SERVICE NOTES FOR JULY. 



These notes contain instructions and necessary information to forest officers, and 

 will therefore be carefully read and kept on file for reference. 



LAW. 



OFFICE OF THE SOLICITOR. 



Law Cases in District 1 



United States v. Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Co.: On June 14, 1913, a 

 decree was entered in the United States District Court for the district of Idaho direct- 

 ing the defendant to execute and file a stipulation for the protection of the Coeur 

 d'Alene National Forest, conditioned, however, upon the approval by the Secretary 

 of the Interior of the defendant's map of definite location. The decree also ordered 

 the defendant to pay to the United States its damages and costs. This was a suit 

 brought to enforce the specific performance of an agreement executed by an agent of 

 the defendant, whereby in consideration of its being allowed to construct its road 

 across the Coeur d'Alene National Forest in advance of the approval of its right of way 

 map, the company bound itself to execute and file a stipulation to be prescribed by the 

 Forester. The bill of complaint also contained a prayer for damages. On April 1 ; 

 1913, the court rendered a decision, holding for the United States, on the equities of 

 the bill, and on May 21, 1913, it rendered a supplemental decision which contained a 

 finding that the United States was entitled to recover damages as follows: $26,989 for 

 timber cut upon the right of way and adjoining lands; $12,000 for mature timber de- 

 stroyed by fire; $24,000 for young and immature timber burned, and $5,500 for dam- 

 ages to the navigability of the St. Joe River, which the defendant had obstructed with 

 rocks, gravel, and other debris. This is believed to be "the first case in which the 

 court, in its written opinion, awarded damages to the United States for the destruc- 

 tion of young and immature timber having no market value. 



United States v. John Hamburg: Suit for $840 for damages by fire to merchantable 

 timber, and cost of fighting fire, caused by Hamburg negligently allowing a fire to 

 escape from his land upon adjoining National Forest land. The case was tried June 2, 

 1913, and a verdict returned by the jury for $350 damages and costs. During the trial 

 the defendant objected to the introduction of evidence on the cost of extinguishing 

 the fire on the lands of the United States, and the objection was overruled, the court 

 holding that the Government was entitled to recover this cost as a part of its damages. 



United States v. Arthur J. Kulp, John E. Cleary, and Wm. D. Nelson: Criminal 

 prosecution for perjury for filing false affidavits with their homestead applications for 

 1 and within the National Forest. The Kulp and Cleary cases were tried in the United 

 States District Court for the district of Idaho, May 28, 29, and 31, and resulted in ver- 

 dicts of acquittal. The Nelson case was thereupon dismissed. In the Cleary case the 

 judge instructed the jury that they should not consider as a valid defense the defend- 



(24) 



