12 THE NATIONAL FOREST MANUAL. 



may vary in a marked degree from the impression which he gave the 

 Forest officer when interviewed. The Forest officers should seek to 

 ascertain only relevant facts about the claim under examination. 

 Facts should be reported whether they are favorable or unfavorable. 

 Whenever possible the report of facts should be corroborated by the 

 testimony of witnesses. 



Every affidavit or statement should include the residence and post- 

 office address of the witness. Those who have lived 

 Affidavits and near ^ da^ are preferable to those residing at a 

 witaess?s enl distance. Where possible, effort should be made to 



secure the testimony of reputable members of the 

 community with no interest in the case except to state the facts. 

 If Forest officers know that witnesses who may be summoned to 

 testify in behalf of the claimant are aware of facts 

 Witnesses in a( j v erse to the claimant but to which they will prob- 

 a ^ t< a ' ably fail to testify, they should report those facts 



when ascertained to the district forester. 



In the preparation of statements care should be taken to see that 

 they do not contain conclusions of the witnesses, but 

 vits; 1 only statements of known facts. For instance, such 



statements as " Claimant has not resided upon the 

 land hi good faith," or " has not shown good faith in his occupancy and 

 improvement of the premises," or in the case of a mining location "has 

 not expended the required amount in labor to entitle him to patent," 

 or "has not used the claim for the purpose contemplated by the min- 

 ing law," are all conclusions and must be left to the officer of the 

 Interior Department who passes upon the testimony. 

 The following form of affidavit may be used: 



State of , County of , ss: 



, whose post-office address is , being duly sworn, deposes and 



says: (Here follows - a concise statement of the facts disclosed by the affiant.) 



That I have carefully read the foregoing statement of facts, understand their import, 

 and they are true to the best of my knowledge. 



(Signature of the affiant') 

 Subscribed and sworn to before me this day of , 19 . 



(Name of Forest officer.) 



(Title of Forest officer.) 



When it is reported that a claimant or a witness made any state- 



stat h men t respecting the claim to another, the name of the 



witnes'stoothers! P erson to whom such statement was made and his 



post-office address should appear. When any state- 

 ment in the report is made upon the authority of another, the name 

 and address of the person from whom the information was obtained 

 should be given. 



Hearsay (statements by persons without actual knowledge of the 



facts) or opinions regarding the claimant's movements, 

 opinions 1 S ^ega- i ntent i ns ; . or actions are valueless. Negative testi- 

 tive evidence. mony also is of little force. For example, where the 



affiant states "he did not see the claimant at a certain 

 place" or "on a certain occasion." From the testimony it should 

 appear that the affiant or witness was present and in a position where 

 he must of necessity have seen the claimant if he had been there. 



