the Indian contracts is being banked by white men except in the two or three cases specifically mentioned, and the same arrangement should have been made in these

cases.

On the subject of what is a fair price for this logging, I will call attention to the fact that Joe Deere, an Indian, has banked the timber covered by contract No. 4 at less than $4 per M. J. J. Ragen will bank his timber at a cost of considerably less than $4. Mr. Crooke, who assumed the contract for banking the timber on two sections covered by the contract given Mr. Cary, will bank the timber at a cost of not to exceed $4, notwithstanding that he did not start in until December 1, and has one of the hardest contracts on the district. The contractors mentioned and others are equipped and qualified as required by the rule, and this is about what it costs to bank the timber where the rules have been followed.

The amount of timber estimated on the two sections being banked by Mr. Crooke was a million and a half, more or less. Mr. Crooke has already banked over 3,000,000 and informs me that he expects to increase the amount to 6,000,000. This will be an increase of three-fourths over the estimate, and the amount specified in the contract. Other contracts are very similar in this regard, which will fully explain why the stream is not large enough to handle the timber being banked in it.

That contracts were not entered into with responsible persons in accordance with the rules and regulations must be evident to anyone. It has been necessary to have the Pete La Mote contract taken away, for he was in no sense qualified and equipped and was in other ways entirely unfit to be given a contract, and this was well known to the business committee and superintendent of logging. The contract being banked by Mr. Crooke was originally entered with Mr. Cary, who was without equipment, money, or credit. Several of the other small contractors are in exactly the same condition, and besides, with very little experience, as will be clearly evident to anyone making examination of the work, and may result in a great loss to the tribe and Government for logs left on the skids in the woods and timber left and wasted, as they are not financially responsible, and owing to their lack of equipments, money, credit, and experience, may not have anything coming on the contract to pay for the damage and timber in question.

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I have endeavored to cover the more important features of this operation which the office should be familiar with in considering the entire subject and what action should be taken. I inclose herewith on separate sheet copy of memorandum made at the time of my examination of operatings at the different works. All of which is respectfully submitted.

I have the honor to remain, yours, truly,

EXHIBIT C.-Accompanying statement of E. A. Braniff.

OCTOBER 23, 1909.

The COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. DEAR MR. VALENTINE: Your letter of October 13 is received, informing me that you have asked for the resignation of Mr. E. A. Braniff, who has had charge of lumbering operations on the Menominee Indian Reservation under the act of March 28, 1908. Your letter contains no statement of specific facts, but refers merely to "facts before me" and to "data in the office" as the basis for your opinion that Mr. Braniff's conduct is "grossly unbusinesslike" and he himself “unfit for his task.”

These charges made against a man recently transferred to your office at your own request, and who from the first has been of marked benefit to your office, must be made specific. Without injustice to this service and to Mr. Braniff you can follow no other course. I await from you a definite statement of what action or inaction on the part of Mr. Braniff has led you to make these charges against him.

I call your attention in particular to Mr. Braniff's record.

In this connection with the Forest Service Mr. Braniff has steadily made good, although the greater portion of the work assigned to him was the first of its kind undertaken. He completed the full course at the Yale School of Forestry and graduated in 1903. He then entered the Forest Service, and for a year was engaged in examining forest lands in Minnesota, Washington, and Oregon. In 1904 he was engaged in a commercial tree study in the Southern Appalachians. He made an estimate of the standing timber in the State of Kentucky, by counties, and reported in detail on the market prices of lumber, cost of logging, logging methods, and commercial impor

tance of the merchantable species of timber. Upon completing this work Mr. Braniff undertook a new mill study in which he determined the actual amount of lumber sawed from trees of different diameters. This work is embodied in Bulletin No. 73, Grades and Amount of Lumber Sawed from Yellow Poplar, Yellow Birch, Sugar Maple, and Beech. In the fall of 1905 he completed arrangements for making a detailed working plan upon 60,000 acres of land in South Carolina. In December of that year he resigned to take a position for the receivers of the Houston Oil Company of Texas, in which he protected the interests of the company in its contract with the Kirby Lumber Company for the sale of stumpage on more than 1,000,000 acres. This responsible but delicate position, requiring expert knowledge of lumbering, was so admirably filled by Mr. Braniff that his salary was increased from $2,500 to $4,000 within eighteen months. When the business depression of 1907 and 1908 came on, logging operations by the Kirby Lumber Company stopped and Mr. Braniff's services were no longer required. He then reentered the Forest Service and was assigned to work on Indian reservations in Wisconsin. The work on the Menominee, as you know, requires a man who is a forester as well as a lumberman. Mr. Braniff's experience therefore had peculiarly qualified him for the Menominee work.

