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culture." And by orders of the Secretary dated February 2, 1910, the Law Office 

 of the Forest Service was constituted as follows: 

 Law Officer, Robert W. Williams, Jr., 

 First Assistant Law Officer, Thomas G. Shearman, 

 Second Assistant Law Officer, Patrick D. Cronin. 



On February 7, 1910, the following letter was approved by the Secretary of Agri- 

 culture: 



FEBRUARY 7, 1910. 

 Mr. HENKY S. GRAVES, Forester. 

 Mr. GEORGE P. McCABE, Solicitor. 



GENTLEMEN: Pursuant to your instructions to report to you upon a plan for 

 eliminating from the Office of the Solicitor all administrative work heretofore done 

 by the Law Office of the Forest Service, and to carry into effect that part of Secre- 

 tary's Order No. 138 of January 15, 1910, transferring to the Solicitor all the legal 

 work of the Forest Service, we submit the following: 



The legal work of the Forest Service should be conducted by the Law Officer 

 and the District Law Officers. The Law Officers will be formally detailed to the 

 Office of the Secretary of Agriculture and will perform their work under the direct 

 supervision of the Solicitor. 



Our recommendations for the accomplishment of the above purpose can be pre- 

 sented better in a delineation of the work we conceive to be appropriate and neces- 

 sary for the Law Officer. 



1. The Law Officer should be the legal adviser of the Forester and his assistants 

 upon questions of law arising in connection with the administration of the National 

 Forests. 



2. He should prepare all contracts not following the regular approved forms, all 

 new legal forms as the need for them arises, and all of the legal papers directly affect 

 ing the operations of the Forest Service to which the Department is a party or in 

 which the Department is interested. 



3. He should scrutinize and pass upon the sufficiency of the execution of all legal 

 papers affecting the operations of the Forest Service and prepared for the signature 

 of the Secretary or of the Forester. He should likewise scutinize and pass upon the 

 sufficiency and the form of acknowledgment of such legal instruments. 



4. He should draft all regulations to be promulgated by the Secretary for the admin- 

 istration of the National Forests. 



5. He should prepare all correspondence with the Department of Justice, and upon 

 request of that Department cooperate with it. 



6. He should prepare all requests to the Comptroller of the Treasury for his opinion 

 on questions involving the expenditure of appropriations of the Forest Service. 



7. He should prepare all correspondence with the Interior Department regarding 

 legal questions. He should cooperate at hearings whenever requested by the Depart- 

 ment of the Interior. All legal questions arising in connection with claims affecting 

 the National Forests should be referred to the Law Officer, and he should represent 

 the Department in connection therewith whenever personal appearance is necessary 

 or advisable. 



8. He should prepare all applications for patents on inventions of the employees of 

 the Forest Service to be dedicated to the public. 



