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Delay and inconvenience in making payments at the opening of the grazing season 

 might be avoided, in some cases, if Supervisors will advise postmasters of small 

 money-order offices of the probable demand for money orders, and ask them to se- 

 cure a sufficient number from the Department in advance. In a number of instances 

 last year depositors were put to considerable trouble and delay for the reason that 

 the supply became exhausted and could riot be readily replenished. 



The Forest Service will be glad to cooperate in securing the establishment of 

 additional money-order offices in the vicinity of the reserves where needed. 

 Laborers. 



The Civil Service Commission rules that the designation "Laborer" for people 

 who are temporarily employed in the field is not sufficient information to enable 

 that office properly to classify such employees. This term is now used generally by 

 officers in charge in rendering their accounts. 



Accounts covering service of laborers must hereafter be accompanied by a state- 

 ment of the kind of labor performed. Officers in charge of reserves should insert 

 this information against the employee's name on Form 143 in the column of Remarks. 

 Officers and others not on the reserves will insert the information on Form A 

 voucher, when direct settlement is made, or on Form 4, reimbursement voucher. 

 Failure to specify the nature of employment on forms and vouchers will make it 

 necessary that they be returned or held at this office until the information is supplied. 



Supplies. 



Small articles are often placed, for safe carriage, in boxes containing stationery or 

 other supplies of similar character ordered on the same requisition. In checking 

 invoices careful examination should be made of all packages received before report 

 of shortage is made. 



Several forest officers have reported recently that supplies shipped by freight have 

 not been received. Delays in the last two or three months have been largely due to 

 the unusually severe winter and the consequent snow blockade, and to the inability 

 of the railroads to handle shipments promptly, owing to the congestion of traffic 

 and the scarcity of freight cars. There has been complaint all over the country in 

 regard to these delays, and the Government has suffered equally with other ship- 

 pers. At the request of the Forest Service the depot quartermaster has in many 

 instances traced shipments made to forest officers and located them somewhere on 

 their way to destination. It is seldom, if ever, practicable to hurry freight ship- 

 ments. The remedy in the hands of forest officers is to allow for the delays inci- 

 dent to the season by making requisition in advance of their requirements. 



In making requisition for letter-size transfer cases, for transferring correspondence 

 filed in section 3 of the standard filing case, forest officers should specify the kind of 

 loose-sheet indexes desired. Both alphabetical and special indexes are carried in 

 stock, and the kind needed should be mentioned for the guidance of the property 

 clerk. 



OFFICE OF GRAZING. 



The committee of stockmen appointed by the President to confer with the Public 

 Lands Commission for the purpose of recommending a plan for the control of grazing 

 on the vacant public lands of the West met in Washington on February 11. 



After careful consideration of the subject a report was made to the President 

 recommending that the Secretary of Agriculture be authorized to organize grazing 