When Mr. Braniff undertook the handling of lumbering on the Menominee, the results of past incompetence in all phases of woods work made his task excessively difficult. He met this situation vigorously and dealt with it efficiently. You are well aware of his achievement on the Menominee.

In the face of serious local opposition, and burdened by the care of over 40,000,000 feet of logs cut by the Indian Office without provision for their transport or manufacture, Mr. Braniff has built in record time a large modern sawmill, a town to shelter the employees, has improved streams, driven and sawed logs, and sold the lumber. He has done, in all respects, his utmost to save the Indian Office from the results of its own mistakes.

You have been repeatedly advised of the progress of the work and have yourself visited it, and you have repeatedly expressed to me and to Mr. Price your satisfaction with the conduct of the lumbering on the Menominee by Mr. Braniff. Neither Mr. Braniff nor I have been informed as to what irregularities have so suddenly changed your opinion, and we are not yet in a position to discuss them. Yout letter says 4841 that you knew of these irregularities before the arrival of the Senate committee.

Not a single instance of misconduct or unbusinesslike action on the part of Mr. Braniff has developed before the Senate committee. While a witness before the committee, Mr. Braniff frankly stated his opinion of the conduct by your office of affairs on the Menominee and demanded more promptness and efficiency from your office as the only condition under which he would consent to stay. Your three representatives made no attempt to defend the conduct of your office, and Mr. Braniff's protests still remain unanswered.

Mr. Braniff wrote you a letter on August 28, after the termination of the cooperative agreement, calling your attention very strongly to many delinquencies in the Indian Office in handling matters on the Menominee. This letter was written frankly, on the basis of a mutual understanding between you and him that you would give Menominee matters prompt and personal attention. The letter asked for greater promptness and efficiency in the handling of these matters in Washington, and stated fully the reasons for making the appeal. You did not grant the chief requests made, despite their urgency, nor even reply to them or to the letter as a whole. But you did send Mr. J. A. Carroll, of your office, to Neopit to replace Mr. Braniff, who was instructed that all matters would have to pass through Mr. Carroll's hands. Not having obtained relief, Mr. Braniff again wrote you on September 29 a letter reciting the entire situation and pointing out the mistakes of the Indian Office in the past on the Menominee as the best means of illustrating the consequences of its present procedure. He concluded by asking you to change past methods and give him the authority that would enable him to carry on the work, or to accept his resignation. The answer was a letter from you informing Mr. Braniff that he would soon be summoned to Washington to explain the statements made in his letter. In the meantime, urgent matters to which Mr. Braniff had called your attention were not acted upon. Next came a request by telegraph, through Mr. Carroll, for Mr. Braniff's resignation. He had already offered it to take effect unless he could get action from the Indian Office. You have chosen to accept it. He tendered it under circumstances certainly in no way discreditable to him. GIFFORD PINCHOT, Forester.

Very sincerely, yours,

(Signed)

PART VIII.

RECLAMATION SERVICE.

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Reclamation legislation and decisions construing same.

[PUBLIC-No. 161.]

AN ACT Appropriating the receipts from the sale and disposal of public lands in certain States and Territories to the construction of irrigation works for the reclamation of arid lands.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all moneys received from the sale and disposal of public lands in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming, beginning with the fiscal year ending June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and one, including the surplus of fees and commissions in excess of allowances to registers and receivers, and excepting the five per centum of the proceeds of the sales of public lands in the above States set aside by law for educational and other purposes, shall be, and the same are hereby, reserved, set aside, and appropriated as a special fund in the Treasury to be known as the "reclamation fund," to be used in the examination and survey for and the construction and maintenance of irrigation works for the storage, diversion, and development of waters for the reclamation of arid and semi-arid lands in the said States and Territories, and for the payment of all other expenditures provided for in this act: Provided, That in case the receipts from the sale and disposal of public lands other than those realized from the sale and disposal of lands referred to in this section are insufficient to meet the requirements for the support of agricultural colleges in the several States and Territories, under the act of August thirtieth, eighteen hundred and ninety, entitled "An act to apply a portion of the proceeds of the public lands to the more complete endowment and support of the colleges for the benefit of agriculture and the mechanic arts, established under the provisions of an act of Congress approved July second, eighteen hundred and sixtytwo," the deficiency, if any, in the sum necessary for the support of the said colleges shall be provided for from any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated. SEC. 2. That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized and directed to make examinations and surveys for, and to locate and construct, as herein pro4233 vided, irrigation works for the storage, diversion, and development of waters,

