27, 1946, 12 F.R. 67, except as noted following provisions affected.

§ 1.1 Creation. The Division of Territories and Island Possessions was created by Executive Order No. 6726 of May 29, 1934, which simultaneously transferred to it the functions of the War Department's Bureau of Insular Affairs pertaining to civil government in Puerto Rico. The Department of the Interior already had jurisdiction over Alaska and Hawaii by virtue of the act of March 1, 1873 (17 Stat. 484, 5 U.S.C. 486) which authorized the Secretary to exercise "all the powers and perform all the duties in relation to the territories of the United States that are now by law or by custom exercised and performed by the Secretary of State," and under which the Department has also been largely responsible for the government of those areas of our western domain which were once territories and have later become States. Administration of the Virgin Islands was transferred from the Navy Department to the Department of Interior by Executive Order No. 5566 of May 27, 1931. In order to concentrate the Department's responsibility for civil government in the territories and possessions in a single division, as well as to formalize in a single document the Division's jurisdiction, the Secretary by Order No. 1040 of February 13, 1936, vested the Division with responsibility for government in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, as well as with the administration of a number of activities and enterprises in those areas. The order also provided that all administrative action within the Department pertaining to matters of territorial policy would be subject to approval by the Division.

Subsequently, additional functions over the Virgin Islands were delegated to the Secretary under the Organic Act of the Virgin Islands (49 Stat. 1807, 48 U.S.C. 1405 et seq.). Baker, Howland and Jarvis Islands were placed under the control and jurisdiction of the Secretary by Executive Order No. 7368 of May 13, 1936, and Executive Order No. 7828, of March 3, 1938, placed Canton and Enderbury Islands under the Department's supervision.

§ 1.2 Functions. The Division's objective is to encourage each territorial area to develop its resources economically and politically to the end that Federal political guidance and financial assistance may be gradually withdrawn

and the territorial areas be enabled increasingly to govern themselves and to provide their own revenues. In carrying out this objective, the Division acts as an intermediary between the territorial areas and the Federal Government and the general public; it scrutinizes the fields of Federal activity within those areas and suggests ways in which overlapping programs may be coordinated; it advises the Secretary on all aspects of territorial problems and policies; it reviews legislation affecting the territorial areas; serves as an information clearinghouse; encourages industrial development; assists the territorial areas in working out plans and policies for a stable economy and a political status satisfactory to its inhabitants; collaborates with the Department of Justice in representing the Government of Puerto Rico in litigation on appeal to Federal courts; and represents the people of the territories and insular possessions in proceedings before various Federal administrative agencies. In addition, the Division supervises a number of enterprises or activities in the territorial areas, including The Alaska Railroad, the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration, The Virgin Islands Company, the Alaska Road Commission, the Alaska Rural Rehabilitation Corporation, and the Alaska Purchasing and Shipping Office, and is responsible for the care and maintenance of the Alaska insane.

§ 1.3 General description. The organization of the Division of Territories and Island Possessions consists of the Office of the Director and Assistant Director, the Legal Branch, the Alaska Branch, the Caribbean Branch, the Pacific Branch and the Administrative Branch, all located in Washington. In addition, offices of the Division which handle the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration and The Virgin Islands Company are located in Washington. Outside of Washington the Division is represented by the Offices of the Governors of the various territorial areas and of the territorial enterprises or activities under the administration of the Division. The Division is a program staff office of the Office of the Secretary of the Interior. (See 43 CFR, 1946 Supp., 01.21 (b).)

§ 1.10 Office of the Director and the Assistant Director. The Office of the Director develops, interprets and implements national policy on territorial affairs. It establishes standards and de

velops integrated programs designed to accomplish its objectives. The Director has overall responsibility for and control over all functions and activities of the Division. The Assistant Director serves as Acting Director in the absence of the Director, and is responsible for such duties as are assigned to him by the Director.

§ 1.11 Legal Branch. The legal work of the Division is handled by the Legal Branch under the direction of a Chief Counsel. The work of the Legal Branch includes the drafting and review of legislation affecting the territorial areas, litigation, conferences and correspondence with general counsels of other Federal bureaus and agencies, preparation of opinions and memoranda, appearances before administrative boards, and performance of miscellaneous legal services for the various Federal agencies or corporations operating in the territorial areas under the administration of the Division. The Chief Counsel collaborates with the Department of Justice in representing the Government of Puerto Rico before the Circuit Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and the Supreme Court of the United States in all matters in which the Government of Puerto Rico has an interest, and also represents the people of the territories and insular possessions before Federal administrative agencies.

§ 1.12

Alaska Branch. The Alaska Branch works closely with all Federal agencies functioning in Alaska, with territorial officials and with all Interior agencies in Alaska in making plans to encourage colonization and settlement. It assists in the preparation of the Territory for statehood, as well as in programs for the development of the Territory's fishing, mineral, timber and agricultural resources; for the encouragement of locally-owned business enterprises and the broadening of the Territory's economic base through new sources of income, and for the development of sufficient transportation and communication facilities at rates low enough to appeal to prospective businessmen and settlers. The Branch supervises The Alaska Railroad, the Alaska Rural Rehabilitation Corporation and the Alaska Road Commission, and is responsible for the care of the Alaska insane. It also supplies information about Alaska on such varied subjects as the cost of living, employment oppor

tunities, methods of acquiring land and prospecting opportunities.

