Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1914-12-11

o'~ ENV NAAso ~ tro S'sSs ~
; road system III Alaska; an Alaskan
! coal leasing bill. a new reclamation
act; a bill providing for a new meth
cd Of opening and developing coal,
phosphate, oil and potash fields and
a water power bill. All Of these niea:
sures have passed the house Of repre-
sentatives. and the first three. also
passed the senate and by your ap.
prevail became law. feel that it
is conservative to say that by the pas
sage of. these bills the federal govern
ment has given to the more remote
states greater assurance OF its inter-
est in their welfare than has been
S en- for many years. a. "
In an extended discussion Of the
needs and development of the west,
Secretary Lane adyerts, with notable
frankness, to embarrassments which
he has encountered in dealing with
the problems presented in his de-
partme1t. A.. . -" .a"... e. 49,.
bureaucracy" ya Is
1T cannot be unknown to "you,'tthe
secretary says, that there is
throughout the country, more espe-
cially: in the western states--which
because of their ambition, are nat
urally. impatient Of .Obstruction-a
very, real fear of what. is called the
bureaucracy OF. Washington. This is
said to be a system or organizet ma
chine, the split Of which IS to OPP
pose action or TO effect negative &C
ton: 1t is visualized as either Gym
ical@ or malevolent, altogether II OF
sympathy with those who needs must
come to-. the government. for some
form Of help, and, SO wound round
and round with. the red tape of Of
ficialdom as to resemble a barbed
wire ENHANCEMENT which, if not alb
solutely impregaable, IS only: to bc
passed through after much suffering
and toll. It is a, matter of no immedi-
a..e concern how much basis there is
for this belief. The presence of the
belief makes it a real. problem, and
the destruction Of the belief a" nectes-
sly. if the government itself is to re-
main an object of pride and its bene-
ticent efforts understood ard appreci-
ated.'
Secretary Lane points out the ac-
ccmplishments Of the several bureaus
Of the. interior department during the
last Year. Some Of the typical and
important achievements he: Instances
follow: .,
General Land Ofice-Reduced the
delay in acting upon homestead final
proofs by SO per cent; surveyed more
than 100000 acres of public lands
at a cost of less than cents an acre,
the lowest record Of cost for suck
work ever made. A.
Geological Survey.
Geological Survey-Completed de-
tailed geological surveys covering H..
900 square miles, including 1870 square
miles in ALASKA, the total area sur
veyed g%eologically being as great as
the combined area Of Denmark, Swift
zerland and Greece; classified $4,000
600 acres Ct public, lands, an area
larger than the New England states;
made. an annual census of mineral
production through correspondence
with about 10000 mineral; producers.
Bureau Of Pensiols-Returned to
the treasury 81, 65S,572 Of the amotlnt
appropriated by congress-; reduced
the total of expenditures for pen
sions from, $l17A,1l1 $50 in the .preced-
ing year to s172,4f7,S46; saved tt, pen,
sioners about a million dollars for
metly spent for the execution of
vouchers, by apolishing' the voticher
system Of paying pensions.
Reclamation Service - Stored
enough water in its various reser-
voirs to make a lake so miles long,
Is miles wide and 10 feet deep; d.
verified 1900, O60 acre:.feet Of water "a
stream equal IN volume to. the H1ld-
son river where the Mohawk enters
it), and irrigated 100000 acres on
1854 farms, al area equal to that
Of Rhode: Island. Those farms pro:
vided homes and occupation for ST.
253 people and produced crops val
ued at $15,732;O 600 OF about SIS per
acre: began and completed 479 miles
Of irrigation Canals, IT'S mites OF
drainage, and ~waste.water bitches, 50:
miles Of irrigation and drainage pipe
line. laid in dams and other irrigation
works enough concrete to build more
than 1000. miles Of city sidewalks. s,
feet wide and 8 inches deep; manu-,
featured 100000 barrels OF sand ce:-
ment;; constructed 8 miles Of dikes
and 27yrfnfles 81 railroads, II miles,. OF
electric-tra snission lines, As miles
sof telephone lines, sc miles OF. wagon.
roads, and. 1870 buildings; maiitai1ed
and operated 7,1so miles Of irrigation
canals, which, il in one continuous
canal would reach in an mir line from