The Washington times., 1923-07-21
WRONG
HARD|NGF|NDS,
IN ALASKA
Problems Due to "Red Tape"
There Which He Will Cuts
Southwark Bound.
BY GEORGE r. HOLMES.
InternatiOnaI News Service.

ABOARD THE u. 8. s. HENDER.
SON WITH PRESIDENT HARD.
ING, July 21.-southward bound to.
day, his Alaskan tour virtually
completed President Harding is con-
vinced there is little wrong" with
the. Territory. Alaska has numer-
GUS grievances concerning the ad-
ministration of it's affairs at Wash
ington, but these mainly simmer
down to departmental methods and
policies are not Of such q nature as
requires radical or extra legislation
from the new Congress.
According to members Of the Of
ficial party. President Harding
stated publicly he could find little
wrong with the Territory. Last
night in addressing a street meeting
in Cordova he said:
I'm two weeks I have seen
poverty 1 think you are a forum.
poverty. l think you are fortu-
nate people"
The fisheries problem, which is
Secretary HoOver's chief concern,
will probably be met by Tightening
Government regulations concerning
activities of the canneries.
Fisheries Problem Acute.
Hoover considers this situation Sc
rious, but not more so than it has
been in the past fifteen years. He
considers the present method to be
steadily depicting an important item
OF American food consumption and
it is his intention to start the
machinery in operation, directly he
returns to Washington which will
stop this ravaging of natural re.
sources and at the same time pro-
vide perpetual supply.
It is unlikely that new legislation
will be necessary to accomplish this
plan as it, can be done by depart
mental regulations. So far as other
problems IL concerned it IL unlikely
there will be any drastic changes.
certainly not in forestry, as the
Alaskans are anxious to build up
the pulp industry themselves, but
are unwilling to see the industry
built up by reckless exploitation of
the forests.
Mining regulations may be loosened
somewhat via departmental action.
One Of the biggest things seen as
Z
will be the cutting Of red tape and
general expedition OF Alaskan af.
fairs in. the Departments Of Com.
merce, the Interior and Agricultural.
which are habituaIIy clogged with
routine Alaskan affairs, it often re-
curing months to get action on
the simplest matters.
Result Of Personal Contact.
The personal contact the Secre-
tarieS have had with Alaskans is
expected to do much in this respect.
President Harding and Secretaries
Hoover, Work and Wallace are all
completing the trip with q deeper
appreciation Of the pioneers prob.
lens and the vastneSs Of the terri
torial resources in timber, minerals
and fisheries.
But the general agreement exists
that there is no royal quick, easy
road to the development which must
be accomplished by a slow, orderly
process.
1t Is generally agreed that the
only quick way for Alaska to
progress would be by throwing off
all restrictions, allowing the big in
tereSts a free hand in exploitation
and this neither President Harding
nor the members Of bis Cabinet arc
willing to see.
The President has one stop re-
naming in Alaska. This will be at
Sitka, the oldest city in the Terri
tory, established as a trading post by
the Russians in the seventeenth
century.
The Henderson is cutting across
the Gulf of Alaska today and is due
at Sitka tomorrow. After stopping
there for several hours the party -
scheduled to commence the four
day sail for Vancouver and Seattle.