Mr. SLAUGHTER (reading):

and (iii) that such power of exclusive legislation shall vest and remain in the United States only so long as the particular tract or parcel of land involved is owned by the United States and used for military, naval, Air Force, or Coast Guard purposes.

Senator CORDON. Is there any objection to the use of the language in the Hawaiian bill insofar as the—I think that probably is the second and third reservations. I am not certain. In any event, let us put it this way: Without objection, the subcommittee will adopt the substance of the Hawaiian language, making as little change as is necessary in the language in the Alaska bill.

Senator JACKSON. I think that is what we have in mind.

Senator CORDON. I think the approach in the Hawaiian bill is preferable.

Senator JACKSON. The net effect is to give concurrent jurisdiction over the military reservations.

Senator CORDON. It is an alternative, subordinate jurisdiction that the State has. It really is not concurrent.

Delegate BARTLETT. That language, incidentally, was adopted by the House committee after much, much discussion of this proposition, and I think the Hawaii language was written by the Military Department itself.

Senator CORDON. I want to say to you, Mr. Bartlett, that my view is that the language in the Hawaiian bill is preferable from the viewpoint of the State of Alaska.

Delegate BARTLETT. I subscribe to your recommendation.

Senator CORDON. I can see no reason in the world why, for instance, ordinary local laws should not be applicable to these areas unless the Congress elects to set up its own code of laws, whether under the military code or otherwise.

We are down to section 11. We have a few more pages to go through.

Senator JACKSON. Is there much question about the balance of this? Mr. FRENCH. The judiciary sections were reviewed by Judge Maris of the third circuit court of appeals. I have gone over them with him. We believe they meet the problem involved in the change over from a Territorial to a State-Federal judicial system.

Senator CORDON. The only other question of consequence, at least that I have knowledge of, would be on page 30 with respect to the road problem.

Delegate BARTLETT. Two things, Senator. You have the road problem which you have to discuss, and then you have to make your determination as to the amount of lands, too.

Senator CORDON. Yes. That, among other thing, is something we can argue on from now until doomsday, but it is one that we cannot decide here.

Mr. FRENCH. Sir, we won't need section 17 of the Alaska bill if the Hawaiian bill is enacted first, because the provision is general legislation, you see. I refer to the extension to the new State of the Federal Reserve System. In the event the Alaska bill is first, the provision is included in it. That is on page 28, Senator Jackson.

Senator CORDON. We do not know which is going to be adopted, and I am not prepared to assume that one will be adopted before the

other. I think we had better leave it in here and strike it in case the other be adopted first, but have it here in case it is not.

I suggest, Senator Jackson, if this bill be, as I assume it will be, offered as a title II, that this section be deleted from it.

Senator JACKSON. In that event.

Senator CORDON. Yes.

Senator JACKSON. You make a note of it, Stewart, so we will have that in mind.

Mr. FRENCH. Yes, sir.

Senator CORDON. I think we had better leave this other road provision until we have more people here. We are due to have this thing ready for a vote tomorrow.

Could you have another committee print with the changes such as we have made, and have them in italics for the purpose of striking, and so on?

Mr. FRENCH. Yes, sir.

Senator CORDON. We will be in recess until 10 o'clock tomorrow. (Whereupon, at 12: 10 p. m., the committee recessed until 10 a. m., Thursday, February 4, 1954.)

ALASKA STATEHOOD

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1954

UNITED STATES SENATE,

COMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS,

Washington, D. C. The committee met at 10:30 a. m., pursuant to recess, in the committee room, 224 Senate Office Building, Washington, D. C., Senator Hugh Butler (chairman) presiding.

Present: Senators Hugh Butler, Nebraska (chairman); Guy Cordon, Oregon; George W. Malone, Nevada; Henry C. Dworshak, Idaho; Frank A. Barrett. Wyoming; Clinton P. Anderson, New Mexico; Russell B. Long, Louisiana; George A. Smathers, Florida; Earle C. Clements, Kentucky; Henry M. Jackson, Washington; and Price Daniel, Texas.

