Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-11-09
BIames Stead for His
Water Power Opin-
ion.
PLAN HELD FEASIBLE
Issues Statement After a Long
Conference With Col. Walk
or, of Rock Island.

Colonel Charles l.. Walker of this
city was in Chicago yesterday in his
capacity as attorney for the Illinois
& Michigan canal, having gone to coa,
fer with Governor Deneen and Lyman
E. Cooley in regard to the Economy
Light and Power companys rights
which when fully established will in
terfere with the deep waterway pre-
ject.
Hold All Day Conference.
AT the close of an all day meeting
the governor issued a statement III
which he took sharp issue with Attor-
ney General Stead over the latter
opinion upholding the rights of the
company and declaring the Desplaines
river could not be made navigable by
declaration of the legislature. He
did not say the opinion given by Mr..
Stead is bad law, but he does say il
may be bad law, and if it is and the
legislature acts on it, the state will
lose approximately G0,000,000 and per
haps the entire deep waterways plan
will be defeated On the other hand
by rejecting the attorney generals
opinion nothing can be lost to the
state, and if the Economy Light ami
Power company can show in the courts
that Mr. Stead is right, it will not lose
anything.
Gave Authority to Act.
What the governor wants is to have
the legislature pass the bill declaring
the Desplaines river a navigable
stream, with an emergency clause so
work on the dams the Economy cont
pany is row building. Without such
law he could not well act
The attorney general holds that the
question of whether a stream is nav
igable is one of fact and must be de-
cided in the courts. The governor
contends that this means giving the
company time to complete its work 60
that the state would ultimately have
to pay an impossible sum to condemn
the property.
Precedent for Legislation.
Speaking of the sort of act he wish
ed passed by the legislature ami
blocked by the senate, the governor
said
There is nothing new in Legislation
of this character. AS far back as 1899
the general assembly of Illinois en-
acted a law declaring the Desplaines
river from Joliet northward through
out its extent within the boundaries
of this state a navigable waterway. IL
is customary also for congress to de-
clare streams ndvigable for which aD-
propriations are made.
THE Importance of the navigability
legislation arises out of the conditions
which confront us in reference to the
proposed deep waterway. The general
assembly has passed for submissi n
to the voters in November, 1908, a
constitutional amendment by whicn
the legislature of our state is to be PEI,
mitted to appropriate the sum of $40,
100000 for the construction of water
power incident thereto.
VIII Take MucI, Power.
This statement was proposed upoT
the assumption that the water powe,
developed would pay for the water
way and would require no permanen;
outlay by the state. If the dam of the
Economy Light and Power company
is permitted TO be completed and re
main it will absorb so large a part c,
the water power that it will in al
probability defeat the constitutions
amendment 1t would also, probably
prevent congress from making any an
preparation in aid of the construction
of the proposed waterway.
The governor is informed that tn
contracts for the construction of tn
Economy Light and Power company
dam require the work TO be done b.
fore July l, 1908. at which time tn
navigability law, if passed without d:
emergency clause, would so into ei
feet.
This, therefore, is an emergenc
matter, and in view of the existing
differences of opinion as 10 the lay
upon this subject and the advantage
of having the position and intention
of the state made plain by legislativ
. enactment, the governor deems tn
passage of the navigability legislatio
of great Importance.
Power Held in Doubt.
"The power of the executive to pr,
vent the construction of this dam
held to be in serious doubt. The pa
sage of this legislation will remov
that doubt and give to him and th