Despite its limited funds and authority under the Emergency Relief Appropriation Acts, the P. R. R. A. has made substantial contributions toward relieving the economic distress of the island. No mere palliatives can solve the basic problem of a dense and ever-increasing population struggling to wrest a livelihood from exceedingly limited resources. The unemployment situation, which still remains most serious, has been temporarily relieved to some extent by the intensified national-defense work now in progress. Possibly the recent amendment of the Fair Labor Standards Act, providing for a special committee to study and recommend minimum wages to be paid to employees in Puerto Rico, may improve the condition of that part of the population which is dependent upon commerce as distinguished from agriculture. This, however, will not solve the problem of how to create a sufficiently increased income to support nearly 2,000,000 people. Further industrial and agricultural development of the island is imperative; for that development progressive leadership and capital for full utilization of the island's resources must be found. Only in part can this be accomplished by a program of relief spending. Nevertheless, such spending cannot be terminated unless substitutes in the way of more satisfactory remedies for permanent cure are put into immediate effect. What the P. R. R. A. has done has at least given hope to thousands of people who otherwise would have been cast into utter despair. Weakness of one part of our body politic may effect the health of the entire body; therefore whatever is done to help the inhabitants of this strategic outpost of defense, may well be considered not merely one of emergency relief, but an important element in our program of national preparedness.

THE VIRGIN ISLANDS

During the greater part of the year, there was marked unemployment in the islands. This situation was relieved in St. Thomas by the initiation of projects in connection with national defense.

The general agricultural economy of St. Croix, however, has been at a low ebb for the past 3 years due to a severe drought, which continued during 1940.

Federal funds amounting to approximately $400,000 from appropriations made to the Work Projects Administration were made available to the Virgin Islands in 1940, for a large variety of projects. A total of $240,000 in Public Works funds also was made available for the building of an abattoir in St. Croix, as an aid to the cattle industry, and for the construction of a public market in Charlotte Amalie.

THE VIRGIN ISLANDS Co.

Sales figures for the 1940 fiscal year are not yet available. In the fiscal year 1939, the Virgin Islands Co. sold $75,607 worth of raw sugar, $88,436 worth of Government House Rum, and $14,364 worth of a special distillate.

Although the 939 growers of sugarcane in St. Croix come under the restrictive provisions of the Sugar Act of 1937, the Congress has not yet extended to them the benefit-payment provisions of the act as an offset. St. Croix growers are the only ones under the American flag

who are treated with such discrimination. In addition, St. Croix growers, unlike other American growers, are required to pay an export tax of $6 per ton on all the raw sugar shipped to the continental United States. It is essential that remedial legislation be enacted by the Congress to overcome these discriminations. Strong efforts also are being made to secure the enactment of legislation to transfer to the government of the Virgin Islands all taxes collected under the internal revenue laws of the United States on articles imported into the United States from the Virgin Islands.

GENERAL LAND OFFICE

The facilitation of national defense and the continuation of the program for conservation of the resources of the public domain were the primary objectives of the General Land Office during the year. The chief contribution to the defense program was to make available to the War and Navy Departments the broad areas of public lands which are suitable for military and naval purposes. Withdrawals of the public lands and requests for withdrawals in connection with the national defense program during the year embraced more than 7,000,000 acres. In addition, all outstanding aviation leases and beacon light permits contain provisions under which the Secretary of War may assume full control over the lands whenever the President deems them necessary for military purposes. A total of 41,369 acres has been withdrawn for air-navigation purposes.

The food supply of the Nation is vital to national defense, and a prime factor in the food supply is potash as a fertilizer. As a result of the war, shipments of this material from Europe and elsewhere have practically ceased. To meet the emergency, over 6,000 acres of land, comprising the greater part of the dry bed of ancient Searles Lake in California, have been leased. This area is rich in potash and the supply which will be available from this source, together with other potash produced in this country, largely from land leased from the Government in California and New Mexico, should be sufficient to meet all domestic needs.

