REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF THE GENERAL LAND

OFFICE.

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,

GENERAL LAND OFFICE,

Washington, D. C., September 25, 1913.

SIR: I have the honor to submit herewith a report of the work in the General Land Office for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1913, together with recommendations for such changes in legislation as seem to be required in the disposal of our public lands and the protection of rights incident thereto.

GENERAL STATEMENT.

The number of patents written and issued during the year is not always indicative of the amount of work performed, for it often occurs that, due to some change in legislation or other equally controlling cause, fewer cases are submitted on which final favorable action can be taken. Last year saw the inauguration of the so-called "three-year" homestead law (act of June 6, 1912, 37 Stat., 123), which led to the premature submission of final proofs in a large number of cases, through a mistaken conception of the terms of the new law, and the consequent call on the office to consider an unusual number of proofs that did not furnish the proper basis for a patent. So, while the work of the office was much heavier on account of this act, there was not the equivalent showing of results that might have been expected.

The number of patents written during the last year was 63,496, as against 67,475 for the year previous, but when the conditions under which this result was secured are compared with those of the former year it is apparent that there has been no want of effective industry in the office.

The correspondence of the office has steadily grown. During last year 414,936 letters were received, of which 391,842 were answered by letters and the remainder were answered by circulars.

AREA OF LAND ENTERED AND PATENTED.

The total area of public and Indian lands originally entered and allowed during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1913, is 15,867,222.45 acres, an increase of 1,292,533.63 acres, as compared with the area entered during the year 1912.

The area patented during the fiscal year is 12,678,076 acres, an increase of 2,542,601 acres as compared with the fiscal year 1912; of the above area 7,320,058 acres were patented under the homestead law. The decrease in receipts and increase in the area disposed of is caused by the decreased number of homestead entries commuted to cash and the increased number on which proof was made under the three-year act of June 6, 1912. The difference of nearly 2,000,000 acres on which commissions only were received instead of the Government price of $1.25 and $2.50 per acre would account for the decrease in receipts, and also the fact that the land service no longer collects reclamation water-right charges, these moneys now being collected by the Reclamation Service under the act of August 9, 1912 (37 Stat., 265).

CASH RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES.

The total cash receipts from the sales of public lands, including fees and commissions on both original and final entries, for the fiscal year 1913, were $4,287,540.67. Miscellaneous receipts were as follows: From sales of Indian lands, $2,118,469.34; reclamation waterright charges, $274,172.57; depredations on public lands, sales of Government property, and copies of records and plats, etc., $275,322.23; making the aggregate of cash receipts of this bureau during the fiscal year 1913, $6,955,504.81, a decrease of $3,017,543.19 as compared with those for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1912.

The total expenses of district land offices for salaries and commissions of registers and receivers and incidental expenses during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1913, were $890,474.06, an increase of $40,353.02. The aggregate expenditures and estimated liabilities of the public-land service, including expenses of district land offices and surveys, were $3,316,362.30, leaving a net surplus of $3,639,142.51.

THE FIELD SERVICE.

On August 24, 1912, Congress appropriated the sum of $500,000 for the "Protection of public lands, timber, etc.," for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1913.

The average number of special agents employed per month under this appropriation during the fiscal year was 137. From this appropriation were also paid the salaries of the clerks to the chiefs of field divisions and the necessary temporary employees in this office to handle properly the work incident to the large number of reports being received from the field.

The total amount of cash collected and turned into the Treasury as a result of the work of the special agents in the field during the fiscal year is $155,551.76. Of this total amount collected, $39,559.64

was accepted as settlement for timber trespass and $15,495.46 for timber sales and $100,496.66 was recovered by civil and criminal actions brought through the Department of Justice in cases of timber trespass and fines imposed and paid in cases of conspiracy, perjury, etc., and also for compromises of civil suits to vacate patents.

