LAPA 11 2743 ERRATA At page 40, in third headnote, "session" should read cession. At page 325, " 47 Stat. 128 ", should read 48 Stat. 128. At page 353, in last paragraph of headnote, "Title 413 ", should read Title 43. At page 384, line 23, citation should read 44 Stat. 239. This publication (volumes 1 to 54, and digest in two parts, part 1, with supplement, covering volumes 1 to 51, and part 2 covering volumes 1 to 50, inclusive) is held for sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Office of Public Printer, Washington, D. C., to whom all correspondence relating thereto should be addressed. PREFACE In 1883 the Department of the Interior began publication of the more important decisions of the Land Department with the view to preserving in authentic man and in permanent form convenient for reference a line of consistent precedents in departmental rulings illustrating the land laws of the United States. Prior to that time the only published decisions of the Department were those by private reporters, the more familiarly known being Brainard, Copp, and Lester. As originally conceived, the publication entitled “Decisions of the Department of the Interior relating to the Public Lands ", and thereafter referred to as the "Land Decisions", pertained almost exclusively to matters coming under the jurisdiction of the General Land Office and a few matters from the Indian Office. Gradually the jurisdiction of the Department has been enlarged by the creation of new bureaus, among them being the Bureau of Reclamation, the Geological Survey, and the National Park Service. Many new laws have been enacted and policies established relating to the Indians and Indian affairs. New and important problems in other bureaus and services are constantly arising and call for solution. This has been notably the case as to activities connected with or growing out of the National Industrial Recovery Act. Consequently, there has been an increasingly growing demand for the publication of decisions by the Secretary and his Assistant Secretaries, and opinions by the Solicitor, relating to matters other than those pertaining to the public lands. On July 7, 1930, the Secretary issued an order amending the title so as to read "Decisions of the Department of the Interior", and directing that thereafter leading decisions and important opinions relating to all activities of the Department be published in future volumes. Including this volume, 54 volumes have been published, covering the period from July 1881 to September 30, 1934. Volumes 1 to 52 are referred to as the "Land Decisions" (L. D.). The abbreviation "I. D." when used in cited decisions of the Department and in the opinions of the Solicitor has reference to volume 53 and later volumes of this work. III |