The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1939-08-05
Indian Office
Aufhorizedto
Hire Locally
Can Pay Transportation Of
Skilled Workers from
Here 10 Jobs

hutllOi lAdJlOll lOI Tile OlllCt Vi
Indian Affairs in Alaska to pay
transportation for carpenters and
other skilled workers from points
in Alaska to construction jobs and
return was received here today from
Washington.
Last week a press release from
Washington saying that authorize
ton had been granted by the Comp
troller General for the office of
Indian Affairs ito hire skilled work
ers in the United States and to pay
their transportation to and from
Alaska where skilled workers are
unavailable" caused storm of pro-
test locally.
Problem Solved
With the authorization received
today the matter is cleared up for
the future and when skilled work
ers are available in Alaska they will
be taken to and from construction
jobs at Government expense.
The authorization from Fred H.
Brown, Comptroller General of the
United States, was issued July 10
in reply to a letter of July from
Secretary of the Interior Harold L.
Ickes who had taken up the matter
personally after requests had been
sent from the local Indian Affairs
office. The local case was presented
in a memorandum to the Office of
Indian Affairs in Washington, pre-
pared for the local office by Earl
McGinty, Construction Superintend-
ent.
Too Late for 1888
Today's authorization arrived too
late to affect this years building
program of the office of Indian At
fairs in Alaska. The last 16 workers
for 1888 construction jobs were hired
in Seattle June IL when the vessel
North Star sailed with material and
skilled workers to the remote points
in Westward and Northern Alaska
where school buildings were to be
put up.
The local office had requested on
May |18 that authority be granted
to hire skilled workers in Alaska or
the States and transport them at
Government expenes to the jobs. On
June authorization was received
to pay transportation from Seattle,
but nothing was said about trans
portation from points in Alaska,
until the July 18 authorization was
received here in today's mail.
Brown to Ickes
Comptroller Browns letter to Sec
rotary Ickes, a copy of which was
received here, said:
IF tne employees to which you
refer are in fact employees in skill
ed trades, whose employment is of
the type excepted from classification
by section 5 of the Classification Act
of 1928, and if the schedule of rate
of pay is not otherwise fixed by law
or regulations, there would appear
to be no legal objection to providing
by the contract of employment or
by appropriate regulation for allow
ance of transportation to and from
place of work as part of their agreed
compensation. 5 Comp. Gen. 274.
1.-THE question submitted is an
swered accordingly"
Secretary Ickes had written to the
Comptroller General as follows:
IckeS to Brown
"A serious situation confronts the
department on construction work in
the Indian Service in Alaska due to
the fact that qualified employees in
skilled trades cannot be found with
in the areas of the construction work
to be done in the Territory. Quail
fled employees residing elsewhere
in the Territory or in the States are
reluctant to accept employment, as
the duration of the job is approx
mately four months, without some
assurance that transportation to
and from the work would be paid by
the Government. In the annual ap-
preparation acts for this department
the Congress has made provision for
paying travelling expenses of new ap-
pointees from Seattle, Washington.
to their posts of duty ALASKA.
viewer, no statutory provision
exists for return transportation.
1.-THE type of employment on
which there is a shortage is excepted
from classification by section of
the Classification Act of 1923. See 4
C.G. 900. 1t is believed that the
difficulty in obtaining the necessary
skilled tradesmen can be overcome
if transportation to and from the
work can be paid and it is proposed
to enter into an agreement with
prospective Employees to allow
transportation to and from the work
Continued on Page EighO