Proclamation 3443 ESTABLISHING THE BUCK ISLAND REEF NATIONAL MONUMENT IN THE VIRGIN ISLANDS OF THE UNITED STATES By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation WHEREAS Buck Island, situated off the northeast coast of St. Croix Island in the Virgin Islands of the United States, was included in the public, government, or crown lands ceded to the United States by Denmark under the convention entered into August 4, 1916, and proclaimed by the President January 25, 1917 (39 Stat. 1706); and WHEREAS all property thus acquired by the United States from Denmark, not reserved by the United States for public purposes prior to June 22, 1937, was placed under the control of the Government of the Virgin Islands by the act of June 22, 1936, 49 Stat. 1807 (48 U.S.C. 1405-1405c), with the legal title remaining in the United States; and WHEREAS Buck Island was not reserved by the United States for public purposes prior to June 22, 1937, but has been owned by the United States continuously since the convention with Denmark in 1916; and WHEREAS Buck Island and its adjoining shoals, rocks, and undersea coral reef formations possess one of the finest marine gardens in the Caribbean Sea; and WHEREAS these lands and their related features are of great scientific interest and educational value to students of the sea and to the public; and WHEREAS this unique natural area and the rare marine life which are dependent upon it are subject to constant threat of commercial exploitation and destruction; and WHEREAS the Advisory Board on National Parks, Historic Sites, Buildings and Monuments, established pursuant to the act of August 21, 1935, 49 Stat. 666 (16 U.S.C. 463), impressed by the caliber and scientific importance of the coral reefs of Buck Island, has urged their prompt protection to prevent further despoliation; and WHEREAS the Governor of the Virgin Islands, under the authority vested in him by the legislative assembly of the Virgin Islands by an act approved December 5, 1961, has relinquished to the United States, for the purposes of facilitating the establishment and administration of a national monument for the protection of the abovementioned areas and objects of historic and scientific interest, such control as is vested in the Government of the Virgin Islands by the said act of Congress dated June 22, 1936, over the area hereinafter described; subject, however, to the condition that the United States, including any agency or instrumentality thereof, shall not adopt or attempt to enforce any rule, regulation or requirement limiting, restricting or reducing the existing fishing (including the landing of boats and the laying of fishpots outside of the marine garden), bathing or recreational privileges by inhabitants of the Virgin Islands, and shall not charge any fees for admission to the area. WHEREAS it is in the public interest to preserve this area of outstanding scientific, aesthetic, and educational importance for the benefit and enjoyment of the people: NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOHN F. KENNEDY, President of the United States of America, under and by virtue of the authority vested in me by section 2 of the act of June 8, 1906, 34 Stat. 225 (16 U.S.C. 431), do proclaim that, subject to valid existing rights, there is hereby reserved and set apart, as the Buck Island Reef National Monument, the area embraced within lines drawn between the coordinates of latitude and longitude recited as follows: Beginning at latitude 17°47′58'' N., longitude 64°38′16′′ W.; thence approximately 10,450 feet to latitude 17°47'30'' N., longitude 64°36′32′′ W.; thence approximately 1,500 feet to latitude 17°47′15'' N., longitude 64°36′32′′ W.; thence approximately 4,500 feet to latitude 17°47′00′′ N., longitude 64°37′16′′ W.; thence approximately 8,600 feet to latitude 17°47′35′′ N., longitude 64°38′37′′ W.; and thence approximately 3,075 feet to latitude 17°47′58'' N., longitude 64°38′16′′ W., the place of beginning, embracing an area of approximately 850 acres. WARNING is expressly given to all unauthorized persons not to appropriate, injure, destroy, deface, or remove any feature of this monument and not to locate or settle upon any of the lands reserved for the monument by this proclamation. The Secretary of the Interior shall have the supervision, management, and control of this monument as provided in the act of Congress entitled "An act to establish a National Park Service, and for other purposes," approved August 25, 1916, 39 Stat. 535 (16 U.S.C. 1-3), and all acts supplementary thereto and amendatory thereof: Provided, that neither the Department of the Interior, nor any other agency or instrumentality of the United States, shall adopt or attempt to enforce any rule, regulation or requirement limiting, restricting or reducing the existing fishing (including the landing of boats and the laying of fishpots outside of the marine garden), bathing or recreational privileges by inhabitants of the Virgin Islands, or charge any fees for admission to the area. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed. DONE at the City of Washington this twenty-eighth day of December in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and [SEAL] sixty-one, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and eighty-sixth. By the President: JOHN F. KENNEDY DEAN RUSK, Secretary of State. Proclamation 3444 HOMESTEAD CENTENNIAL YEAR By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation WHEREAS May 20, 1962, marks the centennial of the enactment. of the Homestead Act (12 Stat. 392), approved by President Lincoln, inducing settlement and cultivation of the undeveloped public lands and the establishment of homes thereon; and WHEREAS the granting of patents to more than 270 million acres of public domain lands has promoted the economic, social, and political development of this country through the establishment of farms, ranches, and communities and