§ 1.13 Caribbean Branch. Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands are handled by one branch, the Caribbean Branch, because of their geographical proximity and the similarity of their major economic problems. The Branch assists the local governments in programs designed to give employment and to explore and develop agricultural and industrial resources to the fullest extent; acts as liaison between the islands and other Federal agencies; encourages and assists private enterprise plans; and recommends policy with respect to the working out of permanent political status. The Branch is responsible for the coordination of the functions and policies of Federal civil agencies in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, (See Executive Order No. 9383 of October 5, 1943 (3 CFR, 1943 Supp.).) The activities of the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration are under the supervision of the Branch. The Branch also supervises the operation of The Virgin Islands Company, which operates certain properties of the United States in St. Croix, and the maintenance of Bluebeard's Castle Hotel in St. Thomas, owned by the Federal Government and now leased to a private operator.

The

§ 1.14 Pacific Branch. The Pacific Branch has the responsibility for carrying out national policy with respect to Hawaii and the Pacific islands under Interior's jurisdiction (Howland, Baker and Jarvis Islands, as well as Canton and Enderbury which are both under the joint administration of the United States and Great Britain). The Branch assists in the work of representing Hawaii's interests before the Congress and other government agencies as well as in preparing the Territory for statehood. Branch also recommends programs and policies for civil administration in the Equatorial Islands already under the administration of the Department; furnishes information concerning all aspects of the culture and resources of Pacific islands under Interior's jurisdiction; and assists the territorial governments and private groups in the formulation and carrying out of programs designed to promote closer cultural, political and economic ties with the mainland United States.

§ 1.15 Administrative Branch. The Administrative Branch handles the ad

ministrative work of the Division as well as administrative operations in the territories and possessions, including the Government of the Virgin Islands; the Offices of the Governors of Alaska and Hawaii; The Alaska Railroad; the Alaska Road Commission; the Alaska Purchasing and Shipping Office; the Puerto Rico Reconstruction Administration; and The Virgin Islands Company. This involves the review and consolidation of budget estimates for these activities as well as a large volume of personnel work in connection with approximately 3,600 positions. It maintains records on the appropriation for the care and maintenance of Alaskan insane patients at Morningside Hospital, Portland, Oregon, and is accountable for the deposit of funds which relatives or guardians of the patients contribute to the cost of their care under an administrative order of the Secretary of the Interior. It reviews accounts of certifying and disbursing officers handling funds appropriated for "Government in the Territories," and is responsible for the transfer of funds to field disbursing officers.

§ 1.20 The Alaska Railroad. The Division supervises the operation of The Alaska Railroad which operates a railroad line, river boats and tourist hotels in Alaska. Under the direction of the Director or the Assistant Director, the Alaska Branch, the Administrative Branch and the Legal Branch of the Division in Washington review the reports and other materials submitted by the Railroad, prepare and review legislation affecting the Railroad, and perform various other administrative and legal services. The General Manager in Anchorage, Alaska, is in direct charge of the operation of the Railroad in the Territory. (See 48 CFR, 1946 Supp., Ch. IV.)

Administrator at San Juan, Puerto Rico. (See 48 CFR, 1946 Supp., Ch. II.)

§ 1.22 The Virgin Islands Company. Under the supervision of the Director, as Managing Director of the Company, the Caribbean Branch, the Administrative Branch and the Legal Branch of the Division perform various services for The Virgin Islands Company, a non-profit corporation which operates Federal properties in the Islands for the purpose of improving economic conditions there. The President of the Company maintains his office in the Virgin Islands and directs the operation of the Federal properties there. The Vice President of the Company divides his time between the Washington office and the Virgin Islands, and together with the branches of the Division concerned is responsible for representing the Company in its fiscal, budgetary, legislative and personnel affairs in Washington. (See 48 CFR, 1946 Supp., Ch. III.)

§ 1.23 Alaska Road Commission. The Division of Territories and Island Possessions has general supervision over the activities and administrative functions of the Alaska Road Commission pertaining to the construction, repair and maintenance of roads, landing fields, tramways, ferries, bridges and trails in Alaska. A Chief Engineer with offices in Juneau, Alaska, is in immediate charge of the activities of the Commission. Rules and regulations governing the use of roads, trails and other works, including the fixing and collecting of tolls are recommended by the Commission for issuance by the Secretary of the Interior with the approval of the President. (Sec. 3, 47 Stat. 447; 48 U. S. C. 321 (b).)

§ 1.24 Alaska Rural Rehabilitation Corporation. The Alaska Rural Rehabilitation Corporation was organized in 1935, under the laws of the Territory of Alaska, as a non-profit corporation to undertake a program of agricultural colonization in Alaska. It was sponsored by the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and financed by grants of funds from that agency which were used in the settlement of an agricultural colony in the Matanuska Valley region. Since the expiration of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration in 1938, the Department of the Interior has exercised general supervision of the activities of the Corporation. The general supervision exercised by the Depart