entirely by the advice of the commission even in questions of policy.1 He stated in February, 1919, that "the work of locating and constructing the road has been left in their hands entirely. The only instruction which they (the Commissioners) received from me was that they should build the road as if they were working for a private concern, selecting the best men for the work irrespective of politics or pressure of any kind. I have not asked them to appoint one man.' "2 By the Executive Orders referred to, the Chairman of the commission, who was to be designated by the Secretary of the Interior, was given immediate charge of the work in Alaska, his important powers and duties being enumerated as follows: 1. Power of approval or disapproval of all administrative matters connected with the work in Alaska. 2. Power to organize and subdivide departments, among which there was to be a department of construction and engineering, of which the Chairman was to be chief engineer. 3. Power to assign duties to each department. 4. Power to appoint heads of departments and fix their salaries subject to disapproval of the commission as a whole; the heads to be allowed to fix primarily the salaries of employees in their respective departments after consultation with the Chairman and subject to disapproval of the commission. 5. Power to designate the district in which supplies should be advertised for publicly. 6. Power to grant the other two members of the commission leave of absence. 7. Permission to assume presidency of Alaska Northern Railroad after its purchase. The commission as a whole was charged with the following duties: 1 See statements of Commissioners at 1919 Hearings relative to purchase of the Alaska Northern, etc. 2 House Committee on Territories, Hearings, 1919, p. 8. 1. The general duty of preparing and adopting plans for construction. 2. The employment of such force as might be from time to time necessary. 3. The making of all contracts for the purchase of the necessary supplies and plant for this work. 4. Immediate conduct of affairs of the Alaska Northern Railroad. 5. Coöperation with the duly constituted authorities in Alaska to preserve law and order. 6. Preparation and maintenance of such arrangements as required for health of employees and a system of compensation for accidents. Under the above division of powers and functions the commission began the work of construction proper. Administrative headquarters were established at Seward, Alaska, where the office of the Chairman and Chief Engineer was to be located. Commissioner Mears was placed in charge of new construction, while Commissioner Riggs was to make the final location north from Broad Pass to Fairbanks. The third stage, from the beginning of 1916 to the end of 1917, may be termed the stage of expansion of organization, when new divisions and departments were organized to meet the rapidly enlarging field of activity. Three construction divisions were created, the Anchorage Division, the Seward Division, and the Fairbanks Division, while the Land and Industrial Department was organized and the office of Engineering Representative in Seattle established. The construction work on the Anchorage Division was in turn subdivided into three sections, the Matanuska District, the Turnagain Arm District, and the Talkeetna District, while operation and maintenance was assigned to the terminal district. A General Storekeeper's Department, to attend to all matters pertaining to material, supplies, and shipping was also established in the Anchorage Division. The fourth stage, from January, 1918, to January, 1919, covers the period of contraction of organization in direct consequence of the active participation of the United States in the World War. Two of the Commissioners resigned and only the Chairman remained to carry on the work which, meanwhile, rapidly converged to the point where operation and maintenance rather than new construction became the center of activity. The last stage, which is the present one, is marked by the reorganization and integration of the various divisions and departments in an effort to meet the need for unification, compactness, and centralization of organization, the entire work being placed under a single Commissioner. Thus the organization history reveals an interesting transition from a somewhat chaotic but flexible organization, such as was best suited to the ascertainment and solution of the many undefined problems to be encountered in the preliminary stage of a large construction project in a relatively unknown country, to a systematic, integrated, and centralized organization best suited to the requirements of a nearly completed railroad construction project in a country now relatively well known. It would not be feasible to describe in detail beyond the general outline already given, the character of the organization at each stage, or the mechanism of the transition. In this chapter the organization is, therefore, described in detail only as it exists at the present date. Administration. The President of the United States, under the act of March 12, 1914, has full authority and is generally responsible not only for the work of construction proper but also for all preliminary, supplementary, and ancillary matters involved therein. The Secretary of the Interior has been designated by the President as the executive officer of the Government to direct the work. The Secretary of the Interior grants almost complete autonomy to the organization in the field under the direction of the Chairman and Chief Engineer liaison between the Department of the Interior and the field work being maintained through an office in the Interior Building, the personnel of which includes one senior clerk and a stenographer. The general administrative offices are at Anchorage, with an administrative staff as follows: Chairman and Chief Engineer Assistant Chief Engineer Chief Clerk Bridge Engineer Special Disbursing Agent Manager Land and Industrial Department Superintendent Telegraph and Telephone Lines Divisions. There are five general divisions under the administrative staff created by the Chairman by order of November 22, 1919, as follows: Functional Divisions I. Southern Division 3. Accounting Division Southern. This division, under direction of the Assistant Chief Engineer comprises the district from Seward (mile o) to Broad Pass (mile 315), including also all spurs and branches as well as the operation of the coal mines in the Matanuska fields. The headquarters of this division are at Anchorage, and its administrative staff is merged with the office force of the general administrative staff. The subdivisions are as follows: I. The Railroad Maintenance and Construction Division, which has the responsibility for the maintenance and construction of the railroad in the Southern Division. This railroad division is under the direction of an "Engineer of Maintenance and Construction" whose assistants are: An Assistant Engineer of Maintenance and Construction. A Superintendent of Construction, with local jurisdiction over maintenance from Seward (mile o) to Anchorage (mile 114). An Assistant Superintendent of Track, with local jurisdiction over maintenance and construction of track from Anchorage northward to end of track and the Matanuska Branch Line and coal spur. An Assistant Superintendent of Construction, with local supervision over transportation and camps in the construction district, extending northward from the end of steel. 2. Railroad Operating Division, including the following departments reporting to the Engineer of Maintenance and Construction. Transportation Department, under the Trainmaster. Mechanical Department, under the Master Mechanic. Telegraph and Telephone Department, under a Superintendent. Drafting Department, under the Chief Draftsman. Anchorage Dock, under the Receiving and Forwarding Agent. Townsite and Railroad Record, under the Manager and Editor. Disbursing Office, under the Special Disbursing Agent. Hospital, under the Chief Surgeon. 3. A Mining Department, under direction of a Resident Mining Engineer, assisted by a Superintendent of Mines, charged with operation and development of the Matanuska coal fields at Eska Creek and Chickaloon. Northern. This division, the headquarters of which is at Nenana includes: |