The Alaska daily empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1912-1926, 1922-10-21
MANY THOUSAND
DOLLARS SAVED
IN COOPERATION
New Road Law Eliminates
$35,692 Salaries, ETC.
Other Overhead Cut.
CONTINUED From rass Cpsf

EOm NV .Sts
other sections. This arrangement, it
is pointed out. enables the Alaska
Road Commission to. divert more OF
is funds to Interior Alaska, the Gov
eminent Railroad and to Seward
Peninsula that was ever possible I'M
der the old law
Where A. r. c. Benefits
The arrangement was advantageous
to the Alaska Road Commission in
from the Territory to get its early
season work launched without being
forced to await the passage of the
annual appropriation bill by Congress
before it could move. In return for
this favor, it is acknowledged by
mem ers of the Commission as such,
the entire plant, as well as trained
personnel. of that organization was
made available to the Territory mo-.
/ only on project termed cooperative
but on those regarded as strictly Ter
, ritcral. This same condition ap-
plies to the plant and personnel OF
j the Bureau of Public Roads.
+ Is Main Economy
/ It is in this feature of the pres
emit system that officials find the
/ greatest advantage over the old one.
/ Prior to the passage of the co-opera
I tive road law, in each division, in
I TACT in different districts in each of
I -. M arxy
FOR the Territorial Road Commission
/ TO have camp supplies. such as tents,
kitchen and mess hall equipment
road scrapers, wheel scrapers, picks
axes, shovels and all the plant
equipment necessary to carry on its
work. 1t was forced to hire teams
and wagons, expending sums OF con.
siderable size each year for trans
portation of freight, etc, and takes
care Of an overhead that in almost
every instance was duplicated by
either the Alaska Road Commission
or the Bureau Of Public Roads. Tn
der the present system the neces
sity for this overhead does not exist
Overhead at . Minimum
The charge of overhead against the
Territorial road appropriation for
the past two years has been virtual
ly eliminated. In fact, according tC
Colonel S.eese. in expanding approx
mately 100000 in the Fourth and
Third Divisions of Territorial money
on Territorial projects alone, the
overhead charge has not exceeded
$500. And in such an item, every
charge above the wages of crew
foremen is considered overhead. AND
in the expenditure of Territorial
money allotted to cooperative prof.
cots there is no charge for over
head of any kind Every dollar
goes to actual construction.
Two projects in Southeastern Al
aska were pointed out as typical Of
the administration of the present
system. On the Haines-Pleasant
; Camp route this year the Alaska
Road Commission allotted -25O0t
Federal funds and was given $500
by the Territory All overhead was
charged against the A. r. c. funds
and the additional money from the
. Territory went into extra grading
graveling. ditch digging and bridge
building. In the same district is the
Haipes-Mud Bay road, strictly Ter
: ritorial project In the completion
of this road the Territory was
charged for wages and subsistence OF
the laborers and foreman. for the
| ~ bio troo
tors. But it got the use of modern
road building machinery to replace
teams and hand labor without ex
pending single dollar.
Efficiency Is Increased
The equipment and machinery now
controlled by the Alaska Road Com
mission at present day values is
worth Apr Ultimately 100000 and il
cost over twice that amount. The
plan. equipment of the Bureau OF
Public Roads is likewise modern and
efficient Both are equally at the
service of the Territory. They com.
J prise steam shovels, dragline scrap
ers, road graders, drags, rollers,
tractors, trucks, plows and in fact
every necessary piece OF equipment
to complete a modem road construc'
: ton plant.
These have replaced the old horse
and man power plant. Where for
merly the Territorial Road Commits
: sion paid $3.50 per day for a two
horse team and driver and paid for
the feed of both horses and man, it
now secures the use OF tractors and
trucks, paying only the gas used by
the motor driven vehicles and the
wages and subsistence of the driver.
Where gravel was formerly loaded
by hand into horse-drawn wagons,
under the present system much of 1t
is loaded by steamshovels into trucks
or trailers drawn by tractors, both
self-dumping. with consequent in
crease in the yardage put down in a
1