Evening star., 1923-08-05
SIMPLER CONTROL SEEN
FOR ALASKA In FUTURE
Official Party, on Inspection Trip, Be.
lieved Impressed With Need of Co.
Ordinating Administrative Units.

government are peculiarly close and
important, DR.. W. +. Willoughby, di-
rector OF the institute, points out.
Such supervision as is in effect is
mostly in the names of the Corps of
Engineers of the War Department.
There can be no doubt, the joint
committee on Redistribution is ad-
vised by the institute, that the inter
ests of our dependencies. and par
ticularly Alaska. have suffered greatly
on account of there being no service
at Washington whose special duty it
is currently and continuously to keep
informed regarding their needs and
to take the initiative in securing
from Congress or otherwise the action
required.
Nominal Supervision.
The supervision exercised by the
Interior Department over Alaska and
Hawaii is little more than nominal.
Except on special occasions when
matters of unusual moment have
arisen. the department has served as
little more than an office for the re-
ceipt and filing of reports and the
channel of official communications.
Probably the most important mat
ter involved in the administration of
the territories and dependencies is the
selection of the proper persons to fill
official positions there and keeping
track of the manner in which they
perform their duties. All persons
having had experience in the admin
istration of affairs in the de-
pendencieS are of one mind that one
of the most important needs is for
a permanent corps of officials trained
in the administration of territorial
and dependency affairs. Such corps
cannot be brought into existence and
maintained unless the various ter
ritories and dependencies are treated
as one system. at least to the extent
that transfers and promotions can
readily be made.
Needs Are Summn rized.
To summarize the recommendations
of the institute
That there is need for a service
that shall have general charge of the
affairs of all the territories and de-
tendencies of the United States. with
the exception of those small islands
valuable chiefly as naval cable and
wireless stations
That the service should be analo-
gous to the colonial departments of
foreign governments, but should be
a bureau rather than an independent
department. due to the relatively
smaller Importance of these de-
tendencies and the character of the
policy of the United States toward
their government.
That such bureau finds its most
logical place in the Department of
State, which has duties most nearly
akin to those of the bureau proposed
and makes use of a personnel whose
general qualifications are similar to
those required of territorial and de-
tendency officials.
Bureau Out of Place.
That there is no justification what
soever for having in the War De-
partment a bureau of insular affairs
which is now a purely civil agency
and has no duties of military
character.
That the arrangement under which
the Department of the Interior now
has supervision over the territories
as distinguished from the depend
encieS is an unsatisfactory one.
That a great improvement would
result by having concentrated in one
service all functions of a general su-
pervisory and control character over
dependent territory of all kinds.
That an equally important improve
ment would result by relieving the
duties in no way germane to their
1t will be noted that the action
here recommended does not involve
an addition to the number of exist
ing services, but, on the contrary, a
reduction in such number through the
concentration in one service OF duties
now divided among two departments.