THE SOLICITOR. 877 



Owing to many difficulties in the administration of the Arkansas 

 National Forest, together with concerted action on the part of 

 residents in that locality to acquire lands and timber in the forest 

 apparently without right and in willful disregard of the laws, the 

 district law officer spent the entire month of March and almost the 

 whole of February and April in this Forest and in the vicinity investi- 



fating the causes of friction and the validity of claims to lands in the 

 'orest. 



District No. 4- — In tliis district action was taken by the district 

 law officer in 45 cases, in 9 of which the entries were held for cancella- 

 tion, in 3 decisions were adverse to the Government, and the remain- 

 der were pending at the close of the year on orders for hearings. 



District No. 5. — On January 15, 1910, there were pending in this 

 district 264 cases. This number was increased before the expiration 

 of the fiscal year by 60. During tliis period 35 cases were closed, 27 

 resulting favorably to the United States and 6 to the claimant. One 

 contest was dismissed at the request of the Department, and 2 squatter 

 claims were abandoned. On June 30 there were still pending 289 

 cases. 



District No. 6. — On January 15, 1910, there were pending in this 

 district 518 cases, and during the period covered by this report 53 

 new cases were added. Of this number 61 were closed dunng the 

 year, 38 having been decided favorably to the United States and 23 

 to the claimants. Those in wliich the United States were successful 

 represented 5,442 acres of land valued at $27,210, supporting 66,555,- 

 000 feet of timber valued at $199,665. In 22 cases the hearings 

 were attended and partially conducted by the district law officer or 

 his assistant. At the close of the year 510 cases were still pending. 



It has been found impracticable in a report limited in character as 

 this must be, to include a complete table of these claim's cases. To do 

 so would greatly lengthen the detail of the report and at tliis time 

 serve no indispensable purpose. It has been thought sufficient to 

 present a synopsis of this branch of the work. 



GENERAL LITIGATION. 



Under tliis designation fall all those cases in which action is con- 

 templated or taken in the courts. The work necessary to prepare 

 the cases for submission to the Attorney-General requires careful and 

 painstaking attention. No case is thus submitted until the evidence 

 is collected and sifted, to the end that only such as make out a prima 

 facie showing shall be reported for action in the courts. Except in 

 a few instances the cases are prepared by the assistants to the Solicitor 

 in the several districts and the letter written there and sent with all 

 the papers to the Solicitor, for examination preparatory to signature 

 by the Secretary. Much the larger number of cases investigated by 

 the Office never reach the Attorney-General, usually because of ina- 

 bility to secure proper evidence. Yet the work involved in these is as 

 timo-consuming and laborious as that necessitated in cases which are 

 so reported. This report does not attempt to set forth those cases 

 in which no report was made to the Attorney-Genoral, or in which 

 settlements of controversies iiavc been secured through demands by 

 the Department, such as removal of unlawful fences. 



