The weekly Alaska citizen., 1919-04-21

iSion during the past year. rms re port appears in this issue of the Weekly Citizen complete as it was forwarded to the territorial secretary
 The report is being printed in or der that the people in every dis trict of the Fourth division may know just how and where the road fund Is being or has been, appropri ated. It is a fact that few people realize just how much the activities of the commission cover in this division and to what extent the funds available must be stretched in order to give every section some benefit.
 The report of former Commissioner Ross Is complete in every respect It shows the amount of money ex pended on each route and the nature of the work done. It contains sug gestions which If adopted will be productive of much good for this division.
 The report. if it is preserved, may form reference table which may be of use in the future. This report follows: ..m...... Territorial Board of Road Commis sioners, Juneau. Alaska.
 Gentlemen:
 beg herewith to submit my annual report of the Fourth Divisional Road Commission for the year ending December 31st. 1918.
 During the year the Fourth Divi sional Road Commission has expend. ed money in the following districts: Fairbanks. Tolovana. Ruby, Iditarod, Kuskokwim. Circle. Koyukuk. Eagle and Fortymile.
 The Fourth division embraces SC much territory that the amount of money available for road work Is not nearly sufficient for the needs of this division. The division of all the funds into four equal parts is hardly fair as this division Is larger in extent than the others and has more population than some of the other divisions and has need for more miles of roads than any -ether division. and as matter of fact has a greater mileage of roads to main. tain and keep in repair It would seem as tho the funds should be ap- portiOned according 10 the needs of the territory as a whole rather than an even amount to each of the divi. sions.
 The appointment of two assistant commissioners Is of more use in tice of having one member appointed cessity the unpaid members cannot spare the time to investigate the for funds and the prac- tice of havin gone member appointed from some distant place from the office pre- Ients them from meeting as board as 1t leaves but one member besides the chairman. It's inconvenient part is that if the one remaining member residing in the same precinct as the chairman's of. flee should desire to leave for a few days 1t prevents the payment of ac. counts until he returns. Last year member of the commission w. c. Robertson, who was living at Ruby, left for the states without notifying the chairman and all accounts were delayed in payment for nearly two months until his resignation was re. ceived and a successor appointed, which was an injustice and an incon. venience to those who had accounts against the commission.
 The cost of building roaGs in the various districts varies several hund. reds, or even thousands percent. In the Fairbanks district. which is one of the oldest mining districts in the Fourth division, the country has been more or less burned off years ago and as result the moss is largely burned and the sun has thawed the ground and dried it to a considers: ble depth, so that in the dry parts of the year in most of the places horses can blow and grade the ground easily. This makes a very cheaply constructed road. This con dition is especially favorable on side hills. In the newer camps where the country has not yet been burned over. in most places the country is covered by a heavy over-burden of moss, beneath which, altho the ground is of first class road material is often made up of dirt and thin streaks of ice. When the moss is re. moved and the sun thaws the ground this leaves the ground in such 8 soft condition that it is impossible tc work horses upon it. In order to build a road in one season it is al most necessary to corduroy or tc shovel the dirt to grade by hand labor. This makes very expensive road construction.
 have carried on considerable ex perimenting in regard to road coil