STATEMENT OF MANAGERS ON PART OF THE HOUSE.

The managers on the part of the House at the conference on the disagreeing votes of the two Houses on the amendments of the Senate to the bill H. R. 21957, "Relating to Affairs in the Territories," submit the following detailed statement in explanation of the effect of the action agreed upon and recommended in the conference report, namely:

The Senate recedes from its amendments numbered 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, and 45.

The House recedes from its disagreement to the amendments of the Senate numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 13, 28, 29, 30, and 46, and agree to the same.

The House recedes from its disagreement to the amendments of the Senate numbered 15, 17, and 41, and agrees to the same with amendments.

Amendments numbered 1, 2, and 3 relate to the signature of bonds which the town of Valdez, Alaska, is authorized to issue, requiring them to be actually signed by the mayor and clerk instead of having the signatures lithographed or printed, and require that the seal of the town be attached to them.

Amendments numbered 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 are changes in phraseology in that part of the act relating to the regulation of the liquor traffic in Alaska.

Amendment numbered 14 struck out that part of the act relating to the practice of medicine and surgery in Alaska requiring practitioners to obtain licenses. The agreement restores the provision.

Amendment numbered 15 struck out the section of that part of the act relating to the practice of medicine and surgery in Alaska. The agreement restores the section, except that the time which the applicant must have practiced in Alaska before he can obtain license is changed from five to three years.

Amendment numbered 16 struck out the third section of that part of the act relating to the practice of medicine and surgery in Alaska. Amendment numbered 17 restores the fourth section of that part of the act relating to the practice of medicine and surgery in Alaska, except that the time which the applicant must have practiced is changed from five to three years, and the jurisdiction within which he or she must have practiced is changed from "the judicial district in which the application is filed" to "the district of Alaska."

Amendments numbered 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22, respectively, struck out the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth sections of that part of the act relating to the practice of medicine and surgery in Alaska. The agreement restores these sections without change.

Amendments numbered 23, 24, 25, 26, and 27 changed the numbering of the sections of the act as it passed the House. The agreement restores the House numbering of the sections.

Amendments numbered 28, 29, and 30 relate to the signature of bonds which the city of Phoenix, Ariz., is authorized to issue, requiring them to be actually signed by the mayor and recorder instead of having the signatures lithographed or printed, and require that the seal of the city be attached to them.

Amendments numbered 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, and 40 changed the numbering of the sections of the act as it passed the House. The agreement restores the House numbering of the sections. Amendment numbered 41 struck out all of the act relating to the approval of certain acts of the legislative assembly of the Territory of Hawaii authorizing and providing for the manufacture, maintenance, distribution, and supply of electric light and power in the districts of Wailuku and Lahaina, Hawaii. The agreement restores the part stricken out, excepting a clause in each of the territorial acts relating to charges for electric light and power. The act as affected by the agreement of the conferees leaves the regulation of rates in the courts upon petition of consumers.

It should be stated that the provisions covered by amendment numbered 41 were stricken out by the Senate, so that the subject-matter could be referred to the Senate Committee on Pacific Islands and Porto Rico, since which time the Senate committee has favorably reported to the Senate two bills (S. 7697 and S. 7698) covering the subjectmatter of the amendment, the Senate Committee on the Territories, to whom the omnibus bill was referred, not having jurisdiction of matters relating to the Territory of Hawaii under the rules of the Senate.

Amendments numbered 42, 43, 44, and 45 changed the numbering of the sections of the act as it passed the House. The agreement restores the House numbering of the sections.

Amendment numbered 46 added a provision that no obligation shall be created against or assumed by the United States on account of any bond or bonds issued in pursuance of the authority granted in this act, and that notice of the provision shall be printed on the face of each bond issued. The House receded from its disagreement to this very proper amendment.

E. L. HAMILTON,

A. B. CAPRON,

JAMES T. LLOYD,

Managers on the part of the House.

TO PERMIT FLOODING OF CERTAIN LANDS NEAR REDLANDS, CAL.

JANUARY 25, 1909.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed.

Mr. SMITH, of California, from the Committee on the Public Lands, submitted the following

REPORT.

[To accompany H. R. 26599.]

The Committee on the Public Lands, to whom was referred the bill (H. R. 26599) to permit the flooding of certain lands, and for other purposes, have had the same under consideration and report it back with the unanimous recommendation that it pass.

The lands referred to in the bill lie in the wash of the Santa Ana River near Redlands, Cal. There is no soil but only bowlders, gravel, and coarse sand for a half mile or so on each bank of the river. Adjacent lands of good quality are valued at some hundreds of dollars per acre, this section being in the heart of one of the best orange-growing districts in the State. Yet so valueless is the land mentioned in the bill that no one has cared to obtain the Government's title to the same. Some homestead filings were made on parts of the land in 1902 and 1903, but no improvements whatever were made by these entrymen. Steps have been taken to extinguish these claims, and in order to aid the purposes of the bill the Secretary of the Interior has withdrawn. the land from further entry pending the action of Congress on this bill. The interlying odd sections still belong to the Santa Fe Railroad and permission to flood them has been secured. The object in view in flooding these lands is to fill up the seams in the earth with water, it being believed that upon sinking to bed rock the water will appear again in the lower course of the river and be diverted into the irrigating canals; or it will feed the flowing wells still farther down the valley. If the flood waters be not thus turned into the pores of the earth, they will rush on down the river and be lost in the ocean.

The Government incurs no expense or liability under the bill. It merely permits any and all parties interested in conserving these waters to flood the lands described.