Present also: E. L. Bartlett, Delegate from Alaska, House of Representatives.

Present also: Kirkley S. Coulter, chief clerk and staff director; N. D. McSherry, assistant chief clerk; Albert A. Grorud and Stewart French, professional staff members.

Present also: Elmer F. Bennett, Legislative Counsel and Assistant Solicitor, and Herbert J. Slaughter, Chief, Reference Division, Office of Legislative Counsel, Department of the Interior.

The CHAIRMAN. Gentlemen, we have a quorum of the committee here now, and we have proxies for those absent. We will have a vote on the question of reporting favorably a bill for Alaska statehood in accordance with our agreement the other day.

Before anybody makes a motion to report an Alaskan bill, I have 2 or 3 suggestions that I want to submit for inclusion in such a measure. It is going to take another day or two before the report could actually be made.

I think we should repeal the act of 1914 which directed the Secretary of the Interior to establish coal reserves in Alaska for defense and other purposes. There are only two coal reserves in the continental area, I am informed. Personally, I do not think that coal lands should be set aside in Alaska, either.

Senator MALONE. Of course not.

The CHAIRMAN. In other words, it is my idea to make every acre possible of every resource available to the State of Alaska instead of keeping it tied up in the Federal Government.

of

I have talked to Mr. Bennett and Mr. Slaughter, and they have both agreed that it would be feasible to provide for repeal in the statehood bill of that 1914 statute.

Senator CORDON. What is the nature of the suggested repeal, Mr. Chairman?

Senator ANDERSON. Could we see the act which created those coal reserves?

The CHAIRMAN. While that is being looked up, I will submit another proposed amendment that I think I would like to see in the bill. There should be a provision making lands now under mineral lease available to the State. In other words, there is a clause in the bill now that restricts the State from selecting any lands that are withdrawn, and so forth. That covers land under oil and other mineral leases.

I think that those areas should be made available to the State to select from, just like any other area.

Senator BARRETT. I have an amendment on that.

Senator CORDON. What do you mean, Mr. Chairman, by that statement? I do not follow you. You say mineral leasesSenator BARRETT. Principally for oil and gas.

Senator CORDON. To the State?

The CHAIRMAN. They have a lot of mineral leases up there now. Senator CORDON. Mineral leases by the Government to private people?

The CHAIRMAN. Yes.

Senator CORDON. Do you mean assignment of such leases to the State?

The CHAIRMAN. The interest of the Federal Government in those leases should be transferred to the State of Alaska.

Senator CORDON. That is what I wanted to understand. I go along with that.

Senator BARRETT. I have an amendment I want to offer whenever you are ready to hear from me, Mr. Chairman.

The CHAIRMAN. I will complete the submission of my suggestions while I am at it, if I may. I do not know how long it will take us to

act on them.

I think that those potential power sites may be under some sort of withdrawal at the present time. Power sites should be made available to the State of Alaska.

Senator CLEMENTS. Mr. Chairman, I could not agree with you more, unless there is some very definite reason why the area should be reserved to the Federal Government. If the area is going to develop, power sites are going to be more important to the development than probably any other one single thing.

The CHAIRMAN. I have one further recommendation. There is a bill pending now, which I introduced a year ago in January, to repeal section 2 of the act of May 1, 1936, and to rescind certain orders of the Secretary of the Interior establishing Indian reservations in the Territory of Alaska, and for other purposes.

Senator CORDON. To repeal section 2 of what?

The CHAIRMAN. To repeal section 2 of the act of May 1, 1936, 49 Stat. 1250.

Senator CORDON. What is that section?

The CHAIRMAN. Here is the whole bill [handing bill to Senator Cordon].

I think that repeal should be made a part of the statehood bill. Senator JACKSON. That takes away from the Secretary of the Interior the power to create new reservations in Alaska?