For many sections of the United States, the township plats which depict the public land surveys, including the general topography, supply the only map data available for military purposes. The rectangular system of surveys supplies a simple, concise, and definite identification of the boundaries of lands. During the year cadastral engineering activities resulted in surveys embracing 5,693,105 acres, in addition to engineering investigations and special projects. The surveys cover a total of 35,540 miles.

The change from the system of issuing permits for oil and gas prospecting on the public domain to the system of issuing leases, has been practically completed. The change was designed to aid in the conservation of oil and gas resources, to prevent speculation and to secure more adequate returns to the United States from such

resources.

The management of the timber resources on the approximately 2,500,000 acres of revested Oregon and California railroad and reconveyed Coos Bay Wagon Road grant lands in Oregon was furthered by additional research, and by the inventory, classification, and estab

lishment of improved procedures for maintaining sustained yield timber cutting.

Substantial progress was made on an inventory of the resources of the public domain, the mapping of the public-domain lands, the classification of lands, and the assembly and analysis of information concerning the economic resources of Alaska.

In order to secure increased benefits to the people from the use of the public lands, regulations were issued providing for an annual rental of $5 per mile or fraction thereof, for rights-of-way over the public lands for telegraph and telephone lines, tramroads, oil and gas pipe lines, water pipe lines, ditches, and canals. A charge of $5 per acre or fraction thereof per annum also was imposed for the use of public lands for reservoirs, water plants, well sites, and other like structures.

GRAZING SERVICE

The impact of events abroad have brought to American citizens a deeper realization of the need for range conservation in the national preparedness program. The vital importance of a continuous, adequate supply of food and clothing, based on the forage resources of the western ranges, became more clearly recognized during the year. Conservation of the Federal grazing lands of the West, from which is derived a large part of the beef, mutton, wool, and mohair essential to our daily lives, became an integral part of our national-defense program.

The sixth year of grazing district administration by the Grazing Service witnessed sound advancement in the improvement and orderly use of the western ranges. In response to popular demand, both locally and nationally, the program was enlarged in scope as well as in area. Efforts were directed toward coordinated use and planning for the protection of the resources and the benefit of the people who are dependent upon grazing.

Aligned with programs for the protection and improvement of the the range was a general plan for the development of a correlated land pattern in the districts.

Many of the perplexing problems involved in a mixed ownership of interdependent land amounting to more than 250,000,000 acres were ironed out. Cooperation with States, counties, railroad companies, and individual landowners reached a new high during the year. An amendment to the Taylor Grazing Act on July 14, 1939 (Public, 173, 76th Cong.) welded further the mutual cooperative efforts of the stockmen and the administration. Advisory boards, elected by the range users, functioned with greater interest and efficiency than theretofore. During the past year these boards were brought more prominently into the planning end of range administration. This system of local representation encouraged direct conservation practices by the licensees and permittees.

Security in land tenure is the biggest problem facing the livestockman of the West today. If he is to plan and manage his business successfully he cannot be constantly confronted with the hazard of competitive, unstable land policies. The stabilization of the grazing district land pattern will go far toward meeting the stockman's need.

Three additional grazing districts were established during the year, increasing the number to 53 and the acreage of Federal range area to 140,847,900. Grazing licenses and permits were issued to 20,609 stockmen owning 11,930,964 livestock.

Mutual cooperative efforts between the stockmen, the Service, and numerous other citizens brought about the largest possible amount of citizenship participation in the development and use of the range resources. Studies and plans were directed toward possible emergency needs for greater facility in the production and distribution of essential livestock products. It is a pleasure to report that the range country is now in a better position than ever before to meet present and future emergencies. Production can be kept on a continuing basis without undue injury to the land or the forage. With the help of 555 district advisers and the cooperation of all of the range users, the livestock business can be maintained on a high productive level consistent with wise use of the required resources.

