66 opened" to public entry or other disposition, excepting areas included in reclamation projects, until the question of their permanent reservation for tribal purposes, as authorized by section 3 of the Indian Reorganization Act of June 18, 1934 (Pub. No. 383-73d Congress), could be appropriately considered. It has since been ascertained that there are "opened" lands of three additional reservations that should have been included in the order, as follows: It is recommended that the order of September 19, 1934, be amended to include vacant and unsold areas on the "opened " portions of these three reservations. In said order of September 19, no mention was made of townsites within such "opened" areas, the proceeds from which, of course, go to the Indians. As to those townsites which have heretofore been completely sold out, it was not intended that such order should apply, but as to those townsites any part of which remains unsold within such areas, it is hereby recommended that said order of September 19, 1934, and this supplemental order, be construed to apply to the extent of temporarily withholding from other disposition any unsold lots or portions of any such townsites until further investigation can be had and specific recommendations made in each instance as to the final disposition to be made thereof. WILLIAM ZIMMERMAN, Jr., Assistant Commissioner. GENERAL LAND OFFICE, Washington, D. C., October 22, 1934. There are no reasons appearing in the records of this Office why the foregoing recommendation should not be approved. FRED W. JOHNSON, Commissioner. Approved, as recommended, November 2, 1934: T. A. WALTERS, Acting Secretary of the Interior. FIVE-DAY WEEK Opinion, August 10, 1934 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES IN WASHINGTON-FIVE-DAY WEEK-DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND PUBLIC WORKS ADMINISTRATION-ACTS OF MARCH 15, 1898, AND MARCH 3, 1931. Congress having fixed the minimum hours of labor per day for employees in the executive departments in Washington at not less than seven hours per day, except employees whose compensation is determined by special wage-fixing authorities, and declared that service shall be required each day except Sundays and days declared public holidays, there is no authority of law for elimination of Saturday as a partial workday by adding to the other workdays the four hours of service required by the act of March 3, 1931. MARGOLD, Solicitor: Reference is made to the memorandum of Mr. E. K. Burlew, Administrative Assistant, dated July 2, 1934, requesting advice on the question whether the Secretary of the Interior has authority to declare a five-day week for employees in the Department of the Interior and the Public Works Administration in Washington by adding the four hours for Saturday to the preceding five days. Section 29, Title 5, United States Code, reads as follows: It shall be the duty of the heads of the several executive departments, in the interest of the public service, to require of all clerks and other employees, of whatever grade or class, in their respective departments, not less than seven hours of labor each day, except Sundays and days declared public holidays by law or Executive order. The heads of the departments may, by special order, stating the reason, further extend the hours of any clerk or employee in their departments, respectively; but in case of an extension it shall be without additional compensation. It will be noted that service is required each day except Sundays and holidays. The act of March 3, 1931 (46 Stat. 1482, sec. 26a, Title 5, U. S. Code, Supp. 7), declares that four hours, exclusive of time for luncheon, shall constitute a day's work on Saturdays throughout the year, with pay or earnings for the day the same as on other days when full time is worked, for all civil employees of the Federal Government, with certain exceptions not pertinent to this inquiry. The act of March 3, 1933 (47 Stat. 1516, sec. 26b, Title 5, U. S. Code, Supp. 7), authorizes the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs to except certain classes of his employees from the Saturday halfholiday provision, and in such case, "seven hours shall constitute a workday on Saturday." In the above provisions of law, Congress has fixed the minimum hours of labor per day for each day except Sundays and legal holidays. It is also provided that if the hours be extended "it shall be without additional compensation." In cases where the employee is entitled to the Saturday halfholiday, but for special public reasons the services of such employee cannot be spared, he shall be entitled to an equal shortening of the workday on some other day. There is no provision for shifting the required four hours of Saturday service to other workdays. Therefore, I am of the opinion that there is no authority of law for the elimination of Saturday as a partial workday by adding the required four hours of service to other workdays, except as regards such employees as come within the purview of section 23 of the act of March 28, 1934 (Public 141 - 73d Congress), which fixes a fortyhour week" for the several trades and occupations" where the compensation is fixed by wage boards or other wage-fixing authorities. With respect to the latter class of employees, the Comptroller General, in his decision of April 6, 1934, held: If the 40 hours are distributed over 5 days of the week only, the Saturday half-holiday law becomes inoperative and the administrative office may, due to the exigencies of the service, include Saturday as one of the 5 working days of the week either as to individual employees, groups of employees, or the entire force. As regards this class of employees, the working hours are put on a weekly basis, rather than a daily basis, and a five-day week may be fixed for them. A separate opinion has been prepared dealing with this class of employees in response to a request from the National Park Service.