REPORT OF THE SOLICITOR. 



United States Department of Agriculture, 



Office of the Solicitor, 

 Washington, D. 6'., September 15, 1916. 

 Sir : I submit herewith the report of the work of the Office of the 

 Solicitor for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1916. 

 Respectfully, 



Francis G. Caffey, Solicitor. 

 Hon. D. F. Houston, 



Secretary of Agriculture. 



SUMMARY. 



There were two notable features of the activities of the office for 

 the fiscal year 191G: (1) The large amount of assistance rendered in 

 drafting, or reporting on, proposed legislation; (2) the improvement 

 of methods, resulting in saving to the Government and in the accom- 

 plishment of a greater quantity of work without increase in expense 

 or of employees. 



Under your direction, on the request of committees or Members of 

 Congress or of State officials, more than 40 bills relating to agricul- 

 tural matters have been drawn or examined and commented on. 



Four of the bills resulted in comprehensive statutes, enacted by 

 Congress at the last session, dealing with aid in the construction of 

 rural post roads, cotton futures, grain standards, and warehouses, and 

 two, in brief statutory provisions of importance, dealing with the 

 protection of game on lands acquired under the Weeks forestry law 

 and the development of mineral resources on those lands. The Fed- 

 eral aid road act was approved July 11, 1916 (Public No. 156). The 

 other measures were incorporated in the agricultural appropriation 

 act for the fiscal year 1917, approved August 11, 1916 (Public No. 

 190). 



Other bills, for the consideration of Congress, in the preparation 

 of which aid was given, covered the regulation of interstate and 

 foreign commerce in viruses, serums, toxins, and analogous products 

 for the treatment of domestic animals; amendment of the 28-hour 

 law; rural credits; admission of tick-infested cattle into the United 

 States; acceptance of lands by the United States for game and bird 

 preserves; amendment of the Alaska game law; redistribution of 

 jurisdiction over fur-bearing animals in Alaska between the Depart- 

 ments of Agriculture and Commerce; development of waterways and 

 water resources and the control of floods; designation and withdrawal 

 of water-power sites and the construction of water-power plants for 

 the manufacture of nitrates; creation of a commission to ascertain 

 the practicability and best means of producing nitrogen compounds 



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