In cooperation with the Civilian Conservation Corps, the Grazing Service operated 89 C. C. C. camps engaged in range improvement work in the Federal grazing districts. Activities ranged from exterminating insects and rodents to fighting range fires. Water development continued as the outstanding need in the range conservation work. Flood control, erosion control, range revegetation, and fence construction, trail building, eradication of poisonous plants, rodents, and predatory animals, all contributed to a better range and a healthier livestock industry.

Work on the ranges has developed a reservoir of men and equipment useful for any defense emergency. Should the need arise, equipment such as trucks, tractors, and concrete mixers, manned by skilled operators, could be mobilized and used locally for building and repairing roads, dams, air navigation sites, or other facilities. In addition, maps, showing roads, towns, and general topography are available for both civilian and military use. Base maps of this nature already completed cover 535,680 square miles in 10 western States. Developed primarily for use in range administration, these maps are useful in the defense program, especially in connection with air and land maneuvers and border patrols.

Within the boundaries of grazing districts are many known undeveloped mineral deposits and a number of mines producing essential war minerals. Men and equipment in the Grazing Service could be thrown into active service to facilitate the production and transportation of such raw materials. In the event of emergency, Grazing Service personnel is instantly available for patrol duty to guard roads, bridges, reservoirs, and other structures as well as water supplies in outlying sections of the West. In keeping with the national preparedness program, range conservation is one of many important "behind-the-lines" activities of today.

DIRECTOR OF FORESTS

It is also a matter of gratification to be able to report that the forest resources under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior are so strategically situated and so well developed as to be able to make substantial contributions to the national defense. These resources were under development during the World War of 1917

and contributed in full measure to our efforts at that time. During the existing emergency, we are in a position to furnish large volumes of essential forest products. The administrative units throughout the service are being so organized as to meet any increase in demand which may develop.

As is well known, forest administration has been one of the principal functions of the Department of the Interior since it was estab lished in 1849. The Department was first among the executive establishments vested with administrative responsibilities in forestry. Long before the creation of the first National Forest reserve in 1891 and the granting of authority to administer the National Forest reserves in 1897, the Department put forth special efforts through its various bureaus and offices to protect and promote the interests of the Federal Government in the forests of the public domain and on other Federal lands.

Because of the highly diversified conditions which characterize the public domain, the National Parks, and the Indian lands, the Department of the Interior carries on a wider range of forestry functions and activities than any other Federal Department. It is significant that today, almost two-thirds of the area of all Federal lands in the United States proper is under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior. If Alaska is included, then Interior's jurisdiction extends over almost three-fourths of all Federal lands.

Owing to these large holdings, the activities of the Department in the field of conservation are of material importance in the determination of the Nation's timber budget and the concomitant influence of timber and forage growth. The wide problems of public policy in regard to forestry are being studied by a Joint Congressional Committee on Forestry. As an aid to this committee, the Director of Forests prepared a detailed report on the conservation policies of the Department. The report recommended that Indian forest reserves be established and operated on a cooperative sustained-yield forest management. It also urged the bringing under sustained-yield management of the unreserved public domain lands intermingled with and lying adjacent to the revested Oregon and California grant lands. It further recommended that legislation be enacted authorizing the sale of forest products from areas within grazing districts under appropriate rules and regulations. It found, too, that funds are needed for listing the scattered, unreserved public domain lands not included in grazing districts, and for surveying their resources.

In addition to preparing the extensive report for the Joint Committee on Forestry, the Director of Forests prosecuted an extensive program of forestry activity during the year. Marked progress was made in perfecting the organization of the O and C grant lands. A large volume of Indian forestry business was handled, and two important Indian timber damage suits were brought to a successful conclusion. Extensive assistance was rendered to the Land Committee of the National Resources Planning Board. Advisory services were given in a large number of cases and help was forthcoming on problems of the various agencies of the Department having administrative responsibility in forest conservation.