has provided the foundation for our highly productive agricultural economy; and WHEREAS the Homestead Act and supplemental acts of Congress, which are unique and distinctively American, stand as a tribute to the wisdom of those responsible for their enactment, in providing for the settlement of the public lands and thereby contributing to our free enterprise system by offering landless and laboring people an opportunity to acquire lands to provide for the needs of their families; and WHEREAS the Homestead Act and supplemental acts provide for the further recognition of those who have served in the armed forces of the United States; and WHEREAS specific Federal administration of the lands of the public domain began one hundred and fifty years ago with the establishment on April 25, 1812, of the General Land Office, now the Bureau of Land Management in the Department of the Interior, and the development of the West has been coextensive with, and based substantially upon, the acquisition, use, and disposal of these lands; and WHEREAS the Nation's public lands have contributed to the development and maintenance of the land-grant colleges and universities and the transcontinental and other railroads, and constitute the resource from which our national forest and park systems have been created; and WHEREAS the approximately 477 million acres of public domain, under the administration of the Department of the Interior, constitute a vital and necessary national land reserve, a trust dedicated to the greatest use and benefit of the public; and WHEREAS the Congress, by a joint resolution approved September 22, 1961 (75 Stat. 571), has requested the President to issue a proclamation designating the calendar year 1962 as the centennial of the enactment of the Homestead Act: NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOHN F. KENNEDY, President of the United States of America, do hereby designate the year 1962 as Homestead Centennial Year. I call upon the Governors of the States, mayors of cities, and other public officials, as well as other persons, organizations, and groups, particularly in the States most directly affected by the Homestead Act, to observe such centennial by appropriate celebrations and ceremonies. I request the Department of the Interior to plan and participate in appropriate commemorative activities recognizing the centennial of the enactment of the Homestead Act and the sesquicentennial of the establishment of the General Land Office; and I also request the Department of the Interior and other Federal agencies to cooperate fully with State and local governments during 1962 in commemorating these events. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington this fifth day of January in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and sixty-two, and of the [SEAL] Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and eighty-sixth. By the President: DEAN RUSK, Secretary of State. Proclamation 3445 LAW DAY, U.S.A., 1962 JOHN F. KENNEDY By the President of the United States of America A Proclamation WHEREAS one of the great challenges of our age is man's struggle to sustain individual freedom, human dignity, and justice for all; and WHEREAS one of the vital bulwarks in that struggle is the rule of law which underlies our whole social, economic and governmental structure, and through which we strive constantly to broaden and secure for all our citizens the rights and opportunities guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights; and WHEREAS the strengthening of the rule of law in our own country directly concerns every citizen because it is of fundamental importance both to the nation's welfare at home and to our hopes for building an enduring structure of world peace through wider application of the rule of law in relations between nations; and WHEREAS, just as freedom itself demands constant vigilance, it is essential that we nurture through education and example an appreciation of the values of our system of justice and that we foster through improved understanding of the function of law and of independent courts an increased respect for law and for the rights of others as basic elements of our free society; and WHEREAS the Congress of the United States, by a joint resolution approved April 7, 1961, 75 Stat. 43, has designated the first day of May of each year as Law Day, U.S.A.; has called upon the American people to rededicate themselves to "the ideals of equality and justice under law in their relations with each other as well as with other nations" and to cultivate "that respect for law that is so vital to the democratic way of life"; and has requested the President to issue a proclamation calling for appropriate observance of that day: NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOHN F. KENNEDY, President of the United States of America, do hereby request that the people of the United States observe Tuesday, May 1, 1962, with appropriate programs and ceremonies in recognition of Law Day, U.S.A. I especially urge that the schools, civic and service organizations, public bodies, the legal profession and the media of information participate in this worthy educational undertaking. I also call upon public officials to cause the flag of the United States to be displayed on all government buildings on that day. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed. DONE at the City of Washington this 16th day of January in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and sixty-two, and of the [SEAL] Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and eighty-sixth. By the President: JOHN F. KENNEDY DEAN RUSK, Secretary of State. Proclamation 3446 RED CROSS MONTH, 1962 By the President of the United States of America WHEREAS the American National Red Cross is officially designated by the Congress to act in matters of voluntary relief for uniformed personnel of the Armed Forces and their families; and |