Under Act of Assembly of April 29, 1911, the Secretary of Internal Affairs is authorized to cancel any and all liens, bonds and mortgages now held by the Department against lands of this Commonwealth on which patents have been issued, for unpaid purchase money and interest thereon, and make proper satisfaction on the lien docket, mortgage book, and other records of the department, on receipt of the sum of $15, covering lien docket and recording fees for each tract of land found entered on said lien docket and so released, and forward a certificate of cancellation to the prothonotary's office of the county in which the lien was entered under provisions of the Act of Assembly of May 20, 1864, and the supplement thereto of April 4, 1868, with request that proper entry and satisfaction be made in the records of that office.

Under Act of Assembly of June 27, 1913, "Authorizing and regulating the survey, appraisal and patenting of lands in beds of navigable rivers or streams, permitted by the Government of the United States to be abondoned and filled as no longer of use for ordinary purposes of navigation, the Secretary of Internal Affairs is authorized to grant warrants to survey such lands and issue patents for same, under the provisions of said Act.

"

Blanks are furnished by the Department for the use of owners of unpatented lands who may desire to have them patented. Islands.

Islands in the rivers of Pennsylvania have, from the earliest times been granted upon application and survey. The granting of islands in the Susquehanna river is governed by the Acts of March 6, 1793, and April 2, 1822; in the rivers Delaware, Ohio, Allegheny and their branches, by the Act of January 27, 1806.

Application for islands must set forth the name of applicant, location and acreage of the islands, etc., and that said island is at least four feet high above common low water, contains at least forty perches of ground exclusive of rocks, and is susceptible of cultivation in grain or esculent roots in common seasons, by their growing and becoming maturely ripe; and that he knows of no other person that has any claim whatever to the island.

The above must be sworn to before a justice of the peace of the township in which the island lies.

In order to determine the purchase price, appraisers are appointed to value the island, and this valuation shall not be less than eight dollars per acre.

If no previous right thereto has been granted, upon compliance with the law, a warrant to survey is issued and survey returned by the county surveyor to the Secretary of Internal Affairs, and patent issued, as in other cases of vacant land.

For several years past it has been the policy of the Administration of the State to discourage the disposal by the State of its islands.

Persons sending money to the Department of Internal Affairs should send by registered letter, postal money order, or certified check. Drafts, checks or postal money orders must be made payable to the Secretary of Internal Affairs.

Bureau of Standards.

This Bureau, established by the Act of June 23, 1911, P. L. 1118, regulates and maintains a uniform standard of legal weights and measares in this Commonwealth, to conform with the original standards of weights and measures adopted by Congress, and verified by the National Bureau of Standards; and is to assist in securing the enforcement of laws relating to sealers of weights and measures, now in force or that may hereafter be enacted.

with the state standards when presented at his office for that purpose; shall certify to their correctness by affixing his official stamp thereto, with his name and date of examination clearly marked thereon; shall preserve in his office an appropriate record of services rendered and work performed by him, or under his direction; shall file in his office annual and other reports received from the local sealers; and shall on or before the thirtieth day of November in each year submit a report in writing to the Secretary of Internal Affairs, for publication as a separate document in book form, setting forth, in sufficient detail, the work done in said Bureau, and the work reported to him by the local sealers, together with such other matter relating to that subject as may be deemed of value and interest to the citizens of this Commonwealth.

In accordance with the Act of May 11, 1911, P. L. 275, it is the duty of all county and city inspectors to compare their tests of weights and measures with the standard tests of this Bureau so as to insure accuracy.

The Act of July 24, 1913, P. L. 960, provides that each city and County inspector shall report in writing at least once every month to the chief of the State Bureau of Standards, upon blanks furnished by the chief. Such reports shall contain: (1) The number of tests made since the last preceding report. (2) The number of weights, measures and balances found by such tests to be correct. (3) The number of weights, measures and balances found by such tests to be false. (4) The number of prosecutions instituted by such inspector since the last preceding report, together with the name of the accused, the title of the court where prosecution was instituted, and the result of such prosecution. (5) Such other matters as the chief may, from time to time, prescribe.

