CONVEYANCE OF TWIN RIVER POINT LIGHTHOUSE

RESERVATION

JUNE 2, 1937.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of

the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. WARREN, from the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries,

submitted the following

REPORT

(To accompany H. R. 1961)

The Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 1961) to authorize the conveyance by the United States to the State of Wisconsin of a portion of the Twin River Point Lighthouse Reservation, and for other purposes, having had the same under consideration, report it back to the House without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

Section 1 of the bill authorizes the Secretary of Commerce, subject to certain conditions set out below, to convey to the State of Wisconsin for State park purposes all the right, title, and interest of the United States in and to that portion of the Twin River Point Lighthouse Reservation, located in Manitowoc County, Wis., which is not required to be retained for lighthouse purposes. The Secretary of Commerce is to describe by metes and bounds in the deed of conveyance the exact portion of such reservation as is transferred to the State of Wisconsin.

Section 2 provides that the deed of conveyance shall contain the express condition that if the State of Wisconsin shall at any time cease to use the property as a State Park for public recreation, or shall alienate or attempt to alienate such property, the title thereto shall revert to the United States.

Section 3 reserves to the United States the right to resume ownership, possession, and control for Government purposes of any property conveyed under the authority of this act, at any time and without the consent of the State of Wisconsin.

Section 4 further authorizes the Secretary of Commerce, in his discretion, to lease to the State of Wisconsin for a period of 25 years that portion of the Twin River Point Lighthouse Reservation not conveyed under the authority of this act, such lease to be revocablo at any time by the Secretary of Commerce.

The Twin River Point Lighthouse Reservation, comprising an area of about 80 acres, was acquired by purchase for lighthouse purposes in the year 1873, and is located approximately 6 miles north of the city of Two Rivers in fractional lot 1, sec. 16, T. 20 N., R. 25 E., State of Wisconsin. An area of approximately 70.8 acres had heretofore been reported to the Director of Procurement for disposition pursuant to the requirements of the act approved August 27, 1935 (49 Stat. 885), it being thought that this area was in excess of the present needs of the light station facilities, but under date of April 14, 1937, the land was reassigned to the Department of Commerce.

It is contemplated that the State of Wisconsin and the National Park Service of the Department of the Interior shall cooperate in the use of this area so conveyed and leased for the establishment of a public park to be known as the Rawley Point National Lakeshore Recreational Area. The National Park Service has previously investigated the possible use of the land for the establishment of such a public park and has advised the Bureau of Lighthouses that that Service considers such usage to be very desirable and endorses the transfer of the area for this purpose.

The Twin River Point Lighthouse and Fog Signal Station are to occupy the remainder of the reservation which is not transferred.

The Assistant Secretary of Commerce, in a letter dated May 12, 1937, which is appended as a part of this report, advises that the Bureau of the Budget has stated to the Department of Commerce that there would be no objection to the presentation of the favorable report of the Department to your committee, and the Assistant Secretary of Commerce concurs in the recommendation of the Acting Commissioner of Lighthouses that the bill be favorably reported. Your committee believes that ample safeguards are provided by the bill to protect the interests of the United States, and that the end sought to be obtained warrants the enactment of the bill. For these reasons, your committee is glad of this opportunity to favorably report the legislation proposed back to the House and urge its early enactment.

The letter of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce, referred to above, is as follows:

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE,

Washington, May 12, 1937. Hon. S. O. BLAND, Chairman, Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries,

House of Representatives, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: In your letter dated January :6, 1937, you requested the views and recommendations of the Department concerning H. Ř. 1961, a bill to authorize the conveyance by the United States to the State of Wisconsin of a portion of the Twin Point Lighthouse Reservation, and for other purposes.

Enclosed is a memorandum from the Acting Commissioner of Lighthouses, this Department, in which I concur. This memorandum has been submitted to the Bureau of the Budget and that Bureau has advised the Department that there would be no objection to its presentation to your committee.

Kindly be advised that at the time your request for a report on the bill was received, the property referred to therein had been declared to be in excess of the needs of the Lighthouse Service and had been assigned to the Procurement Division. However, it was reassigned to the Department under date of April 14, 1937. Cordially yours,

J. M. JOHNSON, Assistant Secretary of Commerce.

BUREAU OF LIGHTHOUSES,

Washington, January 26, 1937.

MEMORANDUM FOR THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE

1. Reference is made to the Assistant Solicitor's memorandum of January 21, 1937, requesting a report on H. R. 1961, a bill to authorize the conveyance by the United States to the State of Wisconsin of a portion of the Twin River Point Lighthouse Reservation, and for other purposes.

2. The Twin River Point Lighthouse Reservation, Wis., comprises an area of 80 acres, more or less, of land which was acquired for lighthouse purposes by purchase in 1873, the site being located approximately 6 miles north of the city of Two Rivers in fractional lot 1, sec. 16, T. 20 N., R. 25 E., State of Wisconsin. An area of approximately 70.8 acres, more or less, is in excess of the present needs of the light station facilities, and has heretofore been reported to the Director of Procurement for disposition pursuant to the requirements of the act approved August 27, 1935 (49 Stat. 885).

3. The National Park Service, Department of the Interior, has investigated the possible use of the surplus area for establishment in cooperation with the State park authorities of the Rawley Point National Lakeshore Recreational Area, and that Service endorses the transfer of the area to the State for publicpark' purposes, which is considered a very desirable usage of the area in_the interest of the Lighthouse Service on account of the Twin River Point and FogSignal Station occupying the remainder of the reservation. The legislation in question appears to be a necessary step in that direction, and the Bureau recommends that the concurrence of the Director of Procurement be sought toward the adoption of a favorable report on the bill, should there be no objection.

Chas. A. PARK, Acting Commissioner of Lighthouses.

COAST GUARD STATION, MANISTIQUE, MICH.

JUNE 2, 1937.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state

of the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. WARREN, from the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries,

submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany H.'R. 3414)

The Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 3414) to provide for the establishment of a Coast Guard station at or near Manistique, Mich., having had the same under consideration, report it back to the House with an amendment and, as so amended, recommend that the bill do pass.

The amendment proposed by your committee is as follows:

Line 7, strike out the comma following the word “recommend”, insert a period, and strike out the remainder of the bill.

This amendment was adopted at the suggestion of the Treasury Department and its purpose is to omit from the provisions of the bill an authorization for appropriations for the establishment and construction of the Coast Guard station. The omission of this language, therefore, limits the legislation to merely an authority in the Secretary of the Treasury to establish the station at a site to be recommended by the Commandant of the Coast Guard at or in the vicinity of Manistique, Schoolcraft County, Mich., and with this amendment your committee is advised by the Acting Secretary of the Treasury, in his letter of May 8, 1937, which is appended below, that the legislation proposed is in accord with the program of the President.

Two independent studies--one made in 1936 by a board of Coast Guard officers of needs along the Lake Michigan coast, and a study by the Commandant of the Coast Guard which has just been concluded-reveal the need for the establishment of the station proposed in order to provide proper protection to the extensive marine commerce operating in the northern part of Lake Michigan and to give attention to observance of the maritime laws by shipping in the general region of Manistique.

Many fishing tugs operate out of Manistique, and approximately 750,000 tons of shipping enter the harbor annually. During the year 1934, two steamships grounded at Point aux Barques (approximately