in the same district, as in the case of a district lying partly in two States.

If the necessary timber cannot be secured under the preceding two laws, or lawfully taken from valid locations, the only recourse is to purchase it in the open market, off of patented land, or from the Forest Service; to patent a piece of land for the timber; or to file on a piece of public timber land under a Timber and Stone entry.

TIMBER IN ALASKA

Actual settlers, residents, individual miners, and prospectors for minerals, not associations or corporations, may take timber from the public lands in Alaska for firewood, fencing, buildings, mining, prospecting, or other domestic purposes, without charge and without application or previous permit, the amount not to exceed a stumpage value of $50 in any one calendar year. No timber may be sold, but an agent may be employed to cut it. Application to purchase timber to be cut for use in Alaska, but not for export, may be made to the receiver of the local land office for the district, to be acted upon similar to applications to cut timber in the United States.

CHAPTER XXVII

Timber and Mines Within National Forests

ACT OF CONGRESS: *** Nor shall anything herein prohibit any person from entering upon such forest reservations for all proper and lawful purposes, including that of prospecting, locating, and developing the mineral resources thereof. Provided, that such persons comply with the rules and regulations covering such forest reservation. *** And any mineral lands in any forest reservation, which have been or which may be shown to be such, and subject to entry under the existing mining laws of the United States, and the rules and regulations applying thereto, shall continue to be subject to such location and entry.

The Forest Reserves or National Forests, as they are more formally and properly known since the term Forest Reserve is now obsolete officially-are tracts of government land wholly or partly covered with timber or undergrowth, that have been set aside by Congress or the President of the United States. These tracts have been withdrawn from entry to preserve a perpetual supply of timber, to prevent destruction of the forest cover which regulates the flow of streams, to protect local residents from unfair competition in the use of forest and range, to conserve the live-stock range from deterioration, and to lessen the loss and danger from forest fires. The National Forests are under the jurisdiction of both the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture, but the authority and jurisdiction of each is separate and distinct. The Department of the Interior, as represented mainly by the General Land Office, has entire jurisdiction in surveying and passing title and permanent rights or easements to land within National Forests, just as it has over public land in general. The Department of Agriculture, as represented by the Forest Service, has entire jurisdiction re

garding the care and conduct of National Forests, and the granting of permits for the occupancy of lands and the uses of the resources of the National Forests, that do not affect or cloud the fee title to the land. Forests and timber belonging to the Government, which are outside of National Forests, are in no way connected with the National Forests, and are not under any jurisdiction of the Forest Service, but solely under that of the Department of the Interior through the General Land Office mainly, just as any other unreserved public land.

By the Statute quoted, it is provided that prospecting and mining may be carried on within National Forests, under the provisions of the Federal Statutes, Land Department regulations, State statutes, and district rules, just as on public domain outside of the National Forests, except that the rules and regulations covering such National Forests must be complied with additionally. Townsites may be obtained under the townsite laws and regulations, by first having the area to be located as a townsite removed from the National Forest by proclamation or executive order of the President; as this is a rather difficult procedure, townsites and camp sites about mines in National Forests are usually located as mining and millsite claims. The National Forests are open to no location other than mineralwhich includes the location of coal under the coal-land lawsexcept homestead entries upon agricultural land under a special Act. Permits are necessary for all occupancy, use, operation, or enterprises of any kind within National Forests, except upon patented lands or claims, upon valid locations for purposes necessary to their actual development and consistent with their character, and except for prospecting for mineral, transient camping, hunting, fishing, exploration, and surveying for lawful projects. All persons must secure permits before grazing any stock on open land in a National Forest, except for the few head in actual use by prospectors, campers, and travelers. Persons who may wish to make any use of the resources of the National Forests for which a permit is required, should consult the nearest Forest Officer.

The owners of patented mining claims, of valid unpatented mining claims, and of other valid claims under public-land laws

or legal titles which may be within National Forests, are free to occupy and enjoy their holdings, but must not interfere with the purposes for which the National Forests were created, and must not cut timber or make use of National Forest land without a permit, except within the limits and for the actual development of their claims. Permit must always be secured to build roads, trails, ditches, transmission and telephone lines, etc., when outside the limits of patented claims or land, unless on valid locations, and then only for the development of the locations. The locator or owner of a mining location has a right to use sufficient of the timber thereon to develop his claim. Timber, however, cannot be cut from one claim to be used on another of the same group, unless its use develops the claim from which it is cut, as well as the one where it is used, and if questioned the burden of proof is upon the claimant to show this. Timber from one group of mining claims cannot be used to develop another noncontiguous and separate group, although the two are owned in common. However, it is generally accepted that the rule on unreserved public land that timber may be taken from one claim for use on a noncontinguous claim or group if its use tends to develop the claim from which it was taken, also holds good within National Forests. A mining claimant has no right to cut and remove timber from his unpatented claim, merely for sale or other commercial purposes. Except the small quantity needed by transients, permission should always be asked by miners and settlers for the free use of timber off their entries or locations; the amount so permitted is usually limited to $20 worth annually. If more than that amount is desired it will usually have to be purchased. Timber within National Forests is for sale, subject to the conditions that the amount taken shall not prejudice the purposes for which the National Forests were created, that the timber shall not be shipped from a region requiring the entire supply available, and that no timber monopoly shall be created. Free use permits will not be issued paying properties and large corporations who may reasonably be expected to pay for their timber.

Persons who are in the legal possession of unpatented valid mining claims have the right to use such portion of the grass

and other forage as is needed for the grazing of live stock used in the development of the claims, but they have no right to dispose of the grass or forage to any other person, or to collect any rental for the use of such claims for grazing purposes. The owners of patented claims or land within National Forests, of course have all the rights that such patents will give anywhere, and can make any disposition they wish of the surface or its products.

Much criticism has been made of the Forest Service in the past. The larger part has come from those whose unlawful pursuits and purposes have been interfered with, such as endeavoring to obtain timber or water-power sites by invalid and nominal mineral locations, or attempting to make use of public lands for grazing purposes to an inordinate extent or the exclusion of others also entitled to the same use. There are presumably two other causes of criticism. First, when the Forest Service was first organized, it was natural, that in attempting to meet and work out the questions involved in a problem of such magnitude and with so many conflicting interests, many minor errors should occur and wrong attitudes should be taken in the process of developing a system and learning the best procedure. Consequently there was great friction between miners and the Forest Service during the embyronic years of the National Forest. This cause for criticism has disappeared, except perhaps in isolated cases where a new employee of the Forest Service may take an unwarranted stand; in such a case the miner or complainant should carry the matter to the superior of the employee. It is advisable that the miner operating within a National Forest should secure a copy of 'The Use Book' of the Forest Service and familiarize himself with the rules and regulations therein. This book can be secured, without cost, from any Forest Supervisor, or by addressing the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C., enclosing the purchase price, which is twenty-five cents.

The second of these other causes of criticism, is the fact that miners and prospectors upon public land, being practically unrestrained by the Government until a patent was asked for, were unable at first to brook the restraint of the National Forest regulations on their heretofore liberty, which was too often in