EEPORT OF THE SOLICITOR. 



383 



At the request of committees of Congress, one of the assistants in 

 the office orally argued before the respective committees the con- 

 stitutionality of bills, prepared by the department at the request of 

 Members of Congress, for the establishment of game sanctuaries in 

 the National Forests and for carrying into eifcct the treaty with Great 

 Britain for the protection of migratory birds. 



Delays heretofore experienced in prosecuting condemnation suits 

 for the acquisition of lands under the Weeks law, wdiich, on account 

 of defects in titles, could not be acquired by direct purchase, were 

 materially reduced during the year by assistance rendered the United 

 States attorneys by the title attorneys of this office in the preparation 

 of petitions for condemnation and in prosecution of the suits in the 

 courts. This assistance proved so satisfactory that arrangements 

 were comjileted with the Department of Justice by which this office, 

 after July 1, 1917, will take over the work incident to the preparation 

 of petitions for condemnation and a large part of the court work inci- 

 dent to the prosecution of the cases. It is believed that this plan will 

 materially reduce the time required for the acquisition of lands and 

 will result in substantial benefit to the Government and persons hav- 

 ing an interest in the litigation. 



Aside from the increase in the work of the office due to the enact- 

 ment by Congress of the new statutes previously referred to, the ordi- 

 nary activities of the office were in the aggregate greater than in the 

 preceding year. The increases were especially noticeable in the 

 work connected with the contest of claims to lands in the national 

 forests, in the number of applications for patents on inventions of 

 department emploj^ees, and in the number of cases referred to the 

 Department of Justice, the increase in the latter over the preceding 

 fiscal year aggregating 1,358 cases. The only noteworthy diminu- 

 tion in the work of the office was in respect to the number of con- 

 tracts, bonds, leases, and similar instruments prepared, there having 

 been 493 less than in the previous year. 



Law work for the Forest Service during the year, other than under 

 the Weeks forestry law, included handling the following cases and 

 other business : 



Claims to lands 687 



Hearings attended 64 



Briefs pi-epared and filed 68 



Depositions taken 97 



Oral arguments -1 



Trespasses : 



Grazing 117 



Trespasses — Continued. 



Timber 



Fire 



Occupancy 



General litigation 



Written opinions. 



56 

 62 

 48 

 37 

 638 



Contracts 1, 558 



The following is a summary of the work of the office during the 

 fiscal year in connection with the acquisition of lands under the 

 Weeks forestry law: 



Character of work. 



Purchases authorized by National Forest Reservation Commission 



Condemnations instructed by National Forest Reservation Commission 



Agreements of purchase prepared 



Titles in process of examination at beginning of year 



Examinations of titles completed and reported to Department of Justice: 



Purchases recommended 



Condemnations recommended 



Titles conditionally approved by Attorney General and in process of adjustment . 



Titles in process of examination at end of year 



Completion of direct purchases after approval of titles by the Attorney General. 

 Completion of purchases of lands acquired by condemnation 



Tracts. 



Acreage. 



