PUBLIC LANDS-EARNED LANDS.

On the construction and acceptance of any section of the road of the Northern Pacific Railway Company, the coterminous odd sections vest absolutely in the corporation, and thereafter the patent therefor may be considered as having issued.

DEADY, J.:

UNITED STATES v. ORDWAY AND OTHERS.

Circuit court, district of Oregon (30 Fed. Rep., 36.)

This case was argued and submitted with the foregoing one. It is alleged in the complaint that on May 1, 1883, and divers days since, the defendants cut and removed from the public lands of the United States, to wit, the west of section 13 of township 3 north, of range 9 east, of the Willamette meridian, situate in Washington Territory, 600 trees, and cut the same into cord wood, to wit, 3,000 cords, of the value of $7,500, and wrongfully converted the same to their own use, to the damage of the plaintiff, $7,500. The defenses are similar to those made in the foregoing case, to wit: Denials; a license from the Northern Pacific Railway Company; and the cutting was done in good faith. In the second defense it is alleged that the premises are within the limits of the grant to the Northern Pacific on the line of its general route between Portland and Wallula Junction, and that acting under a license from said corporation they cut and removed from said half section not more than 1,800 cords of wood, of no greater value when standing in the tree than 10 cents a cord.

The demurrer to the defenses of good faith is overruled, and sustained to that of license from the Northern Pacific.

RAILROADS CONSTRUCTED FOR PRIVATE USE NOT ENTITLED TO USE PUBLIC TIMBER.

In constructing a railroad not for use and benefit of the general public, but for private use, the entering upon public lands and destroying timber thereon in the clearing of a right of way, and in digging, grading, and excavating for a roadbed, the defendants held to be guilty of trespass, and the United States clearly entitled to recover damages from them. * * *

The judge in his charge to the jury affirming "that it was agreed by both great parties that the public lands and the timber thereon must be protected for the future as well as the present generation." (See Land Office Report for 1889, p. 291; case of U. S. v. O. S. Burdett and A. Rosenfield, eastern district of Louisiana, Judge E. C. Billings, May term, 1889.)

USE OF PUBLIC TIMBER BY TELEGRAPH COMPANIES.

[Act of July 24, 1866; 14 Stat., 221.]

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That any telegraph company now organized, or which may hereafter be organized under the laws of 11023- -9

any State in this Union, shall have the right to construct, maintain, and operate lines of telegraph through and over any portion of the public domain of the United States, over and along any of the military or post roads of the United States which have been or may hereafter be declared such by act of Congress, and over, under, or across the navigable streams or waters of the United States: Provided, That such lines of telegraph shall be so constructed and maintained as not to obstruct the navigation of such streams and waters, or interfere with the ordinary travel on such military or post roads. And any of said companies shall have the right to take and use from such public lands the necessary stone, timber, and other materials for its posts, piers, stations, and other needful uses in the construction, maintenance, and operation of said lines of telegraph, and may preempt and use such portions of the unoccupied public lands subject to preemption through which its said lines of telegraph may be located as may be necessary for its stations, not exceeding forty acres for each station; but such stations shall not be within fifteen miles of each other.

SEC. 4. And be it further enacted, That before any telegraph company shall exercise any of the powers or privileges conferred by this act, such company shall file their written acceptance with the PostmasterGeneral of the restrictions and obligations required by this act.

PROCURING WOOD FROM PUBLIC LANDS FOR USE OF MILITARY POSTS.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

Washington, August 9, 1886.

SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 5th instant transmitting a copy of a letter, dated the 1st ultimo, from Joel R. Slack, who made a contract with the Government for delivering at Whipple Barracks, Ariz., 1,000 cords of wood, under the supposition he would be allowed to cut the wood from the public lands; a copy of notice to Slack from T. M. Bowers, special agent of the General Land Office, to desist from cutting wood on the public domain, and requesting in accordance with the recommendation of the Quartermaster-General, that "authority be given to cut wood on vacant lands of the public domain for the use of the Army," and stating, in passing, the remark of the chief quartermaster of the Department of Arizona, "that unless the wood required to supply the army on the frontier can be cut by contractors on vacant public lands belonging to the United States it will be an expensive item in that department to the Army.”

There is no objection to allowing wood to be taken from the public domain for the use of the Army, under proper regulations, when circumstances render it necessary. The decision by the Court of Claims in the case of Nannie Spencer, administratrix of Warren Faver, grants this, and says that "the proper officers might lawfully employ individuals to cut wood from the public land for the use of the military

force so situated;" but the decision adds, "in such case the persons so employed would be paid, not for the wood, but for cutting and hauling it."

As requested in your communication, permission is granted to cut wood on the public domain convenient to Whipple Barracks for the use of said post in accordance with the decision of the Court of Claims herein referred to; but the persons furnishing the wood should be paid for its cutting and delivery alone, and not for the value of the timber, as that belongs to the United States.

SEC. 24. That the President of the United States may, from time to time, set apart and reserve, in any State or Territory having public land, bearing forests, in any part of the public lands wholly or in part covered with timber or undergrowth, whether of commercial value or not, as public reservations, and the President shall, by public procla mation, declare the establishment of such reservations and the limits thereof.

