The Alaska daily empire., 1921-08-23
SENATOR NEWS ALASKA BILL
 PROPOSES TRANSFER OF FOUR
 BUREAUS, INCLUDING FORESTS


 A copy of the bill recently intro, duced by Senator Harry S. New, CO., ordinating Federal bureaus in Alaska, received by Governor Scott c. Bone, shows that three or four executive departments, in addition to the De- Dartment of Interior, would be @af- fected by the measure. These de- partments are the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Com merce, the War Department and pos sibly the Treasury Department.
 Those departments would under the provisions of the New bill, sur. render certain authority and powers now exercised by bureaus operative in the Territory. The authority lost by them would be added to the De partment of Interior.
 Few Bureaus Affected
 But few bureaus out of the 38 or 39 concerned in the administration of Federal regulations in Alaska would be affected by the bill in it's present form. These are the Forest Service, the Alaska Road Commis- sion, the Fisheries Bureau insofar as it concerns the natives on Pribiloff Islands, and the Federal Power Com mission. The functions of these bu- reaus, and in most instances the per sonnel of the bureaus in Alaska, would be transferred to the Depart ment of Interior In the case of the Forest Service, the entire personnel would be transferred, as would be the employees of the Bureau of Fish cries who are connected with the control of Alaska natives on the Pribiloff Islands. As the work of the Federal Power Commission up to the present time has been handled by the Forest Service and the Geological Survey, no actual transfer from that body would be made except as in volved in the Forest Service Some the bill in it's present form would transfer in toto the Alaska Road Commission. The wording of the measure is that there is transferred to the Department of Interior "any officer, employe or agent of the United States under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Agriculture, the Federal Power Commission or the Board of Road Commissioners" con nected with the functions or duties Commenting on this phase of the measure, Colonel James G. Steese, president of the latter or ganization, said today: "It seems to be the intention of the bill to transfer the board as a whole, but under the language used l am doubt full if the board itself would be in- cluded as it seems to specify only officers, agents or employees under the boards control"
 Steamer Line Discretionary
 The provisions of the bill as re- gards the establishment of a govern ment owned steamship line between the mainland of the United States and Alaska ports touched by the Al aska Railroad, as was predicted sey- eral days ago by Governor Bone, are discretionary with the President A new feature of the latest measure, as distinctive from the Alaska legisla- tion previously introduced, is a pro vision for the establishment of antra- territorial transportation lines bet tween any port or ports in the Ter ritory and the ports touched by the Alaska Railroad. The latter provi- sion is also left to the discretion of the President.
 Bone Asked for Comment
 In a personal letter to Governor Bone, Senator New, in transmitting the copy of the measure, asked him
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