As a result of investigations 815,747.25 acres have been restored to the public domain. Of this total amount restored 325,760 acres represent area of fraudulent entries (taking as an average of 160 acres to each entry) canceled on special agents' reports; 470,397 acres restored to open range on abatement of unlawful inclosures; and 19,590.25 acres were restored through suits to cancel patents fraudulently acquired, brought by the Department of Justice on the recommendation of this office, based on special agents' reports.

Special agents have personally examined and reported on 25,089 entries, 7,967 of which were adverse and 17,122 were favorable. In addition to the reports of special agents, 257 adverse reports and 1,018 favorable reports have been received from forest officers on entries within national forests. Reports on applications for rights of way over the public domain for reservoirs, canals, ditches, etc., were rendered on 104 such applications, 49 of which were adverse and 55 were favorable. Reports have been received on 32 segregation lists under the Carey Act, on which final action has not yet been had.

Fifteen civil suits were recommended for the setting aside of grants of rights of way over the public domain for reservoirs, canals, ditches, etc. Investigations are now in progress involving all such grants heretofore approved for such purposes with a view of bringing civil action against all grantees where the evidence shows misuse, nonconstruction, or abandonment of such privileges.

During the year 118 civil suits were recommended, 233 civil suits have been won, and 56 have been lost; of which 78 timber-trespass cases were won, recovering $47,810.95, and 15 were lost; 111 suits to vacate patents were won, restoring 19,590.25 acres to the public domain, and cash payments were made in compromises of suits to vacate patents in the sum of $45,745.41; 38 suits to vacate patents were lost; 30 cases of unlawful inclosures were won, restoring 60,763 acres heretofore held under fence unlawfully.

At the close of the fiscal year 301 cases wherein criminal prosecution was recommended were pending before the Department of Justice.

Of the criminal cases closed during the year, 25 were convictions for timber trespass, of which 1 was prison sentence, and $2,200 in fines were assessed by the court and $924 paid; 14 were convictions for conspiracy, 4 of which were prison sentences and $23,250 assessed

in fines, of which $5,250 was paid; 2 convictions of unlawful inclosures of the public domain, $26.30 fines imposed and paid; 9 convictions were secured in cases of using the mails to defraud, etc., prison sentences in 4 cases, fines of $1,201 imposed, of which $740 was paid; making a total of 50 convictions secured and 9 prison sentences imposed.

SURVEYING.

Owing to the failure of Congress to provide for surveying the public lands in the latter half of the surveying season of 1912 until August 23, the large number of parties in the field at the end of June, 1912, had to be curtailed to such an extent that the showing as to acreage surveyed during the last fiscal year is not so good as it would otherwise be.

Increased efforts were made at the opening of the 1913 season to secure the execution of all the surveys authorized, and at the end of the last fiscal year 154 parties were at work on the various kinds. of surveys under the jurisdiction of this office.

These embrace surveys of public lands, railroad land grants, abandoned military reservations, Indian reservations, town sites, islands, lake beds, and other fragmentary surveys.

The expense of making these surveys has been met by funds derived from the following appropriations Surveys and resurveys of public lands; deposits from railroad companies; surveying with railroad land grants (reimbursable); surveying and allotting Indian reservations (reimbursable); surveys of abandoned military reservations.

This office has formulated a plan of procedure for the surveys of homesteads within national forests, which has been adopted by the Forester, and the instructions printed in pamphlet form for the guidance of its surveyors. These irregular tracts, listed by the forest officers, will be surveyed by metes and bounds, whether on unsurveyed or surveyed ground, under the supervision of the surveyor general, and the expense of the field and office work of the segregation will be hereafter borne by the Government instead of by the entrymen.

The third season of field operations under the direct system has fully demonstrated the wisdom of abandoning the contract system. The organization has been completed by the addition of skilled surveyors drawn from Civil Service Commission registers, and with the cooperation of the surveyors general the disbursements for expenses have been conducted in such a manner that no wastefulness or extravagance is allowed. Efficiency as well as economy is the result. The graded system of salaries adopted has tended to induce surveyors and transitmen to give their best service and to minimize the cost. Progress reports submitted weekly enable the supervisors