The Act of July 24, 1913, P. L. 965, de fines commodities, regulates the sale thereof, establishes weights per bushel, provides for the marking of the net weight of commodities if sold in package form, awards power to the chief of the Bureau of Standards to make rules and regulations for tolerances and small packages.

By the Act of May 14, 1915, P. L. 531, amending the Act of July 24, 1913, it is provided that bottles or jars for milk or cream shall be measures under the provisions of this

Act.

The Act of June 7, 1915, P. L. 886, amending the Act of July 24, 1913, provides for the marking of the net weight of the contents on containers or packages handled, sold or offered for sale by wholesalers, jobbers or commission merchants.

In accordance with the Act of July 11, 1917, P. L. 799, amending the Act of May 11, 1911, it is' the duty of the sealer of weights and measures to inspect and test instruments and devices used in connection with the weighings at coal mines.

The Act of July 19, 1917, P. L. 1102, amending the Act of May 11, 1911, provides for the payment of salaries of city and county inspectors of weights and measures by the mayors of cities and various boards of county commissioners in the Commonwealth.

By Acts of May 23, 1919, P. L. 278, and April 26, 1921, P. L. 300, standard Babcock glassware is defined and the sale in the state of such glassware by manufacturers is prohibited until tested and approved by the Bureau of Standards.

The Act of July 9, 1919, P. L. 809, provides for the cooperation of the Bureau of Standards of the Department of Internal Affairs with the Bureau of Markets of the Department of Agriculture to establish standard receptacles for farm products, and to promulgate regulations for the enforcement thereof.

ber land in the Commonwealth. The principal work of the division is to procure from the county commissioners, and other officers dealing with assessments and taxes for local purposes, the facts referred to above, to examine the assessment returns, verify them and compile and tabulate them for publication in the annual reports. Special effort is made by the division to obtain for the public all the information possible on the subject of taxation and for this purpose annual reports are made by the several boards of county commissioners showing the amount of taxes collected for the support of schools, the poor, and the maintenance of roads, bridges, etc.; also the amount of taxes collected for all purposes, and specially the amounts paid by railways and other corporations for local purposes.

Bureau of Municipalities.

By an Act of Assembly approved the fourth day of April, 1919, the Bureau of Municipalities was transferred from the Department of Labor | and Industry to the Department of Internal Affairs, with enlarged powers and duties.

and

The law provides that the said Bureau shall gather, classify, index, make available, and disseminate data, statistical information, advice that may be helpful in improving the methods of administration and municipal development in the several municipalities of the Commonwealth; and shall maintain, for the benefit of the municipalities, a publicity service to install or assist in the installation and establishment of modern systems of accounting in the various municipalities of the State, and in order to promote a comprehensive plan or series of plans for the probable future requirements of cities, boroughs, or townships of the Commonwealth, either separately or jointly, in respect to a system of traffic thoroughfares and other highways or main highways, transportation of every sort, suitably coordinated sites for public buildings, parks, parkways, playgrounds, and other public uses, the preservation of natural and historic features, and any and all public improvements tending to the advantage of municipalities or townships affected, tending to their advantage as a place of business and residence, and to either make or secure or assist in making or securing the necessary surveys, plans, and information.

The Bureau of Municipalities serves primarily as a clearing house for data concerning munici pal endeavor. It collects and disseminates information on municipal conditions and activities of municipalities.

It will upon request, furnish material on topics of interest to municipalities outlining the best thought and practice, not only in this State, but in other states. The aim is the standardizing of municipal administration in Pennsyl vania.

All city, borough, township or county officials are required to furnish such information as may be requested by the chief of the Bureau of Municipalities or his duly authorized deputy.

Bureau of Publications.

This Bureau supervises the publications of the Department and disseminates information relating to statistics and other useful data concerning the State, as obtained by the Department of Internal Affairs through its varied activities.

