Iditarod pioneer., 1914-07-18

VUuIu C!lIliiiolc Loh9 DeioJS
 Under the proposed consolidated admin istraton of land and resources, a single set of experts and agents would be more eff cient than the present duplication of field forces Instead of lengthy and involved correspondence between agents Tn the held and several bureaus in Washington to de termine questions of law and of fact, the questions of fact would be decided on the ground, in Alaska, under the administra- tion of the development board, and all the papers in any land claim would be thor oughly prepared before the case comes to Washington.
 "This would simplify procedure, help to reduce the congestion in the general land office, give fuller and more exact informa- ton upon which to base decisions and ob viate and eliminate the long delays caused by the present methods.
 Native Land Titles
 "Under the law natives and other origl- nal settlers in Alaska are guaranteed un- disturbed occupancy of their lands. No provision is made, however, for granting titles to those lands, and nothing has been done toward solution of this problem, which is constantly becoming more vexa- tlous.
 This is one of the problems which must be worked out on the ground by men familiar with conditions, and whose recon mendations will carry with them assurance of complete information and dlsinterested- ness.
 Transportation and communication are the nerves and arteries of civilization and commerce Railroads and wagon roads are equally essential to good mail service. Set tlement follows close upon the heels of the road builders everywhere.
 To Have Charge of Road Building
 "The construction of roads and trails is very closely allied with other problems in volved in the opening and development of Alaska and its resources, and 1t would seem the part of wisdom to place this authority and supervision in the hands of men charged with the broad work of encouraging de veloDmcnt.
 "The army has done the pioneer work in this line, and done it we'll but since the ccnerel development of the country must be considered from a much broader point of view than that of military necessity or strategy, it seems reasonable that the han ding and disposition of the public lands and natural resources and the opening and maintenance of the roads essential to the opening of lands and development of nat ural resources should all be in the same hands
 Government Must Build
 For many years road building must be carried on by the government as the mile ace to be built and cared fer will be too heavy a burden upon new settlers and young and experimental industries.
 The division of road funds and construc ton work before referred to seems wholly useless and without justification. If roads are needed in the sections of country now within the forest reserves, they should be LuiIt without regard to the percentage of timber sales; if they are more needed else where in the territory it seems the height of absurdlty to spend the money arbitrarily for constructing little patches of trals and board walks here and there in these reser- vations just because they are forest re serves.
 To Aid Agriculture
 Tt is perhaps too much to predict that Alaska ever will become a rich farming country, in which its agricultural products will predominate There IS little doubt, however. judging from results already at tained, but that the territory is capable of increasing agricultural possibilities which will be sufficiently profitable to enable the supplying of home markets with home grown agricultural products to a very large extent
 "The reports of the agricultural expert ment stations in Alaska show crop produc- tions in potatoes and some grains that com pare favorably in yield with highly favored sections of the United States, while the market value of the crops locally is of course much larger.
 A!aska's Problem Peculiar
 "Alaska's problems are largely peculiar to Alaska Our present system of govern ment there is heterologous. Instead of one government in Alaska, we have number, interlocked, overlapped, cumbersome and confusing.
 There is a government of the forests, a government of the fisheries, one of the rein deer and natives, another of the cables and telegraphs There is a government for cer- tain public lands and forests. Each of these governments is intent upon its own par ticular business, jealous of its own success and prerogative, and all are more or less unrelated and independent in their opera tlOn.
 "Experience has demonstrated that etfl- cent administration is best secured by cen tralizing responsibility and authority Tn the hands of few men, who can be held to strict accountability for the results of their actions The proposed development board for Alaska follows this modern and we'll tested plan for securing efficient admins tration."
 Divided Authority In pointing out some of the red tape caused by the present division and multi plcation of authority in Alaska, Secretary Lane says:
 "There is one procedure for making homestead, mineral and other land entries within the national forests; another pro cedure for making such entries in lands outside the forest reserves. Water power and power sites within the forest reserves are leased and operated under permits from the forest service; there is question as tc whether authority exists for disposal ol leasing of water powers elsewhere in Alaska
 "A citizen who wanted to lease an lslanc for fox farming carried on a correspondence with three different departments for sev eral months in an effort to learn which had jurisdiction and authority to make tht