Letter from Secretary of the Interior Julius Krug to President Harry S. Truman

5378 HM Indian 6-6 THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR WASHINGTON JAN - 2 1948 1-6-48 My dear Mr. President: x Section 3 of the Act of Congress approved June 28, 1906 (34 Stat. 539-543), as amended, authorizes the leasing of lands in the Osage Indian Reservation, Oklahoma, for mining x289 purposes and provides that the royalty to be paid shall be determined by the President of the United States. X Two gas leases on lands within the Osage Reservation are owned by the Cities Service Oil Company. These leases, Nos. 3748 and 3754, provide that from March 17, 1916, and until March 16, 1918, the basis of the value of gas upon which royalty shall be paid shall be 18 cents per thousand cubic feet, and that the basis upon which royalty shall be paid for each five-year period thereafter during the full term of the lease shall be determined by the Secretary of the Interior and approved by the President. Lease No. 3754 contains a further provision whereby the lessee is required to pay royalty on a price basis of 12 cents per thousand cubie feet for all gas used for industrial and commercial purposes within a specified area. During each five-year period since the date of approval of the leases the royalty has been determined and fixed by executive approval, and each time the original rate of 18 cents per thousand cubie feet, subject to a 12-cent rate for the excepted area indi- cated above, has been continued as the basis for determining the royalty due the Osage Tribe. The last five-year period for which the rate of royalty was fixed, effective March 17, 1943, will expire March 16, 1948. It is the desire of the Osage Tribal Council and the Cities Service Oil Company that these rates be continued for another five-year period. The Superintendent of the Osage Indian Agency has advised that the rates are ade- quate and protect the interests of the Osage Tribe. RECONDS SERVICE GOVERNMENT In view of the above, I am submitting the matter to you with the recommendation that the above price bases X56-B x296 x163