790 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



tlic case requested institution of suit to recover the value of the tim- 

 ber after it was cut at the place where it was cut. In his reply, 

 acknowledging receipt of the report, and your letter requcstinjr suit, 

 the Attorney General advised that he would instruct the United 

 i^tates attorney to institute suit for the stumpage value of the timber — 

 that is, the value of the timber as it stood at the time of the trespass. 

 This value was materially less than the basis of value recommended 

 b}" the department. The Attorney General advised that this instruc- 

 tion would be given to the United States attorney in consonance with 

 the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in the Wooden- 

 ware case (106 U. S., 432). This gave rise in this office to a very 

 thorough review of the decisions of the courts touching the measure 

 of value for timber innocently cut by trespassers. In the opinion of 

 the Solicitor, after a thorough canvass of the decisions, the proper 

 measure of damages in such cases was that announced by the Supreme 

 Court in the case of the United States v. St. Anthony Railroad Co. (192 

 U. S., 524), where it was distinctly held that the measure should be 

 the value of the timber after it was cut at the place where it was cut, 

 no deduction in behalf of the defendant being made for labor bestowed 

 in felling the timber. A letter was therefore prepared to the Attor- 

 ney General presenting this view. The Secretary of Agriculture was 

 duly advised by the Attorney General that he had carefully exam- 

 ined, not only the decisions of the Supreme Court, but also the deci- 

 sions of other courts, and had concluded that the measure of damages 

 in such cases as this was as stated in your letter reporting the Gorus 

 case to him. He therefore advised that the United States attorney 

 would be instructed to institute suit to recover the value of the tim- 

 ber after it was cut at the place where it was cut. Prior to this the 

 Government had brought suit in innocent timber trespass cases for 

 the value of timber on the stump. 



At page 123 of this report will be found a table setting forth the 

 details of the cases involving timber trespasses handled by the depart- 

 ment during the fiscal year 1911. 



Fire. — The disastrous consequences of the forest fires which swept 

 the Northwest during the summer and fall of 1910 are still fresh in 

 the memories of all who followed the accounts of the suffering and 

 hardships entailed thereby. That many of the fires were of incen- 

 diary origin was beyond doubt, and the Forest Service, therefore, 

 parly initiated and prosecuted a vigorous investigation to ascertain 

 the offenders. During September arrangements were made with 

 the Department of Justice for the detail of several agents of its Bureau 

 i)i Investigation to ascertain the origin of the fires, particularly in 

 Oregon and Washington. The Attorne}^ General directed five of the 

 agents of his department to report to the district forester in Portland 

 for conference with him. With the assistance of such information 

 as the district forester was enabled to furnish these agents early 

 entered upon their field duties. As a consequence, several parties 

 were apj^rehended, prosecuted, and convicted. So meager was the 

 information that a number of offenders necessarily escaped. Some 

 of these were subsequently discovered by the forest officers and 

 prosecutions were instituted. 



There were reported to the Attorney General during the year for 

 criminal prosecution 35 cases, in 8 of which convictions were secured, 



