Purchase of Land for Xational Forests. 5 



give an option on the tract for a sufficient period to allow the Xa- 

 tional Forest Reservation Commission to consider and take action 

 upon it. 



(4) Approval of the land for purchase and the fixing of the price 

 to be paid for it by tlie Xational Forest Reservation Commission. 

 Approval for purciiase is given only after recommendation has been 

 made by the Secretary of Agriculture on the basis of the field ex- 

 amination and a tentative agreement as to terms. 



(o) Execution of purchase contract. 



(6) Unless the tract is very small and represents a small total 

 value, the owner is required to furnish a complete abstract of title. 



(7) Boundary survey of nonsectionized land is made by the For- 

 est Service and at the expense of the United States. The Land Office 

 survey of sectionized land is accepted. 



(5) Examination of title by the title examiner and report by the 

 Attorney General on the condition of the title. 



(9) Initiation of condemnation proceedings when such action is 

 necessary to perfect title. 



(1<>) Actual conveyance of the title of the land by the owner to 

 the Government and payment therefor. 



The time required for carrying through these steps, from the ap- 

 proval of a tract by the Xational Forest Reservation Commission to 

 the report on the title by the Attorney General, is ordinarily from 

 three months to a year. 



USE OF COXDEMXATION PROCEEDINGS. 



It will be noted b}' reference to >ection 8 of the Weeks Law (p. 13) 

 that •• * * * no payment shall be made for any lands until the 

 title shall be satisfactory to the Attorney General * * *." Under 

 this requirement only legally safe titles can be accepted for pur- 

 chase. Several classes of titles, usually considered merchantable 

 and sufficiently good for ordinary commercial purposes, are not 

 considered sufficiently safe within the meaning of this law by the 

 Attorney General, and titles not approved by the Attorney General 

 can be acquired by the Government only through tlie right of emi- 

 nent domain. As a general rule, condemnation proceedings under 

 this right will be undertaken by the Government only with the assent 

 of the claimant to or tlie apparent owner of the major title, and if 

 an agreement with him as to the value of the land to be acquired has 

 been reached. 



If the land desired is to be acquired through the right of eminent 

 domain, the general procedure is for the Government, through the 

 Department of Justice, to institute condemnation proceedings for 

 its acquisition in the Federal court of the district in which such land 

 is situated. Commissioners are appointed by the court to appraise 

 the value of the land and. upon rendition by them to the court of 

 report and award and the issuance by the court of an order for pay- 

 ment of award, the I'nited States deposits into the registry of the 

 court the amount of commissioners' award, which amount, upon 

 confirmation of the report and award, is distributed by order and 

 under the supervision of the court. An appeal from tlie award of 

 the commissioners is generallv available to the claimant as well as 



