THE SOLICITOR. 873 



CONTRACTS. 



The contractual relations of the Department with beneficiaries of 

 the National Forests and of the work of the Forest Service assume 

 varied and often complicated forms, necessitating considerable skill 

 in drafting instruments to meet the needs of the Service. Among the 

 most important contracts of the year were two entered into between 

 the Department and the Great Northern and Northern Pacific rail- 

 road companies for an effective system of fire patrol on the National 

 Forests. Several contracts with state authorities and individuals for 

 cooperative work in forest investigations and improvement of the 

 National Forests were drafted during the year, and numerous leases 

 of administrative quarters were either prepared or examined by the 

 Solicitor and the district law officers for formal and substantial defects. 

 Several deeds to the Government for lands required for the adminis- 

 tration of the National Forests were examined and prepared for sub- 

 mission to the Attorney-General. One of the most important, time- 

 consuming, and intricate phases of the contract work of the Depart- 

 ment in relation to the National Forests is that incident to the execu- 

 tion of the act of February 15, 1901 (31 Stat., 790) empowering the 

 Secretary of Agriculture to permit the use of rights of way over the 

 National Forests for electrical and irrigation plants. During the year 

 several important applications for such permits have been referred 

 to the Solicitor for investigation and the preparation of the necessary 

 instruments. There has been a well-clefined disposition on the part 

 of certain power companies in some of the western States to contest 

 with the Department the authority of the Secretary to impose con- 

 ditions upon the use of rights of way in the National Forests for power 

 purposes. These companies have asserted with such persistence 

 that they have rights beyond the control of the Secretary that during 

 the latter part of the year it was determined to put them to the 

 establishment of these rights and, accordingly, the facts in a typical 

 case were referred to the Attorney-General for action. In addition 

 to tlie power permits examined and prepared during the year, it was 

 found necessary to revoke prior permits for breach of the terms and 

 conditions. Prior to your general order directing that the legal work 

 of the Forest Service oe performed by the Solicitor, it had been cus- 

 tomary to revoke these permits without notice to show cause against 

 revocation. It was thought, however, that this procedure was a 

 little too drastic in some instances. It is the present practice to 

 notify the permittee that the Department is considering the revoca- 

 tion of his permit and afford him an opportunity to present such facts 

 as he may deem pertinent in that connection. If, after a mature 

 consideration of all the facts in tiie case, it is deemed proper to revoke 

 the permit, the permittee is promptly notified of this action. 



Much time has been saved during the year by the preparation of 

 printed forms on which many of the contracts for the Forest Service 

 are drafted. These blanks cover such phases of the work of the 

 Department as grazing, minor timber, and similar special-use permits, 

 and are filled in by the agents of the Department and the permittees, 

 but are carefully scrutinized by the district law officers for proper 

 execution and sufficiency, to cover the needs of each individual case. 



