Recommendation to the Secretary for action upon all of the matters mentioned is usually made by the Reclamation Commission. He is advised upon such recommendation and upon all engineering matters in connection with the Reclamation. Service by a consulting engineer, who has this as his sole function.

In addition to the functions enumerated, the Secretary exercises the power of appointment of all the chief officers and employees of the Service, including the Director.

Reclamation Commission. From 1907 to 1913, the administrative direction of the entire Service was vested solely in a Director, who was responsible directly to the Secretary of the Interior. On December 13 of that year, however, as already stated, the Secretary of the Interior ordered that"Subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, the control, direction, and management of the service shall hereafter be vested jointly in the following officers: The director, the chief engineer, the chief counsel, the comptroller, the supervisor of irrigation.

"The officers named shall constitute a board for the purpose of considering all questions of administrative policy and management, and recommending action thereon, to the Secretary of the Interior, but no act of said officers or of said board shall be of force or effect unless the same is in pursuance of authority previously given by the Secretary of the Interior. For convenient reference said board shall be known as the reclamation commission."

In December, 1914, the position of Chief of Construction. was created and he was made a member of the Commission.

By order of May 6, 1915, the positions of Director and Chief Engineer were consolidated under the title of "Director and Chief Engineer" and the Supervisor of Irrigation and the Chief of Construction were relieved of membership on the Reclamation Commission. The membership of the Commission was thus reduced to three. Shortly after and during the

greater part of 1916, the Comptroller was busy with other matters and was granted leave of absence at intervals until June 30, 1917, when he resigned. Thus the Commission has, in fact, consisted of two members, the Director and the Chief Counsel, these officers alternating much of the time in the Washington office and in the field.

The function of the Commission is defined in the order of the Secretary of the Interior of May 6, 1915, above referred to, as being "to determine matters of general policy and recommend appropriate action thereon to the Secretary of the Interior." The order further provides that "no action of members individually or collectively shall become effective unless the same is in pursuance of authority previously given by the Secretary of the Interior." Because of the conditions above described there has usually been available in Washington only one member of the Commission, and even when both members are in the office the determination of matters of general policy consists in the acquiescence of one or the other officer in the letter or memorandum prepared by his colleague. In practice the Director refers important letters to the Chief Counsel if the latter is available for consultation, otherwise he proceeds without further delay-the Commission having a theoretical rather than an actual existence.

Executive and Engineering Division. The functions of the Executive and Engineering Division are not defined in the order of November 22, 1915, except as they may be inferred from the paragraphs defining the duties of the Director and Chief Engineer, who is the head of that division. So regarded, the functions of the division may be said to include, as indicated by its title, all administrative functions Lot vested in the three other divisions, and all engineering matters relative to the investigation, construction, operation and maintenance of projects.

Matters of the first class are handled through the main office of the Service at Washington. Matters of the second

class are handled through a branch office at Denver, known as the Office of the Chief of Construction, which is subordinate to the Director and Chief Engineer. In each office the force is organized into a number of subdivisions. The heads of these subdivisions in the Washington office report directly to the Director and Chief Engineer; those in Denver report in the first instance to the Chief of Construction.

The several primary units of the Executive and Engineering Division are therefore as follows:

1. Office Proper of the Director and Chief Engineer. Administrative Offices (Washington, D. C.).

2.

Editorial Division.

Fiscal Inspectors.

3. Office of Chief of Construction (Denver).

Office Proper of the Director and Chief Engineer. The Director and Chief Engineer is appointed by the Secretary of the Interior and receives a salary of $7,500 per annum.

By the Secretary's order of November 22, 1915, already cited, the Director and Chief Engineer is made "the executive officer of the Service." By the same order, however, he is specifically denied control of the legal division of the Service, and of the Comptroller, and inferentially as well of the Supervisor of Irrigation. It would appear, therefore, that the words "executive officer of the Service" are applicable to his functions as thus limited, only in that he is the most important of the three executive officers of the Service created by the order, the portion of the organization placed under his control being far larger and more basic than are those placed under the control of the other offices.

The order vests the Director and Chief Engineer specifically with control over "all employees engaged in investigating, constructing, operating and maintaining projects" and

over "all employees of the Washington office except the Legal Division and the Comptroller."

In addition to the function of supervision over the general administrative and the engineering units of the Service thus vested, the Director and Chief Engineer is specifically charged by the order with the duty to "issue all instructions required to carry out approved policies and for executing the necessary work through the executive office at Denver," and to "control an administrative examination of all accounts in Washington," and he is empowered "to sign any contracts and make any commitments authorized by the Secretary of the Interior."

Office of Chief Clerk. Under the office of the chief clerk are included all of the sections having to do with the general business activities of the Service.

Messengers.

7. Janitor, Elevator, and Watch Service.

Accounting Division. All accounting work of the Service, including that of the field offices, is coördinated under a chief accountant. The accounting accuracy of the project accounts is insured by appropriate controlling accounts in the Washington office. The accountants stationed in the several field offices are, however, under the direction of the officers in charge of those offices.

The work of this division is divided into the following sections:

I.

2.

Office Proper of the Chief Accountant.

Administrative Examination of Disbursing Accounts. 3. Administrative Examination of Revenue and Repayment Accounts.

4. Bookkeeping, Costkeeping, and Statistical Section. 5. Transportation Section.

6. Special Fiscal Agent (Disbursing Officer).

Reclamation Settlement Division. The function of the Reclamation Settlement Division is to disseminate information relative to the reclamation projects, in order to encourage the settlement and development of the reclaimed lands. For this purpose newspaper and magazine articles are prepared relative to the agricultural and business opportunities on projects, and coöperative relations are maintained with the water users' associations, the immigration agents of the states, railroad companies, and others, with a view to securing competent settlers for the lands.

Because of the value of photographs of the reclamation. projects in the publicity work referred to, the Settlement Division has charge also of all the photographic work done by the Service. That work has, however, a value quite apart from its utilization for publicity. In all operations of this kind it is highly desirable to have photographs of the original condition of the ground or of structures which are to be removed, repaired, or modified; also of the progress made by contractors engaged in difficult work. By having such photographic records in connection with drawings and manuscript, it is possible to avoid many misunderstandings and to prevent litigation arising.

Engineering Division. The engineering work carried on in the Washington office is divided into two sections, known as the Technical Section and the Drafting Section. The Technical Section has for its duty the review and standardization of specifications and plans, the preparation of engineering articles for engineering and other publications, the tabulation. of engineering statistical data, and other matters of engineering detail. The Drafting Section has for its duty the maintenance and reproduction of all maps, drawings, plates, survey records, and so forth arising from the work of the Service.

Editorial Division. The editor handles all matters relating