including artesian wells, and to report to Congress at the beginning of each regular session as to the results of such examinations and surveys, giving estimates of cost of all contemplated works, the quantity and location of the lands which can be irrigated therefrom, and all facts relative to the practicability of each irrigation project; also the cost of works in process of construction as well as those which have been completed.

SEC. 3. That the Secretary of the Interior shall, before giving the public notice provided for in section four of this act, withdraw from public entry the lands required for any irrigation works contemplated under the provisions of this act, and shall restore to public entry any of the lands so withdrawn when, in his judgment, such lands are not required for the purposes of this act; and the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized, at or immediately prior to the time of beginning the surveys for any contemplated irrigation works, to withdraw from entry, except under the homestead laws, any public lands believed to be susceptible of irrigation from said works: Provided, That all lands entered and entries made under the homestead laws within areas so withdrawn during such withdrawal shall be subject to all the provisions, limitations, charges, terms, and conditions of this act; that said surveys shall be prosecuted diligently to completion, and upon the completion thereof, and of the necessary maps, plans, and estimates of cost, the Secretary of the Interior shall determine whether or not said project is practicable and advisable, and if determined to be impracticable or unadvisable he shall thereupon restore said lands to entry; that public lands which it is proposed to irrigate by means of any contemplated works

shall be subject to entry only under the provisions of the homestead laws in tracts of not less than forty nor more than one hundred and sixty acres, and shall be subject to the limitations, charges, terms, and conditions herein provided: Provided, That the commutation provisions of the homestead laws shall not apply to entries made under this act.

SEC. 4. That upon the determination by the Secretary of the Interior that any irrigation project is practicable, he may cause to be let contracts for the construction of the same in such portions or sections as it may be practicable to construct and complete as parts of the whole project, providing the necessary funds for such portions or sections are available in the reclamation fund, and thereupon he shall give public notice of the lands irrigable under such project, and limit of area per entry, which limit shall represent the acreage which, in the opinion of the Secretary, may be reasonably required for the support of a family upon the lands in question; also of the charges which shall be made per acre upon the said entries, and upon lands in private ownership which may be irrigated by the waters of the said irrigation project, and the number of annual installments, not exceeding ten, in which such charges shall be paid and the time when such payments shall commence. The said charges shall be determined with a view of returning to the reclamation fund the estimated cost of construction of the project, and shall be apportioned equitably: Provided, That in all construction work eight hours shall constitute a day's work, and no Mongolian labor shall be employed thereon.

SEC. 5. That the entryman upon lands to be irrigated by such works shall, in addition to compliance with the homestead laws, reclaim at least one-half of the total irrigable area of his entry for agricultural purposes, and before receiving patent for the lands covered by his entry shall pay to the Government the charges apportioned against such tract, as provided in section four. No right to the use of water for land in private ownership shall be sold for a tract exceeding one hundred and sixty acres to any one landowner, and no such sale shall be made to any landowner unless he be an actual bona fide resident on such land, or occupant thereof residing in the neighborhood of said land, and no such right shall permanently attach until all payments therefor are made. The annual installments shall be paid to the receiver of the local land office of the district in which the land is situated, and a failure to make any two payments when due shall render the entry subject to cancellation, with the forfeiture of all rights under this act, as well as of any moneys already paid thereon. All moneys received from the above sources shall be paid into the reclamation fund. Registers and receivers shall be allowed the usual commissions on all moneys paid for lands 'entered under this act.

SEC. 6. That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized and directed to use the reclamation fund for the operation and maintenance of all reservoirs and irrigation works constructed under the provisions of this act: Provided, That when the payments required by this act are made for the major portion of the lands irrigated from the waters of any of the works herein provided for, then the management and operation of such irrigation works shall pass to the owners of the lands irrigated thereby, to be maintained at their expense under such form or organization and under such rules

and regulations as may be acceptable to the Secretary of the Interior: Pro4234 vided, That the title to and the management and operation of the reservoirs and the works necessary for their protection and operation shall remain in the Government until otherwise provided by Congress.