CIRCULAR OF INSTRUCTIONS RELATING TO TIMBER RESERVATIONS.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

GENERAL LAND OFFICE, Washington, D. C., May 15, 1891.

To Special Agents of the General Land Office.

GENTLEMEN: Your attention is hereby called to section 24 of the act of Congress approved March 3, 1891, entitled "An act to repeal timberculture laws, and for other purposes," which reads as follows:

SEC. 24. That the President of the United States may from time to time set apart and reserve, in any State or Territory having public lands bearing forests, in any part of the public lands wholly or in part covered with timber or undergrowth, whether of commercial value or not, as public reservations; and the President shall, by public proclamation, declare the establishment of such reservations and the limits thereof.

To carry into effect said provisions it becomes important to reserve all public lands bearing forests, or covered with timber or undergrowth, on which the timber is not absolutely required for the legitimate use and necessities of the residents of the State or Territory in which the lands are situated, or for the promotion of settlement or development of the natural resources of the section of the State or Territory in the immediate vicinity of the particular lands in question.

In so doing it is of first importance to reserve all public lands in mountainous and other regions which are covered with timber or undergrowth at the headwaters of rivers and along the banks of streams, creeks, and ravines, where such timber or undergrowth is the means provided by nature to absorb and check the mountain torrents and to prevent the sudden and rapid melting of the winter's snows and the resultant inundation of the valleys below, which destroy the agricultural and pasturage interests of communities and settlements in the lower portions of the country.

For the purpose of securing the necessary data upon which to base recommendations for such forest reservations, the following instructions are issued:

Special agents, upon being detailed to secure the data in question, will proceed, without undue delay, to make in the districts assigned to them a thorough and careful personal examination of the public lands bearing forests or covered with timber or undergrowth, and ascertain by personal observation and by interviews with Government and State officials in the vicinity of such lands, and with citizens who have an interest in the public welfare, all facts pertaining to the value of said forests or timber lands for all uses, purposes, and requirements. The result of such investigations should be duly made the subject of report to this Office.

In submitting such reports a recommendation should be made in each case as to whether the lands described should be set apart as a public reservation, setting forth in full the reasons for arriving at the conclusions stated. The agent should also in every instance, so far as practicable, procure and submit with his report the expression of opinion in writing of the officials and citizens interviewed by him relative to the special value of each tract or area of land reported upon.

In recommending reservations of timber lands, special agents should describe such lands by natural drainage basins; and whenever it is in the interests of the industries carried on in the district to except any lands within said basins from reservation by permitting the timber to be cut to meet the wants of the people, such excepted tracts should be described in Land Office terms, as sections, townships, ranges, etc.; but when surveys have not been extended over the lands thus excepted, the lands should be described by natural boundaries in such a manner that they may be readily distinguished from other lands, and that proper provision for their survey by Laud Office methods may be made. After making an examination of the timber lands of any drainage basin and having decided to recommend the same for reservation under the provisions of this circular, before submitting report in the matter a notice should be prepared by the agent stating that such recommendation will be made to the General Land Office and setting forth a description of the basin, together with a description of any public lands embraced therein, which it may be proposed to have excepted therefrom.

It should also be stated therein that the object of such publication is to give timely notice of the proposed reservation in order that all parties interested who either favor or oppose its establishment may be afforded due opportunity to submit their views to this office, by petition or otherwise, for the purpose of having the same considered prior to the final establishment of such reservation. This notice should be posted in the land office or offices of the district wherein such lands are situated, and a copy of the same should be published at least once a week for three successive weeks in some newspaper published in the county, or each of the counties, wherein such lands are situated, and also in at least one other newspaper of general circulation in the State or Territory. If no newspaper be published in the county or counties in which the lands are situated, then the publication should be made in a newspaper published in the county nearest to such lands.

A printed copy of the notice of publication should be submitted with the agent's report, together with the affidavit of the publisher or foreman of each newspaper attached thereto, showing that the same was successively inserted the requisite number of times, and the dates thereof.

Should knowledge be acquired by the agent that any particular tract or tracts of public timber land are being, or are likely at an early day to be, despoiled of the timber which should be preserved for climatic, economic, or other public reasons, and that the early reservation thereof is necessary, the agent should report the matter at once to this office describing in general the location of said lands, and stating reasons for believing that necessity exists for early action. Should the services of a surveyor be required to locate and define by proper exterior bounds and lines any tract or tracts therein which should be excepted from reservation, he should submit an estimate as to the total cost of such survey and the time required to complete same. Upon receipt of such report proper measures will be promptly taken by this office in the premises.

Very respectfully,

Approved:

T. H. CARTER, Commissioner.

GEO. CHANDLER, Acting Secretary.

The following notice was prepared for posting on lands within forest reservations:

NOTICE.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

GENERAL LAND OFFICE, Washington, D. C., April 14, 1894.

Public notice is hereby given that these lands are set apart and reserved as a forest reservation, by proclamation of the President of