The Nome nugget., 1921-10-15
RAILROAD HEADS DEFY Un|0hS
HARDING REPORTED AT ODDS WITH MELON
COL. STEESE DISCUSSES ROAD COMMISSION ACTIVITIES AT
 MEETING OF CITIZENS

! Col James Steese. head of the Alaska Road Commission. at meet ing of representative citizens held
 in the district cpurtroor4 Sunday. discussed the various activities and contemplations of his department
 with respect to this section and pointed out that cooperation and
 backing by the citizens is essential to
 the success of the Road Commits sion's undertakings, especially in the
 matter of inducing the necessary ap-
 propriations from Congress to meet
 the ambitious program of transpor-
 tation Improvements planned for the
 district and territory. The meeting
 was called .st the request of Colonel
 Steese and Surveyor General Karl
 Theile in order to provide mutual
 understanding regarding the Road
 Commission activities and the road Surveyor General Theile and Major
 J. C. Gotwals of the Road Commis- sion also addressed the meeting. briefly discussing various phases of the development question
 Col. Steese informed the gathering
 that all of the War Department s
 civil activities in Alaska are now
 consolidated under one head by the appointment of the president of the engineer for rivers and harbOrs, which includes jurisdiction over granting of permits for fish traps and other structures. bridges. wharves. iioiphinS etc, in or over naviga ble waters. The president is also con sulting engineer for the 18th Light house District under the Department of Commerce. This eliminates a district engineer in Seattle and di-
 vision and consulting engineer in Portland. as Col. Steese reports di- rectlv to the Chief of Engineers in
 Washington on all matters. Col. Steese explained that the Al aska Road Commission is the only federal bureau permanently resident in Alaska with power to handle all matters on the ground without refer
 ence to Washington It is, therefore,
 not one of the 3S alleged bureaus piling up red tape between Alaska and Washington. This independence
 of course applies only to it's road and trail activities. River and Harbor
 matters must be referred to Wash ington. and no work can be under taken or surveys made without spe cific authorization of Congress for
 each project
 As briefly outlined by Col. Steese, | the Seward Peninsula activities of the Road Commission include
 (a) Nome Harbor.
 tb) Purchase of Seward Penin-
 sula Railroad.
 co Report on entire transporta tion situation on the Seward Penin sula.
 (O Cooperative road and trail | work. (e) Miscellaneous permits. The Nome Harbor development" :" Colonel Steese said, was authorized
 by Congress during the war and was inaugurated by the Seattle office of
 the Engineer Department. The east jetty was built and about half the dredging accomplished the first sea- son I919) and severely damaged by
 storms that same winter. The east
 ietty was rebuilt the next season 192O. The project was turned
 over to the Juneau office in April
 1921, and the completion of the
 west jetty and .he dredging author ized for this season. Twice the
 Chief of Engineers increased the all lofment from the general fund under his war powers. The war is now over and any further modification .
 the project or additional funds must
 be specifically authorized by Con-
 gress.
 During the past season the west jetty has been completed. The dredging contract was advertised in (Continued on Page Two)