SEC. 7. That where in carrying out the provisions of this act it becomes necessary to acquire any rights or property, the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to acquire the same for the United States by purchase or by condemnation under judicial process, and to pay from the reclamation fund the sums which may be needed for that purpose, and it shall be the duty of the Attorney-General of the United States upon every application of the Secretary of the Interior, under this act, to cause proceedings to be commenced for condemnation within thirty days from the receipt of the application at the Department of Justice.

SEC. 8. That nothing in this act shall be construed as affecting or intended to affect or to in any way interfere with the laws of any State or Territory relating to the control, appropriation, use, or distribution of water used in irrigation, or any vested right acquired thereunder, and the Secretary of the Interior, in carrying out the provisions of this act, shall proceed in conformity with such laws, and nothing herein shall in any way affect any right of any State or of the Federal Government or of any landowner, appropriator, or user of water in, to, or from any interstate stream or the waters thereof: Provided, That the right to the use of water acquired under the provisions of this act shall be appurtenant to the land irrigated, and beneficial use shall be the basis, the measure, and the limit of the right.

SEC. 9. That it is hereby declared to be the duty of the Secretary of the Interior in carrying out the provisions of this act, so far as the same may be practicable and sub

ject to the existence of feasible irrigation projects, to expend the major portion of the funds arising from the sale of public lands within each State and Territory hereinbefore named for the benefit of arid and semiarid lands within the limits of such State or Territory: Provided, That the Secretary may temporarily use such portion of said funds for the benefit of arid or semiarid lands in any particular State or Territory hereinbefore named as he may deem advisable, but when so used the excess shall be restored to the fund as soon as practicable, to the end that ultimately, and in any event, within each ten-year period after the passage of this act, the expenditures for the benefit of the said States and Territories shall be equalized according to the proportions and subject to the conditions as to practicability and feasibility aforesaid.

SEC. 10. That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to perform any and all acts and to make such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper for the purpose of carrying the provisions of this act into full force and effect. Approved June 17, 1902.

AN ACT Relating to the construction of a dam and reservoir on the Rio Grande, in New Mexico, for the impounding of the flood waters of said river for the purpose of irrigation.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the provisions of the reclamation act approved June seventeenth, nineteen hundred and two, shall be extended for the purposes of this act to the portion of the State of Texas bordering upon the Rio Grande which can be irrigated from a dam to be constructed near Engle, in the Territory of New Mexico, on the Rio Grande, to store the flood waters of that river; and if there shall be ascertained to be sufficient land in New Mexico and in Texas which can be supplied with the stored water at a cost which shall render the project feasible and return to the reclamation fund the cost of the enterprise, then the Secretary of the Interior may proceed with the work of constructing a dam on the Rio Grande as part of the general system of irrigation, should all other conditions as regards feasibility be found satisfactory. (33 Stat. L., 814.)

Approved February 25, 1905.

AN ACT To extend the irrigation act to the State of Texas.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the provisions of the act entitled "An act appropriating the receipts from the sale and disposal of public lands in certain States and Territories to the construction of irrigation works for the reclamation of arid lands," approved June seventeenth, nineteen hundred and two, be, and the same are hereby, extended so as to include and apply to the State of Texas. (34 Stat. L., 259.) Approved June 12, 1906.

3713

[Proviso of the act of March 4, 1907.]

That the balance of the cost of said irrigation project over and above the amount herein appropriated shall be allotted by the Secretary of the Interior, as may be needed and as may be available from time to time, from the reclamation fund and collected from the settlers and owners of the land benefited under the provisions of the reclamation act approved June seventeenth, nineteen hundred and two and acts supplemental thereto or amendatory thereof. (34 Stat. L., 1357.)

[Extract from report of chairman Committee on Arid Lands to House of Representatives, April 17, 1902.] 3704

The report made by Mr. Mondell, chairman Committee on Irrigation of Arid Lands, April 17, 1902, to the House (57th Cong.), among other things, says: "Unlike a private owner, however, the Government, as a great landowner, is not primarily interested in the profits of the enterprise, but in having the lands settled and occupied in small tracts as homes, and can well forego any profit on the investment and be content with the return of the outlay. Its ownership of the major portion of the lands to be irrigated places it in a position which no private or corporate concern could under our land system occupy-of absolute control over the public lands which it is proposed to irrigate."