BOARD OF PROPERTY.

This Board is composed of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, Attorney General, and Secretary of Internal Affairs. The Board's duty is to hear and determine in all

The following rules have been adopted to regulate proceedings before the Board:

I. A caveat may be entered against the granting of a warrant, acceptance of a survey, or granting of a patent. It must be in writing, and addressed to the Secretary of Internal Affairs. A particular form is not required, but the application, survey, or other office right against which it is entered, together with the reasons for filing the same, should be distinctly stated.

II. A caveat entered against the granting of a warrant on any application on file bars the issuing of a warrant, unless, after hearing upon a citation, the Board should dismiss the same.

III. No caveat, note on survey, nor writing, in the nature of a caveat, shall continue to bar the issuing of a patent to the person or persons against whom such caveat may be entered during a longer period than two years, unless the parties interested in the land shall within the term mentioned take out a citation thereon in order to bring such dispute to a decision and prosecute the same to effect.

IV. A citation will be issued on a pending caveat on the application of any party in interest. Thirty days' notice must be given to the opposite party of the time at which the case will be heard by the Board, and either party desiring to take the deposition of witnesses to be read at the hearing is required to ten give the other days notice of the time and place for the taking of such depositions.

V. The party who enteres a caveat becomes plaintiff in the issue joined, and at the hearing shall open the case and may make the concluding argument.

VI. A petitiion for the rehearing of a case that has been heard and decided will not be considered unless the party presenting the same shall furnish evidence that the opposite party has had at least ten days notice of the intention to present said petition.

VII.

A petition for an order of resurvey must recite the name of the warrantee, and date of warrant upon which former survey was made, and state the reasons for such survey.

VIII. Depositions of witnesses submitted to the Board become a part of the Record, and cannot be withdrawn.

IX. Citations must be returned to the Department of Internal Affairs on or before the day fixed therein for the hearing of the case in which they are issued. All acceptances of notice and agreements to continue cases must be in writing.

X. Parties will be heard in person or may be represented by counsel, as they may elect.

XI, The fees to be charged for the use of the Commonwealth in business relating to the Board are as follows: Entering caveat,

Issuing citation,

Recording application for resurvey, Order for resurvey,

Copy of action or determination of Board,

$1.00

1 00

1.00

1 00

1 00

XII. All communications for the Board should be addressed to the Secretary of Internal Affairs.

DEPARTMENT OF MILITARY
AFFAIRS.

The Adjutant General is the head of this Department. He is also a member and chairman of the Armory Board of the State of Pennsylvania.

The Department of Military Affairs administers the affairs of the Pennsylvania National Guard and of the Commonwealth's Naval Militia.

The duties of the Department include the care and custody of all military property of the Commonwealth, the distribution of orders from the Governor as Commander-in-Chief and the performance of such other duties as the Governor shall direct, the payment of the troops, the supplying of drill regulations, manuals of ritle practice, service manuals and other military publications to all officers of the National Guard, the supplying of all necessary military stores, arms and equipment to all organizations of the National Guard and the ordering and adjustment of all claims incident to the organization, training, discipline, maintenance and service of the National Guard other than fixed allowances and the payment of such claims when ordered and adjusted.

The Department, with the approval of the Governor, has the power to sell or exchange unserviceable military stores belonging to the Commonwealth, or such stores as it may be deemed for the best interest of the Commonwealth to sell or exchange. All moneys received for stores so sold must be paid into the State Treasury.

The Department also has the power and it is its duty to establish rules for the filing of claims for pensions made under and by virtue of the laws of this Commonwealth, to investi gate all circumstances connected with the death of a soldier, whose death is the basis of a claim for a pension, to determine the amount of relief payable to any officer or enlisted man of the Pennsylvania National Guard who is wounded or otherwise disabled while doing duty in active service of the State and on satisfactory evidence submitted or obtained, to grant such pensions as may now or hereafter be provided by law and certify the same to the Auditor General, who shall draw such warrants upon the State Treasurer therefor, to the order of the pensioner, as may now or hereafter be provided by law.

