Elk City mining news. (Elk City, Idaho) 1903-1913, 1908-03-21
A new DEPARTMENT
TO GOVERN Transportation
ANO PUBLIC WORKS.
Take From Department of War River
and Harbor Work-BilI by Repre-
sentative RansdeII-seat in Cabinet
plan May include Functions of In
terstate Commerce Commission.

Representative Ransdell of Louisi-
ana has introduced bill which makes
good the prediction last fall that a
movement has been launched for the
creation of a new executive depart
ment of transportation and public
works, which is part of plan of mem
bers of the national congress and OF
une rivers, harbors and inland water
ways commission, as well as promi |
nent officials of the government here, |
to take from the war department au-
thority over engineering works on riv-
ers and harbors; from the treasury de-
partment, public buildings; from the
agricultural department, national for
estry; from the interior department,
irrigated and arid lands, and give them
to the proposed department, as well as
the reclamation of S0,000,000 acres of
swamp, overflow and wet lands of the
south and middle west.
Mr. Ransdcll is a member of the in
land waterways commission and presi-
dent of the rivers and harbors con-
gress.
The war department has been adj
vised for many months of these plans
and quietly has been preparing to fore
fend against legislation which would
rob it of its traditional function to
take care of the nations engineering
works and of the rivers and harbors.
So far as that department is con-
cerned, there will be intense opposi-
ton. but it is now well known Chief
Forester Pinchot and Chief Newell of
the reclamation service are favorable
to the proposed radical change.
1t has been alleged by friends of the
proposed new department that Presi
dent Roosevelt is of the opinion that
some such plan should be wrought out
his utterances in messages anc
speeches on numerous occasions being
cited in support of that claim.
That the matter will arouse acri
monious debate is indicated by the al
legged fact put out last fall by pro
ponents of the movement that arm
engineers are Anticipated, and citation
of the history of jetty building at tn
mouth of the Mississippi so years ag
by Captain Eads, when the army |
alleged to have laughed at the Jet
idea. which rads proceeded to prov
to be the bets means of dcepenin
channels at the rivers mouth me
claim vast sums of money have bee
wasted by the war department
handling inland river works.
On the other hand the army fairl
scorns the pretensions of supporter
of the new movement The departme1
saws friends of this new idea nave pr
sumed to speak positively on que
tion which has not yet even bee
slightly probed; that the nation is
solutely unprepared to say whether
not the plan proposed IS goou OF pa
The bill even comprehends also su
traction from the interstate commer'
commission of supervision over roa
beds and rates, and inclusion IN u
functions of the proposed departing
Of activities of the bureau OF stan
ards. now in the department OF COZ
merce and labor; the geological st
>vey. now in the interior departmen
the Office of public roads, now IN u
agricultural department, and the CT
alton of bureau of mining tecnnolo'
for the new department.
The general movement, OF wiz
Representative Ransdels Dill Is
first phase which has gone before CO
gress directly, contemplates the me
sweeping changes in the makeup
the several executive departmen
which have ever been proposed SIN
the republic was founded.
The army, as soon as the Dill
came a law, would be merely an ar
with an engineering corps reduced
an inconsequentiality. The transp
tation. forestry. irrigation draina'
geological and other bureaus now
important parts of their respective
partments, would carry 10 tne =
posed department enormous autnori
such as would enable the secretary
transportation and pubic wolhs
compete with the secretary OF sta'e
membership in the cabinet.