The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-02-26
VALUE OF WATER.

Continued from Page One.
create the means OF livelihood for nit
lions Of people, and supplies Of pure
water will powerfully promote the pub
lie health. II the policy Of waterway
Improvement here recommended L. ear
citizen Of the Republic. The national
government must play the leading part
in securing the largest possible use OF
our waterwayss other agencies can as
sist, and should assist, but the work ss
essentially national In its scope.
The various uses Of waterways are
now dealt with by bureaus scattered
through four federal departments. At
present, therefore, 1t Is not possible to
deal with a river system as a single
problem. But the commission here
recommends policy under which all
the commercial and Industrial uses of
the waterways may be developed at
the same time. To that end, congress
should provide some administrative
machinery for co-ordinating the work
of the various departments SO far as 1t
relates to waterways, Otherwise there
will not only be delay. but the people
as a whole will fail to get from our
streams the benefits to which they are
Justly entitled.
The commission recognizes that the
cost Of improving our inland water
ways VIII be large, but far less than
would be required to relieve the con-
gestfon of traffic by railway extension.
The benefits Of such Improvement will
be large also, and they will touch the
daily life Of our people at every point.
uniting the interests of ali the states
and sections Of our country. The cost
and the benefits should be equitably
distributed, by cooperation with the
n4 &na ~
lions. and individuals benef1ctally at
fected. I heartily concur in the COM
missions recommendation to this end
Such cooperation should result in unit
ed effort In carrying out the great duty
Of Improving our inland waterways.
While we delay, our rivers remain I'M
used, our traffic is periodically congest-
ed. aud the material wealth and natural
resources of the country related to wa
terways are being steadily absorbed by
great monopolfes.
Rights Given Away.
Among these monopolies, as the re-
port Of the commission points out, there
Is no other which threatens, or has ever
threatened, such intolerable interference
with the daily life Of the people as the
consolidation Of companies controlling
water power. I call your special atten-
ton to the attempt OF the power cor
porations, through bills introduced at
the present session, to escape from tho
possibility Of government regulation in
the interests Of the people. These bills
are intended to enable the corporations
to take possession in perpetuity Of ma
tional forest lands for the purposes Of
their business, where and as they
please, wholly without compensation to
the public. Yet the effect of granting
such privileges, taken together with
rights already acquired under state
laws. would be to give away properties
OF enormous value. Through lack Of
foresight we have formed the habit Of
granting without compensation ex-
tremely valuable rights amounting to
monopolies on navigable streams and
on the public domain. The rNpurchase
at great expense OF water rights thus
carelessly given away without return
has already begun in the east, and be-
fore long will be necessary in the west
also. No rights involving water power
should be granted to any corporations
in perpetuity, but only for a length Of
time sufficient to allow them to conduct.
their business prohtably. reasonable
charge should Of course be made for
valuable rights and privileges which
they obtain from the national govern
ment. The values for which this
charge is made will ultimately through
the natural growth and orderly develop
ment OF our population and Industries,
reach enormous amounts. A fair share
OF the increase should be safeguarded
for the benefit of the people, from whose
labor it springs. The proceeds thus Sc
cured, after the cost Of administration
and Improvement has been met, should
naturally be devoted to the development
of our inland waterways.
The report justly calls attention to
the fact that hitherto our national pol
Icy has been one of almost unrestricted
disposition Of waste and natural re-
sources, and emphasizes the fundamen-
tai necessity for conserving these re-
sources upon which our present and fu-
ture success as nation primarily rests.
Running water is most valuable nat
ural asset Of the people, and there Is
urgent need for conserving 1t for nayf-
cation, for power. for irrigation, and
for domestic and municipal supply.
Much More to Be Done.
The commission was appointed to OBJ
tain information concerning our water
ways as related to the general welfare
Much work was DONE but more remains
to be done before a plan for their de-
velopment can be prepared in detail.
We need additional Information on the
flow Of our streams, the condition of
channels, the amount and cost of wa
ter traffic. the requirements for ter
mfnals, the area in each watershed
which should be kept under forest, and
the means Of preventing soil-waste and
the consequent damage to our rivers.
But it is neither necessary nor desirable
to postpone the beginning Of the work
until all the facts are obtained We
have suffered heavily in the past from
the lack of adequate transportation IA
cilities, and unless beginning is made
promptly we shall suffer still moro
heavily in the future.
Being without funds or an expert
staff, the commission has confined itself
to principles affecting the whole prob
lem and the entire country. Its report