, 1908-05-22
LIKE STATE
CONTROL
WATER FLOWING IN STREAMS IN
FOREST RESERVES UNDER
STATE LAW.

Governor Brooks Takes Exception to
the Contention Of secretary Gar
field That the Federal Govern
ment should Have Control Of the
Waters Within Forest Reserves.
One of the marked features of the
conference between President Roose-
welt and the governors Of the several
states of the union was the brief dis
cussion between Secretary Garfield
and Governor Brooks relating to the
control of the streams and water sup
ply within the forest reserves. The
secretary contended that streams and
water-power within such reserves
ought TO be under federal control,
while the Wyoming governor took the
view that the state constitution OF
Wyoming and the statutes passed in
pursuance thereof yer paramount and
that it was altogether undesirable to
make any change from the present sys-
tenn. The governor fled the follow
ing very concise statement OF his
views:
Mr.. President and Gentlemen of the
Conferences:
Since listening to the able remarks
made yesterday by the honorable Sec
rotary of the interior, relative to the
water power development in the forest
reserves and their control by the fed
eral government, l feel that Wyo-
ming's position in this matter should
be briefly stated. Wyoming is one of
the best watered states in the arid
west. Her streams and rivers feed
both oceans and fertilize the farms OF
every adjacent state. Our rivers have a
vertical fall of nearly a mile from their
source to where they have the Dor.
ders of the state. Consequently, the op
portunities for water power develop
ment are simply endless and beyond
computation.
In the near future this water power
will be utilized, and in granting water
power rights, Wyoming has determin-
ed to protect postertty and profit by
the experience of some older states
and nations. We know that the water
power of Wyoming have an
enormous value, and should be de-
veloped for the benefit of the whole
state, rather than made a means Of
taxing the state for the enrichment
of outside corporations.
There Is 40 reason in economics or
good government why any state should
give pe%rpetually free water power sites
to wealthy syndicates, knowing that
later on, these will be amalgamated
into huge companies, constituting mo
nopolies of energy more i~ndefensible
and irritating than the present mo-
nopoly of oil.
In Italy water power rights are linn
tied to thirty years, and any party de-,
veloping power pays sixty cents per
year per horse power, and at the end
OF the thirty-year period this is SUBJ
ject to further regulation, yet Ameri-
can machinery is being purchased and
used to develop power under these
laws. In Canada, any party making
filing on water power has to pay a tax
on that filing from date of making 1t,
whether he develops it or not Fur
thermore, this Canadian power priv
ilege is a license, subject to an annual
license fee and a regulation of charges
whenever the government thinks fit.
Wyoming intends to act along these
lines. Under our state constitution.
The water of all natural streams,
springs, lakes or other collections of
still water within the boundaries of
the state are declared to be the prop
erty of the state and Jul constitu-
ton states further, water being 'es-
sential to industrial prosperity, of
limited amount and easy of diversion
from its natural Cd tnncls. its control
must be in the tslte which. III pro
viding for its uso shall equally guard
all the various interests involved
Bearing this clause II our constitu.
ton in mind, the people of Wyoming
believe the federal government can
exercise no control over the waters of
Wyoming, and that certainly the for
estry department has no right to
charge for power privileges or for wa
ter, which runs from various reserves.
We do not believe in the idea of &C
complishing all reforms through fed
eral agencies. We consider the water
power privileges, irrigation and drain
age as essentially local matters. leav-
ing the people of our state the full
right under our constitution, to use
the water and to say how it shall be
conserved and controlled. These cor.
porations are purely domestic in their
character and should be controlled by
the state and all charges made upon
them should go to the benefit of the
state, and not to increase federal rev
enue, and, inasmuch as these indus
tres and plants eau and should only
be subject to a reasonable charge, any
fee laid upon them by the federal gov
eminent diminishes by that amount
the income that the people of the state
may be able to derive from the de-
velopment of resources of this char.
acter.