whatsoever, or shall affect the rights of any such claimant, locator, or entryman to the full use and enjoyment of his land. Whenever consistent with the primary purposes of the park the act of February fifteenth, nineteen hundred and one, applicable to the location of rights of way in certain national parks and the national forests for irrigation and other purposes, shall be and remain applicable to the lands included within the park. The Secretary of the Interior may, in his discretion and upon such conditions as he may deem wise, grant easements or rights of way for steam, electric, or similar transportation upon or across the park. SEC. 3. That no lands located within the park boundaries now held in private, municipal, or State ownership shall be affected by or subject to the provisions of this act. SEC. 4. That the said park shall be under the executive control of the Secretary of the Interior, and it shall be the duty of the said executive authority, as soon as practicable, to make and publish such reasonable rules and regulations, not inconsistent with the laws of the United States, as the said authority may deem necessary or proper for the care, protection, management, and improvement of the same, the said regulations being primarily aimed at the freest use of the said park for recreation purposes by the public and for the preservation of the natural conditions and scenic beauties thereof. The said authority may, in his discretion, execute leases to parcels of ground not exceeding twenty acres in extent in any one place to any person or company for not to exceed twenty years whenever such ground is necessary for the erection of establishments for the accommodation of visitors, may grant such other necessary privileges and concessions as he deems wise for the accommodation of visitors, and may likewise arrange for the removal of such mature or dead or down timber as he may deem necessary and advisable for the protection and improvement of the park. The regulations governing the park shall include provisions for the use of automobiles therein: Provided, That no appropriation for the maintenance, supervision, or improvement of said park in excess of $10,000 annually shall be made unless the same shall have first been expressly authorized by law. Approved, January 26, 1915. REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF THE GENERAL LAND OFFICE. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, GENERAL LAND OFFICE, Washington, September 22, 1915. SIR: I have the honor to submit a report of the transactions of business in the General Land Office for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1915, including therewith a few suggestions as to new legislation. AREA OF LANDS ENTERED AND PATENTED. The total area of public and Indian lands originally entered and allowed during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1915, is 16,861,214.69 acres, an increase of 338,362.57 acres as compared with the area entered during the year 1914. The area patented during the fiscal year is 13,025,427.976 acres, a decrease of 1,365,643.124 acres as compared with the fiscal year of 1914. Of the above area, 9,594,973.025 acres were patented under the homestead laws, a decrease of 405,661.975 acres, not including homesteads, 32,360.89 acres patented as soldiers' additional entries. The above patented area also includes the following: Enlarged homesteads, 3,972,381.16 acres; homesteads under the Kinkaid Act, 1,263,184.37 acres; homesteads with coal reservations, 1,435,071.80 acres. Area of Indian fee patents, not included in the above, 202,050.06 acres. CASH RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES. The total cash receipts for the sales of public land, including fees and commissions on both original and final entries, and sales of Government property in the local offices for the fiscal year 1915 were $3,786,319.54 (1914, $4,256,102.96), a decrease of $469,783.42. Miscellaneous receipts were as follows: From sales of Indian lands, $1,556,630.97 (1914, $1,884,802.77); depredations on public lands, $31,203.54; depredations on Indian lands, $38.33; leases, power sites, etc., act of February 15, 1901, $1,116.21; copies of records, plats, etc., made at General Land Office, $14,738.82, and at 13 surveyors generals' offices, $4,900.79, making the aggregate cash receipts of this bureau during the fiscal year 1915, $5,394,948.20 (1914, $6,148,367.63), a decrease of $753,419.43. 8161 -INT 1915-VOL 1- -15 225 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, 1915, were $828,865.71, a decrease of $24,832.89. The aggregate expenditures and estimated liabilities of the public land service, including expenses of district land offices and surveys made were $3,008,996.31, leaving a net surplus of $2,384,922.61 of receipts over expenditures. THE FIELD SERVICE. The amount appropriated for the maintenance of the field service for this year was $475,000, a decrease of $25,000 from that allowed for the year 1914. This made necessary a reduction in the field force. The average number of agents employed during this year was 106, a decrease of 13 from the preceding year. In addition to these employees, the cost of the maintenance of the offices of the chiefs of field division, with the clerical assistance incidental thereto, is met from this appropriation. The total amount of cash collected and turned into the Treasury as the result of the work of the special agents during the fiscal year was $90,799.24. Of this amount, $34,014.40 was accepted as settlement for timber trespass and $10,302.66 was realized from timber sales; $46,482.18 was recovered by civil and criminal action brought through the Department of Justice in cases of depredations on the public lands and violations of the public-land laws. As a result of investigations by the field service, 530,841.90 acres have been restored to the public domain. Of this amount, 258,240 acres represent fraudulent entries (taking an average of 160 acres to each entry) canceled as the result of proceedings on special agents' reports; 266,774.40 acres were restored to open range on abatement of unlawful inclosures without suit. Special agents have made examinations and reports on 20,299 entries, 5,501 of which were adverse and 14,798 were favorable. In addition to the reports of special agents, 200 adverse reports and 1,011 favorable reports have been received from forest officers on entries within national forests. During the year 123 civil suits were recommended Two hundred and fifteen suits have been tried, 133 of which were won and 82 lost. As a result, $42,919 was recovered and 41,695.50 acres were restored to the public domain, 35,868 acres of which had been unlawfully inclosed. Of the 73 criminal cases disposed of during the year, 33 resulted in convictions, and in these cases fines amounting to $7,552 were imposed, as well as 23 prison sentences. |