20 THE NATIONAL FOKEST MANUAL. 



They will be prepared in quintnplicate on the form approved by the solicitor. 

 The service to be given by the lessor, including light, heat, telephone, and 

 janitor service, should bo described in detail in the lease. After three copies 

 have been executed by the lessor, the five copies will be sent to the District 

 Forester, who will refer them to the district assistant to the solicitor for 

 approval as to form and execution. Such lease may, however, be prepared by 

 the district assistant to the solicitor on information by the District Forester, 

 whenever this procedure is more convenient. In either case, when the lease 

 executed in triplicate by the lessor has been approved and initialed by the 

 district assistant to the solicitor, it will be returned to the Dstrict Forester, 

 who will initial and forward the three copies executed by the lessor to the For- 

 ester for execution. After these three copies have been executed by the For- 

 ester they will be returned to the District Forester, who will forward one 

 executed copy to the lessor, two executed copies and one file copy to the district 

 fiscal agent, and the remaining file copy to the supervisor. 



Bangers' Offices, Storage, and Other Quarters. 



When the amount or character of business on a ranger district, timber sale, 

 or other important project requires office or storage facilities, and where the 

 Service has no suitable quarters, the supervisor should report the situation, 

 in detail, to the District Forester, with definite recommendations for the lease, 

 or acquisition through other means, of suitable quarters. The procedure pre- 

 scribed for preparing and forwarding leases for rangers' offices and othev 

 quarters on the Forests will be the same as for supervisor offices. 



Supervisors and other officers should not close any arrangement for quarters 

 until the necessary approval of their superior officer is obtained. 



Lease of Land. 



Owing to the fact that the department is not permitted to incur obligations 

 for a period beyond the limit of the appropriation act. which is nearly always 

 the fiscal year, land must not b leased for any purpose requiring the con- 

 struction of buildings of a permanent character. The matter should be re- 

 ported upon very fully to the Forester, and if approved by him, the procedure 

 will be the same as for supervisors' offices. 



Construction of Buildings. 



When Government land is available, or in case land has been leased for 

 supervisors' or rangers' offices, or for other purposes, the plans and cost of 

 the buildings must be reported on fully to the District Forester, in accordance 

 with the outline for the construction of buildings in the Improvement section 

 of the Manual. 



Banger Stations. 



Large areas within the National Forests are practically uninhabited, and 

 entirely lack living accommodations. To remedy this situation Congress has 

 provided for the construction of houses for Forest officers stationed on the 

 Forests. It is clearly the intention of Congress that such dwellings shall be 

 constructed only where they serve the actual needs of the Service, and not 

 merely those of the ranger or other officer by whom they will be occupied. The 

 construction or lease of dwellings solely for the personal needs of a Forest 

 officer can be- construed only as granting additional compensation, which can 

 not be done unless specifically provided by law. Only where there is an un- 

 deniable need for them and when it is impracticable for the officer to rent or 

 construct his own living quarters will houses be leased, rented, or constructed 

 at Government expense. When the supervisor desires to construct or rent 

 such quarters at Government expense he will report to the District Forester, 

 in detail, the need for them and show that it is impracticable to provide them 

 in any other way. and that they are not constructed or rented for the purpose 

 of granting additional compensation to the officer who will occupy the quarters. 

 The actual construction of such quarters will be handled in the manner out- 

 lined in the Improvement section of the Manual. 



Quarters in Government Buildings. 



When the quarters are desired in an existing Federal building the District 

 Forester will prepare a letter for the signature of the Secretary of Agriculture, 

 addressed to the Secretary of the Treasury, stating the number of rooms and 

 amount of floor space required, the purposes for which the space is needed, and 

 the amount paid as rental and other expenses, including light, heat, and janitor 

 services, for other quarters occupied at the time. When the erection of a new 