The Department is also charged with the duty of investigating all claims and applications filed with it, of soldiers and sailors who served in the military or naval forces of the United States during the World War, and, if satisfied of the sufficiency of any such claim on application, to approve the same and arrange for the payment thereof out of any funds available for the purpose; and to make such rules and regulations as shall seem necessary for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of the laws providing for the payment of soldiers and sailors' compensation for service in the World War.

ac

the

The Department may issue arms and coutrements which are the property of Commonwealth to cadets of any military school or to any organization of veterans of any War in which the United States has been engaged under such terms and conditions as may from time to time be provided by law.

The Administrative Code of 1923 charged the Department with the duty of selecting or making arrangements for ground to be set apart in some historic spot in the Commonwealth as an appropriate space for use as a cemetery for the burial of the bodies of soldiers, sailors, marines, and war nurses, who served in the Army or Navy of the United States during times of war, who died while in active service or after an honorable discharge, and who entered such service while residents of Pennsylvania, as well as the bodies of members of the National Guard of Pennsylvania who died while members of the National Guard or after an honorable discharge therefrom; and on behalf of the Commonwealth to

accept the dedication of any lands in a historic spot for use as such cemetery; and when any Such cemetery shall be located and established, to maintain and regulate the same, and, for that purpose, to adopt rules and regulations to egulate burials therein of the bodies of persons entitled to be buried therein, as provided in this section.

ARMORY BOARD OF THE STATE OF

PENNSYLVANIA.

This Board consists of the Governor, the Adjutant General and five other persons appointed by the Governor. Three of these persons must e officers of the National Guard of Pennsylvania.

The Adjutant General is chairman of the Board and the Board elects a secretary.

Each member of the Board except the Governor and the Adjutant General receive a salary of twelve hundred dollars ($1,200) per annum.

It is the duty of the Board to purchase land for, erect, provide, equip, maintain, manage and egulate armories within the limits of Pennsylvania for the use of the National Guard of Pennsylvania.

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

The Secretary of Agriculture is the head of this Department. He is appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate for a term of four years. By virtue of his office he is a member and chairman of the State Fair Commission.

Animal Industry

The Department of Agriculture has the power and under the law it is its duty to promote the Livestock industry; to prevent, suppress, control and eradicate any transmissible diseases of nimals and poultry; to establish and maintain general or special quarantines on premises; to prevent the spread of infectious and communicable diseases of animals and poultry; to regulate and prohibit the movement and transportation of animals or poultry; to provide for the licensing of breeding animals kept for public service; to regulate the manufacture, use, and sale of biological products for use on domestic animals; to make such examinations and tests as may be deemed necessary to determine the ealthfulness of domestic animals and poultry; to organize and administer a service for the purpose of protecting the public against the use of unwholesome meat or meat food products; to enforce the Dog Law of 1921, and carry out all duties and powers formerly imposed upon the State Livestock Sanitary Board.

Plant Industry.

The Department is charged with the inspection of any nursery, orchard, farm, garden, park, cemetery, private or public place, which may become infested or infected with harmful sects or plant diseases; to establish and enorce quarantines; to issue and enforce orders and regulations and make investigations for the control of plant diseases and pests; to inspect apiaries and encourage apiculture, and enforce the laws regulating the sale of seeds, insecticides and fungicides.

Markets.

It is the duty of the Department to investigate the marketing of farm products, to furnish advice and assistance pertaining to marketing; to gather and diffuse timely information concerning the supply, demand, prevailing prices, and commercia. movement of farm products; to issist and advise in the organization and conduct of public markets, cooperative and other organizations for improving marketing conditions and activities among producers, distributors, ind consumers; to investigate delays, embargoes, conditions, practices, charges, and rates in the transportation and storage of farm products; to take lawful steps to prevent waste of perishable products and issue licenses for and certificates covering the investigation and classification of farm products.