The Daily Alaska empire., 1933-07-29
NO BOARD FOR ALASKA.

Announcement has just been made in the press that President Roosevelt has appointed boards in AS States to have control of public works programs No mention is made of one having been named TOT Alaska, and it is practically certain that none was These boards will submit programs of projects upon which work be started immediately, relieving unemployment and thus utilizing the funds made available for that purpose by the special session of Congress
 The organization thus created by MT. Roosevelt is practical It places responsibility for all projects upon local shoulders, as it should be, and sewers the coils of red tape inevitably accompanying con- trol from Washington. We say that without intend ing to be critical It is an admitted fact that, dur ing the course of years, the Federal Government has built up system of expenditure of public funds that calls for quite complicated procedure It re- quires weeks from the time funds are authorized for expenditure before actual work be started. It has been found extremely difficult, if not i'm possible, to suspend the system The elimination of delay in getting men to work public projects is an essential factor in the Presidents program. That is the main reason why the local boards he has named ought to be able to function more satisfactorily than centralized authority in Wash ington
 We are convinced that it is grave mistake to exclude Alaska from the local board organization It is true that there already existing Federal agencies in the Territory charged with construction of various kinds of public works. They are efficient and also ably administered But they are shackled by control from Washington. They bound by red tape procedure that, functoning well enough in normal times is wholly out of place in the present emergency. They powerless to change the procedure, or to even protest against its use And weeks of delay must result after funds are allotted before men can be put to work. The time element in Alaska is more important than in the States Construction of roads, trails airplane land- ing fields and similar projects is severely limited by climatic conditions. Already the season ir the greater portion of the Territory is rapidly draw ing to close. After October 1, except for re- stricted along the southeastern and southern coasts that work cannot be carried
 Closely related to this condition, is the secont why Alaska ought to have a local board possessed of authority identical with that of tn, State boards. The local Federal agencies must fol low the routine established for their regular programs Each submits projects for approval of their superio officers in Washington. These projects are, natur ally enough limited to such work similar to that il their normal programs That is to say, relief O unemployment is not by any means major elemen in determining the projects. Each bureau confne its projects to these sections of the Territory il which its interests paramount One more o them might be given hundreds of thousands o dollars to expend projects located in an are where climatic conditions would prevent work bein done before next Spring This money thus woul be absolutely tied up while in areas where wor could be performed the failure of other Fedora agencies functoning there would limit greatly un employment relief
 Under the Federal control system, it would nc be possible to the funds in the first class fo work under the direction of the second. An thousands of people who could enough sustain them and their dependents will be force to go through another winter dependent upon pub and private charity just because of that fact.
 All of these hindrances to unemployment relit could be avoided by the establishment of locs board by the President. We hope that the situatio in Alaska can be brought to his attention in il true light. That apparently. is the only way which relief can be had.