224 OUR NATIONAL FORESTS 



in good faith and in compliance with the spirit of 

 the law under which it was asserted, but is believed 

 from the facts to be a subterfuge to acquire title 

 to timber land, or to control range privileges, water, 

 a waterpower site, or rights of way; or if it other- 

 wise interferes with the interests of the National 

 Forests in any way, the Forest Service recommends 

 a contest, even if the technical requirements of the 

 law appear to have been fulfilled. It is bad faith, 

 for instance, to hold a mining or agricultural claim 

 primarily for the timber thereon or to acquire a 

 site valuable for water power development. 



The National Forest Homestead Act. At the 

 present time there is very little, if any, fraud con- 

 nected with the Forest Homestead Act because the 

 land is classified before it is opened to entry. The 

 greater part of the work dealing with fraudulent 

 claims is a relic of the old regime. Before the For- 

 ests were established many Homestead and Timber 

 and Stone entries were made for the purpose of 

 securing valuable timber. A large number of per- 

 sons resorted to settlement in order to secure the 

 preference right. It was the common custom in 

 those days for land cruisers to locate men on heavily 

 timbered land either before or immediately after 



