in the caption shall embrace all of the territory within the boundaries of the counties named, with the land office at the city of Heber, and section 2 provides for the appointment of a reg ister and receiver for that district, "who shall discharge like and similar duties and receive the same amount of compensation as other officers discharging like duties in the land office now established at Salt Lake City, Utah.” In my judgment, the topography of the country, as well as other controlling considerations, does not warrant the passage of this bill in its present form, and I therefore suggest that section 1 be amended by adding after the word "of," in line 4, the wordsUintah County, and also within the boundaries of that part of the Uintah Indian Reservation which lies within Wasatch County, is hereby constituted a new land district, to be called the Uintah land district, and that the land office for said district shall be located at Vernal, in Uintah County.' Since section 2234, Revised Statutes, provides that "there shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, a register of the land office and a receiver of public moneys for each land district established by law," and by chapter 32 of the Revised Statutes the compensation of registers and receivers generally is fixed and determined, the enactment of the provisions of section 2 would seem to be unnecessary. Section 2 is open to the specific objection that the compensation of the register and receiver for this district would be controlled not by the amount of business transacted in their office, but by the amount transacted at the Salt Lake City office. This is a departure that has not heretofore been made in statutes of this character. After the bill has been amended as suggested, it should, in the opinion of this Office, become a law. Very respectfully, The SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR. W. A. RICHARDS, O SUNDRY CIVIL APPROPRIATION BILL. MARCH 1, 1905.-Ordered to be printed. Mr. ALLISON, from the Committee on Appropriations, submitted the following REPORT. [To accompany bill H. R. 18969.] The Committee on Appropriations, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 18969) making appropriations for sundry civil expenses of the Government for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1906, and for other purposes, report the same to the Senate with amendments, and present herewith statements showing the amounts estimated for these purposes in the Book of Estimates, the amounts provided by the bill as passed by the House of Representatives, the amounts recommended by the committee, with the items in detail of increase and decrease in House bill, and the amounts of the sundry civil appropriation act for the fiscal year 1905. The changes in amounts of House bill recommended by the committee are as follows: INCREASE. For custom-house, Baltimore, Md . For post-office and court-house, Detroit, Mich.. $15,000 For fitting up appraisers' stores at San Francisco, Cal., for the customs service... 10,000 For post-office, Yankton, S. Dak 12,000 6,000 For quarantine station, Reedy Island, Delaware River For site for an addition to the Washington City post-office building.............. $50, 800 11,600 For quarantine station, Delaware Breakwater 8,900 For revenue cutter for Albemarle and Pamlico sounds, N. C.. 100,000 For revenue cutter for the harbor of San Francisco 50,000 For expenses of the Interstate Commerce Commission 10,000 For pay of assistant custodians and janitors.... For light-house and fog signal, Isle au Haut Harbor, Me.. 30,000 For tender for inspector of Third light-house district.. 14, 400 For light-house and fog signal, Goose Island Flats, Delaware Bay and 50,000 85,000 For light-house and fog signal at Diamond Shoal Light Station, N. C For expenses of crew of steamer Curlew, fisheries service... For establishment of fish hatcheries in Alaska 3,520 For improvements of the heating of the Old Post-Office building. For preservation and repair of steam heating and electric lighting plants, 50,000 5,000 24,000 580,000 For preparation of report of mineral resources of the United States 25,000 75,000 For the support of reindeer stations in Alaska.. 20,000 For preparation of a railroad map of the United States.. For subsistence for Freedmen's Hospital and Asylum.. 20,000 6,000 For additional machinery for Augusta Arsenal, Augusta, Ga.. For continuing improvement of Portland Harbor, Maine.. 50,000 100,000 For military posts. For construction of a sea wall for protection of the beach at Sandy Hook, 500,000 For improvement of grounds in the Presidio Military Reservation, San For salaries of officers and employees of the Board of Managers, National 2, 600 For Reform School, District of Columbia For acquisition of site in the District of Columbia for a building for the 6,000 40,000 For payment for compilation of Treaties in Force, 1904 1,000 750 39,600 Total increase.. 2,206, 870 DECREASE. For additional salary of the chief clerk of the office of Public Buildings and Grounds. 1891. 1892. 1893. 1894. 1895. 1896. 1897. 1898. 1899. 1900. 1901. 1902. 1903. 1904. 1905. Amount of sundry civil appropriation acts, fiscal years 1891 to 1905, inclusive. Total amount for rivers and harbors included in sundry civil acts for fiscal years 1892 to 1905, inclusive, $135,491.461.71. a Includes $1,951,200 for rivers and harbors under contract system. 9 Includes $18,578,412.91 for rivers and harbors under contract system, and $543,000 additional for rivers and harbors; in all, $19,121,412.91. h Includes $14,267,449.56 for rivers and harbors under contract system. * Includes $12,200,605.75 for rivers and harbors under contract system. |