Evening star., 1924-11-30
PUBLIC WORKS BUREAU
PLAN WILL BE RUSHED
Administration Backs Project to Co-ordi-
nate All Scattered Construction Activi-
ties Under Interior Department.

| tfon of public lands and the resources
which underlie them, the reorganiza
tion committee points out. IT has.
| however, certain entirely extraneous
i duties in the fields of health and edu-
cation. These 1t is proposed to trans
| fer to new department of education
| and relief, leaving in the Interior De
| partment only those activities which
| have responsibility for the various
phases of the administration of the
| public domain and of Indian and Ter
ritorial affairs.
There is an obvious connection, the
| joint congressional committee found.
| between the administration Of the
| public domain, including Indian lands
and reservations, involving as it does
| immense engineering undertaking.
| buildings, roads, dams, irrigation and
| drainage works, power projects and
so on-and the Governments engi-
neering work in other fields. And the
| joining of the public works functions
| now performed in certain other de-
partmentS with those functions per-
formed by the Interior Department in
| the committee, be a practical move
| in the direction of better administra-
tion.
Services Are Explained.
The important services now in the
Department of the Interior which
| deal with engineering matters or
have a connection with the admins
! tration of the public domain are: The
General Land Office, the Reclamation
Service. the Geological Survey, the
National Park Service, the Alaskan
Engineering Commission in charge
| of railroad construction and opera
tion in Alaska. and the Indian Serv-
| ice. To these it is proposed by the
reorganization committee to add the
A
from the Treasury Department and
the Bureau of Public Roads from the
| Department of Agriculture; together
with the organization now maintained
for the construction and maintenance
! of roads and trails in Alaska, under
| the Board of Road Comnli ssioners for
| Alaska. which is connected with the
| War Department and which the re-
organization committee recommends
should be abolished.
The Department of the Interior
fwould then become in reality de-
| partment of public domain and pub
| lie works. All the activities which
| the reorganization proposes to locate
there involve important engineering
operations. They require to a consid-
erable extent a personnel and an ad-
| ministrative organization of the same
general character. And the joint con-
gressional committee believes that If
| they are placed in the control Of the
same departments department haN-
ing these responsibilities exclusively
"a general improvement of the serv
| ice will result. together with les
sening of administrative costs.
Opposed by Democrats.
| The Democratic me mbers of the re-
! organization committee, Senator Pat
| Harrison of Mississippi and Repre-
! sentative r. Walton Moore of Nir-
| ginia, in a supplemental report, eN-
| press opposition to the recommends
! ton of the Republican members as
we'll as that of the President and his
| cabinet, to transfer from the Depart
! ment of Agriculture to the interior
Department the Bureau of Public
Roads. They say that ''the work of
| that bureau has proven satisfactory
and no mere theory would seem to
! Justify the transfer" In their opin-
| ion its retention in the Department
| of Agriculture will be case of let
| ting wei! enough alone"
| The joint reorganization committee
has given careful consideration To
| the recommendation made by many
| that river and harbor work should be
| withdrawn from the War Depart
ment where il is now handled by the
| chief of engineers, and placed In the
Department of the Interior along with
| the other engineering functions. pre-
viously enumerated. 1t is true, of
| course, that at the present time the
| Improvement of rivers and harbors
! and the construction and maintenance
! of river and port work is chiefly done
! in the interests of navigation ana
| commerce and presents few If any
military aspects-and this constitutes
| the basis for the view that river and
| harbor work should be removed from
| the jurisdiction of the military es-
| tablishment.
Measure of Economy.
With this view, however, the joint
congressional committee is not in
accord. The assignment of Army en-
gineers to river and harbor work is
at the present time, they point out
principal means whereby these OFF,
GERS can acquire the engineering ex-
perience necessary to fit them to meet
| the demands put upon them in time
of war. On the other hand there is
| a measure of economy in using the
personnel of the Corps of Engineers
| on necessary public works of non
military character. The committee i
convinced that the present arrange
ment tends to increase the value and
| efficiency of Army engineers, with
{ out material disadvantage, If any al
| all. to the Government.
| Rivers and harbors work. the COM
mittee argues, seems to present spe-
| cial phases of engineering, which
| would make it difficult to consolidate
| or amalgamate the organization
maintained for it's prosecution with
| other engineering agencies Of the
! Government The committee Is averse
! to any change at this time in the ar
rangement under which the major
| responsibility for the engineering
| maintenance of inland navigable
! waters and port works is lodged in
| the War Department