The Alaska daily empire., 1915-01-29

29 1915.
 cure prompt action in actual examina
 lions Of land involved SO that paiepll
 might be Issued when doserved, with
 ont delay md lpon certain iniorma
 lion concerning the nature oi the land
 Tho experience Of Valdez, Alaska
 70 securlng a town site md diaposins
 of the sameia Rnothor example Of tht red tape 70 ihc present process of pro
 cedueo
 In March. 1899, the people Of Val
 dez made application to tae Surveyor
 General for tQwnsite survey. There
 vas conflict due to the claiI1 Of thc
 War Department that Q ppt of the site had been taken as military res. evotion and ihe survey waa suspend. ed, no further action being taken un'
 til october 1902 In l90i therc was
 Presidential order reserving space for military purposes court house and iRil usos and in 1911 another Presi- dental order making Q reservation for a cable landins
 In April, 1910 g trustee was ilnally selected and survey completed Al. ter tho thrashing out of several con tests by prior claimants to part Of che land. tho town site was tinally patent cd In tune 1912 and the trustees work approved and tho accounts clos. ed within the past few months.
 In the course of settling the affairs of this lownsite the papers in the ease made 80 many trips between Alaska and Washington that 1t Is impossible Co trace their actual Journeys, as ey- en the records are now divided among several departments. The time con- aumed in allowing patent Qnd com. pleting the accounting Of townsIte dis als In Alaska has varied from three to ten years
 The claim oi Mrs Mary A. Dabney of Seattle Washington, to Jumbo Mo- ] Lode is 9 classic in circumlacution with respect to mineral claims Mrs.. Dabnoy recorded her location October g. 1906 the survey was made Sep- tember 22-24, 1908, and approved by the suryeyorGeneral January 21, 1909 Application for patent was made on March 2i 1909; but despite the fact that there was no protest against the. validity of thls entry end no conflict ing claims. the mineral entry was not patented untl October l7 191Sl
 The delay of more than three years in patentIng this claim, 1t would seem might have been cut down to a few months. with a saving of much ex- pense and effort in correspondence, if the ease had been handled by an officer In Alaska with fun authority to order Investigation on the ground and prepare the entire case for the General Land office.
 But the red tape in the government of the Territory applies not only toI the handling Of land grants and theI like. There is much confusion and duplication Of authority and responsi- 1ility in other lines-for example. in .he protection of the native fauna of Alaska.
 Many Of Che islands frequented by I birds gro set aside as bird reserves md are under the protection, so far ls the birds are concerned, of the Biol ogical Survey The survey sends al keeper in the summer to guard some lf these Islands, but otherwise has no In the Territory and has performed no other activities except to place some reindeer secur- sd from the Bureau of Education, on 'no or two og the islands.
 Game animals throughout Aloeka are protected by wardens hired by and un-I fer the direction of the Governor of llaaka. These wardens enforce reg-I iaaons made by the Department oil Agriculture and are paid from an ap-l made to and disbursed by he Department Of the Interior.
 Fur-bearing animals are under theI of wardens appointed by be Secretary of Commerce, and work nder regulations made by this De- lartment.
 The Department Of Agriculture has ole authority over the taking and the hipping of specimens of animals for cierHdc and propagation purposes, xcepting reindeer, which are con rolled by the Interior Deartment
 Last summer an agent of the Btu eau Of Education discovered evidence f wholesale slaughter of. walrusses, md reported it as menacing the food upply of the Natives and their dogs. 10 had no authority in the matter, nd bis report when sent to Washing on was forwarded to the Department f Agriculture where t was decided f hat the killing was illegal but that here was no machinery available for fiectiyely preventing such slaughterl 1
 an amusing, and to some extent conflict of authority has cen occasioned by the lew making be brown bear a game animal under he control of the Department of Ag- iculure, while the black bear Is rec t rnfged bv Inv ae fllr-bearing ani-I