* Approved, August 10, 1934: Secretary of the Interior. SUBSISTENCE HOMESTEAD COMMUNITIES WITHIN RECLAMATION AREAS Opinion, August 14, 1934. SUBSISTENCE HOMESTEADS WITHIN RECLAMATION PROJECTS-FEDERAL SUBSISTENCE HOMESTEADS CORPORATION-RECLAMATION ACT-CORPORATE CONTROL AND GOVERNMENTAL CONTROL. The Federal Subsistence Homesteads Corporation, being wholly financed and controlled by the United States Government and serving no function other than aiding in the purchase of subsistence homesteads by individuals as provided by section 208 of the National Recovery Act, does not fall within the category of corporations which it was the intention of Congress should be barred from acquiring or controlling lands within Reclamation projects; nor does the statutory limitation of individual holdings to 160 acres apply to such a corporation. See Opinion of Solicitor, November 9, 1934 (m. 27737). MARGOLD, Solicitor: For the establishment of a subsistence homestead community in Arizona, Federal Subsistence Homesteads Corporation proposes to purchase from private proprietors land and appurtenant water rights within the area of a Reclamation project. In this connection the corporation has inquired whether its corporate status or the fact that the proposed purchase is of greater area than 160 acres will make the enterprise a violation of the reclamation law. This inquiry has been referred to me for opinion. Material provisions of the Reclamation Law are in the following language: The right to the use of water acquired under the provisions of the reclamation law shall be appurtenant to the land irrigated, and beneficial use shall be the basis, the measure, and the limit of the right. (32 Stat. 390, 43 U. S. C., sec. 372.) No right to the use of water for land in private ownership shall be sold for a tract exceeding one hundred and sixty acres to any one landowner, and no such sale shall be made to any landowner unless he be an actual bona fide resident on such land, or occupant thereof residing in the neighborhood of said land, and no such right shall permanently attach until all payments therefor are made. (32 Stat. 389, 43 U. S. C., sec. 431.) No person shall at any one time or in any manner, except as hereinafter otherwise provided, acquire, own, or hold irrigable land for which entry or water-right application shall have been made under the said reclamation law, before final payment in full of all installments of building and betterment charges shall have been made on account of such land in excess of one farm unit as fixed by the Secretary of the Interior as the limit of area per entry of public land or per single ownership of private land for which a water right may be purchased respectively, nor in any case in excess of one hundred and sixty acres, nor shall water be furnished under said law nor a water right sold or recognized for such excess; and every excess holding prohibited as aforesaid shall be forfeited to the United States by proceedings instituted by the Attorney General for that purpose in any court of competent jurisdiction. (37 Stat. 266, 43 U. S. C., Sec. 544.) The several provisions of the statute restricting "entry" upon land within a Reclamation project are not applicable here since the tracts in question are in private ownership. 66 In addition to the language of the statute two Administrative rulings concerning corporate ownership are to be considered. On June 11, 1913, the Secretary of the Interior issued formal instructions that applications of corporations for water rights on Reclamation projects should not be allowed. (44 L. D. 250.) The Secretary stated that Congress did not intend that these Reclamation lands, upon which the Government is expending the money of all the people, should be the subject of corporate control. These lands are to be the homes of families." In a subsequent instruction an exception to this rule was made in favor of "religious, educational, charitable and eleemosynary corporations." (45 L. D. 541.) The answer to the entire matter under consideration is determined by the fact that Federal Subsistence Homesteads Corporation is an agency wholly financed and controlled by the United States, and serving no function other than "aiding in the purchase of subsistence homesteads " as provided in Section 208 of the National Industrial Act. It is an established rule of construction that general limitations in a statute, although operative on all private persons, do not restrict the sovereign. Dollars Savings Bank v. United States, 19 Wall. 227 (U. S. 1873); United States v. Herron, 20 Wall. 251 (U. S. 1873); 26 Op. Atty. Gen. 415. Such an instrumentality as Federal Subsistence Homesteads Corporation shares this sovereign exemption. Its acquisitions are substantially in Government ownership, and, therefore, need not be restricted in area or embarrassed by a declared policy against corporate holdings. It is significant that one of the quoted sections of the Reclamation Act (43 U. S. C., sec. 544) makes clear its intended limitation. to acquisitions of private persons by making forfeiture to the United States a penalty for excessive holdings. Moreover, the plain purpose of limiting individual holdings and prohibiting corporate acquisitions is to assure distribution of the benefits of reclamation among a large number of families, each holding not more than an economically adequate farm unit. It is this very purpose which is served by a temporary holding of a consolidated tract by Federal Subsistence Homesteads Corporation. Upon the whole case it is clear beyond need for extended discussion that the Reclamation Law does not prevent Federal Subsistence Homesteads Corporation from acquiring title to and water rights for so much land as may be needed for a subsistence homestead project within a Reclamation district. It is unnecessary to decide under what circumstances or to what extent private acquisitions are restricted by the quoted sections of the Reclamation Law. Approved, August 14, 1934: OSCAR L. CHAPMAN, Assistant Secretary. SUBSISTENCE HOMESTEADS-ENTERPRISES AND ACTIVITIES WITHIN SCOPE OF ORGANIC ACT-INHIBITIONS Opinion, August 15, 1934. SUBSISTENCE HOMESTEADS-SEC. 208, CHAP. 90, NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL RECOVERY ACT-HOMESTEAD COMMUNITIES-AID TO COOPERATIVE ENTERPRISES. The function of aiding in the purchase of subsistence homesteads as provided for in Section 208, Chapter 90, of the National Industrial Recovery Act (48 Stat. 119, 205), is broad enough to embrace sale of homestead plots and |