Congressional Serial Set

1st Session.

No. 580.

BOUNDARY BETWEEN CHOCTAW AND CHICKASAW NATIONS.

JANUARY 25, 1906.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed.

Mr. STEPHENS, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, submitted the

following

REPORT.

[To accompany H. J. Res. 59.]

The Committee on Indian Affairs, to whom was referred the resolution (H. J. Res. 59) authorizing the Secretary of the Interior, in conjunction with the State of Texas, to determine and establish the boundary line between the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations, Indian Territory, and the State of Texas, beg leave to report said joint resolution favorably with the following amendments, viz:

Amend the title by striking out the word "Nation" after the word "Choctaw" and insert in lieu thereof the words "and Chickasaw nations."

In line 3, page 1, strike out the words "Secretary of the Interior" and insert in lieu thereof the words "President of the United States." In lines 4 and 5, page 1, strike out the words "or persons." In line 10, page 1, strike out the word "suitable," and after the word "States," in said line 10, insert the words "or Texas."

On page 2, line 8, strike out the word "surveys" and insert in lieu thereof the words " or Texas surveys.

In line 9, page 2, strike out the words "Secretary of the Interior" and insert in lieu thereof the words "President of the United States," so that said resolution as amended will read as follows, viz:

Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President of the United States be, and he is hereby, authorized and empowered to appoint a suitable person, now in the employ of the Government or outside of the employ of the Government, as to him shall seem the more expedient, who, in conjunction with such person or persons as may be appointed by and on behalf of the State of Texas for the same purpose, shall determine and establish by reference to landmarks or United States or Texas surveys, the boundary line between the Choctaw and Chickasaw nations, Indian Territory, and the State of Texas, beginning at the point where the boundary line between the State of Arkansas and the Indian Territory crosses Red River, and running thence westwardly along the Red

River to the point where the North Fork of Red River joins the main channel near where the ninety-eighth degree of longitude west from Greenwich crosses Red River. SEC. 2. That the said boundary shall be determined by such landmarks, or reference to such landmarks or established corners of United States or Texas surveys, as may be agreed on by the President of the United States or those acting under his authority, and the said State of Texas or those acting under its authority.

SEC. 3. That the sum of five thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, be, and the same is hereby, appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury of the United States not otherwise appropriated, to carry out the provisions of this act: Provided, That the person or persons appointed and employed on the part and behalf of the State of Texas are to be paid by the said State: Provided further, That no persons, except a superintendent or commissioner, shall be appointed or employed in this service by the United States but such as are required to make the necessary observations and surveys to ascertain such line and make return of the same.

The necessity for this legislation arises from the fact that the boundary to be determined has been heretofore defined to be Red River, and the channel of said river has in many places been changed by erosion, which has produced a corresponding confusion of boundaries. It therefore becomes necessary that said boundary should be definitely fixed and marked.

PENSION APPROPRIATION BILL.

JANUARY 25, 1906.-Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union and ordered to be printed.

Mr. GARDNER, of Michigan, from the Committee on Appropriations, submitted the following

REPORT.

[To accompany H. R. 13103.]

The Committee on Appropriations in presenting the bill making appropriations for the payment of invalid and other pensions for the fiscal year 1907 submit the following in explanation thereof:

The estimates on which the bill is based will be found on page 187 of the Book of Estimates for 1907 and amount to $141,345,500. The accompanying bill appropriates $140,245,500.

The following statement gives, by appropriate title of expenditure, the amounts appropriated for 1906, the estimates for 1907, and the amounts recommended in the accompanying bill for 1907:

No new legislation or limitations on appropriations are recommended in the bill, except the following, on page 2:

And provided further, That age is a permanent specific disability within the meaning of the pension laws.

The following table, compiled from the annual reports of the Commissioner of Pensions, shows the number of pensioners on the roll, the annual value of pensions, the disbursements on account of pensions,

the number of applications filed, and the number of claims allowed each fiscal year from 1879 to 1905, inclusive:

Average annual value of each pension allowed on account of the war with Spain..

Average value of all original payments during year..

Average value of original payments in act June 27, 1890, cases.

$136.96

187.51

113.20

127.90

111.00

84.52

246.10

232.18

Average value of original payments in general-law cases
Average value of original payments in war with Spain cases.

REFERENCES.

Navy pension fund.-Section 4755 of the Revised Statutes provides that navy pensions shall be paid out of the "Navy pension fund," upon an appropriation by Congress, so far as the same may be sufficient.

The naval pension fund at present amounts to $14,000,000, bearing interest at the rate of 3 per cent per annum, and is created under the provisions of sections 4751 and 4752 of the Revised Statutes.

The payments on account of navy pensions during the fiscal year 1904 aggregated $4,197,166.07.

Pension agents.-The compensation of pension agents is fixed by the act of June 14, 1878 (Supplement to the Revised Statutes, pp. 347 and 348), by the act of July 4, 1888, and by the act of March 3, 1885 (Statutes at Large, vol. 23, pp. 99 and 362).

Examining surgeons. The compensation of examining surgeons is fixed at $2 for each examination by section 4 of the act of July 25, 1882 (Statutes at Large, vol. 22, pp. 175 and 176).

LAWS AUTHORIZING APPOINTMENT OF AGENTS FOR PAYMENT OF PENSIONS AND FIXING THEIR COMPENSATION.

[Revised Statutes, sec. 4780.]

The President is authorized to establish agencies for the payment of pensions whenever, in his judgment, the public interests and the convenience of the pensioners

require, but the number of pension agencies in any State or Territory shall in no case be increased hereafter so as to exceed three, and no such agency shall be established in addition to those now existing in any State or Territory in which the whole amount of pensions paid during the fiscal year next preceding shall have not exceeded the sum of $500,000.

[Act of Mar. 3, 1885, Stat. L., vol. 23, p. 362.]

That from and after June 30, 1885, the salary and emoluments of agents for the payment of pensions shall be $4,000, and no more, per annum; and of the fees provided by law for vouchers prepared and paid only so much thereof as may be required for expenses incurred in having said vouchers prepared, as well as the necessary clerical work at the agencies shall be available.

EXTRACTS FROM REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF PENSIONS, 1905.

(Page 5.)

The number of pensioners dropped from the rolls during the fiscal year 1905 was as follows: