794 ANNUA.L REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



interfering with the use of the water by the forest ofRcer. The bill 

 applying; for the injunction was filed near the close of the year. 



Tlio (listrict assistants to the Solicitor have cooperated fully with 

 the United States attorneys in the preparation and prosecution of 

 the above-stated cases. 



At pa<]je 127 of this report will be found a table sotting forth the 

 details of cases designated as general litigation under the foregoing 

 heading. 



LEGISLATION. 



As a result of the extensive forest fires in the Northwest during 

 the first half of the fiscal year, large bodies of timber were killed, 

 though still left in a merchantable state. Much of this timber stands 

 on lands embraced within unperfected entries and locations under 

 the public land laws, and within unapproved selections bv States and 

 railroads made in lieu of granted lands lost by reason of their inclu- 

 sion in reservations. As the law exists there is no authority in these 

 entrymen, locators, and selectors to cut the timber from the lands, 

 nor has the department authority to sell the timber. Largo quan- 

 tities of timber standing on unreserved public lands was also killed 

 by these forest fires, but the Interior Department felt that it had no 

 authority to sell the timber. As this fire-killed timber would rapidly 

 deteriorate it was the desire of both departments that authority be 

 secured from Congress for early disposition of the timber. Accord- 

 ingly, the Forester and the Solicitor of this department met with 

 representatives of the Interior Department and jointly framed a 

 bill intended to authorize the utihzation of this nre-killed timber. 

 The bill was introduced in the Senate and passed with some amend- 

 ments and was afterwards amended and passed by the House, but 

 the session ended without further action and the measure did not 

 become a law. 



It has been the complaint of individuals and corporations desiring 

 to utilize lands in the National Forests and in the unreserved public 

 domain, for the purpose of generating hydroelectric power, that the 

 statutes of the United States regulating the use and occupation of 

 such lands for this purpose were so unsatisfactory in the matter of 

 tenure that it was practically impossible to secure loans which would 

 make development practicable. It was objected that the permits 

 issued both by the Interior department and this department were 

 revocable in the discretion of the Government. In order to remedy 

 this situation and make permits granted by the Government more 

 stable in character, the Forester and Solicitor of this department had 

 several conferences with representatives of the Interior Department 

 in an effort to draft a bill which would adequately protect the Govern- 

 ment and at the same time allow private enterprise sufficient security 

 in the matter of tenure to encourage development of power possibil- 

 ities on Government lands. A bill was prepared after much delibera- 

 tion, and was introduced in Congress, but never came up for passage. 



During the year several bills, either introduced in Congress or pro- 

 posed to be introduced, were submitted to the Sohcitor for examina- 

 tion and recommendation. These all received careful consideration 

 and, wherever necessary, recommendations were made. 



