Secretary of the Interior Douglas McKay today cxmow.1ced the selection of three prominent Oregonians--Thomas B., Watters of Klamath Falls., William L. Phillips of Salem, and Eugene Favell of Lakeview - as management specialists for the Klamath Indian Tribe. They will supervise the program of property appraisal, subdivision and management under the tribal termination law enacted last August.
The specialists were selected after full consultation with the Tribe by Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Glenn LQ Emmons, and a specific endorsement by the tribal executive committee. They will take over - their new duties in the near future as soon as a contract covering their services is negotiated and signed.
Under the termination law the specialists have five major assignments:
(1) to have an appraisal made of all tribal property;
(2) immediately thereafter, to give each adult tribal member an opportunity to choose for himself and his minor children either withdrawal of his proportionate share of the tribal assets or continued participation in the tribal management plan;
(3) to pick out the tracts of tribal land which must be sold to pay off the withdrawing members, arrange for the sale, and distribute the proceeds;
(4) to have such studies and reports made as may be needed from time to time by the Tribe or the Secretary; and
(5) to have a specific program developed for future management of the unsold portion of the tribal property through a trustee, corporation or some other legal entity.,
The law provides that all these steps, together with other phase of the termination program being carried out by the Tribe and the Indian Bureau, must be completed by August 13, 1958. Costs of the work supervised by the management specialists will be borne, under provisions of the act, by the Indian beneficiaries.
Mr. Watters, a native of Cedar County, Nebr., carne to Klamath Falls as a young man and has been in the real estate and insurance business there for almost JO years. He was mayor of the city for four years in the late 19201 s and was manager of the Klamath Valley Savings and Loan Company from 1930 to 1933. In 1935 he joined other Klamath Falls businessmen in purchasing and eventually liquidating the assets of the Western Savings and Loan Company. Before coming to Oregon he attended the University of Nebraska
Mr. Phillips, also a native of Nebraska, came to Oregon in 1912 and settled in Salem nine years later. In 1922 he became associated with the Valley Motor Company and 30 years later was named president and general manager. He has since sold out hi interests in this company and is now connected with the Valley Properties Company. He is a trustee of Willamette University, a director of the [] and Coke Company, and a member of the National Executive Board of the [] of America.
Mr. Favell has been in the land appraisal and timber brokerage business for more than 40 years. He started out in Wisconsin around 1912 and has since had experience in Minnesota, Florida, Canada and finally Oregon. For a number of years past, he has been active in civic affairs at Lakeview.
