ATTENDANCE OF THE UNITED STATES MARINE BAND AT FIFTY-NINTH ANNUAL REUNION OF CONFEDERATE VETERANS AT LITTLE ROCK, ARK. APRIL 27, 1949.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. HÉBERT, from the Committee on Armed Services, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 3341] The Committee on Armed Services, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 3341) to authorize the attendance of the United States Marine Band at the Fifty-ninth Annual Reunion of Confederate Veterans to be held in Little Rock, Ark., September 27 through September 29, 1949, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill H. R. 3341 do pass. The purpose of this bill is to authorize the Marine Band to attend the Fifty-ninth Annual Reunion of Confederate Veterans to be held in Little Rock, Ark., September 27 through September 29, 1949. It is the policy of this committee, and it has been of past Congresses, to authorize either the Marine Band or the Navy Band to attend the reunion of the Confederate Veterans. Due to the rapid depletion in the ranks of this organization and to the age of those remaining, the committee has been informed that this will likely be the final reunion. If the band should attend this reunion without the legislation proposed in this bill, it would have to be done at the individual expense of the members. The committee feel that the members of the band should not be requested to attend affairs of this or any other kind at a personal sacrifice and therefore report this bill favorably. The committee has been informally advised by representatives of the Navy Department that they interpose no objection to the passage of this legislation. GRANTING THE CONSENT OF CONGRESS TO THE STATES OF MONTANA, NORTH DAKOTA, AND WYOMING TO NEGOTIATE AND ENTER INTO A COMPACT OR AGREEMENT FOR DIVISION OF THE WATERS OF THE YELLOWSTONE RIVER APRIL 27, 1949.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed Mr. MURDOCK, from the Committee on Public Lands, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. R. 2566) The Committee on Public Lands, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 2566) granting the consent of Congress to the States of Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming to negotiate and enter into a compact or agreement for division of the waters of the Yellowstone River, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. EXPLANATION OF THE BILL The purpose of H. R. 2566 is to grant additional time to the States of Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming in which to conduct negotiations on division of the waters of the Yellowstone River. The bill is fully explained in the favorable report of the Department of the Interior, which is set forth below and is made a part of this report. Hon. J. HARDIN PETERSON, THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR, Chairman, Committee on Public Lands, House of Representatives. MY DEAR MR. PETERSON: Reference is made to the letter of February 11 requesting a report on H. R. 2566 introduced by Mr. D'Ewart. This bill would grant the consent of Congress to the States of Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming to negotiate and enter into a compact or agreement for division of the waters of the Yellowstone River. No objection is made to the enactment of this measure. Legislation providing for this same objective was previously passed by Congress in the act of August 2, 1937 (50 Stat. 551, ch. 552). Under this act the time by which the agreement should be made expired on June 1, 1939. The act was amended in certain respects by the act of June 15, 1940 (54 Stat. 399), one of the amendments being the extension of the expiration date to June 1, 1943. Still later, the act of March 16, 1944 (58 Stat. 117, ch. 98), extended the time to June 1, 1947. Negotiations have been conducted by a commission composed of representatives of the above-mentioned States and the Federal representative and chairman of the commission, Mr. H. D. Comstock. At the time these actions were taken Mr. Comstock was also regional director of the Bureau of Reclamation at Billings, Mont. A draft of a proposed Yellowstone River compact was prepared. This draft has failed to receive ratification by all of the States concerned, and the authority for negotiation has expired. H. R. 2566 provides for the continuation of these negotiations. I have been advised by the Bureau of the Budget that there is no objection to the submission of this report to your committee. Sincerely yours, OSCAR L. CHAPMAN, Acting Secretary of the Interior. No objection to the proposed extension of time has been interposed by any source. The Committee on Public Lands unanimously agrees that the extension is desirable and should be granted. |