New-York tribune., 1909-01-16

power IN making lllAl grant dc' ms =
and secondl SO as TO RT@nent Iyr amy iRroug the
act of Congress any uncompensated advantage u
private profit.
The authority Of Congress in this matter was
asserted by Secretary Taft on April i. lsVo' III
his report on Senator Newlands's Inland wafer
ways Commission bill Is. 50o). where he SAID
In the execution any project and as incldentat
Of navigation the power Of congress extepds 40 tho 5e
she regulation OF the use and Development OK TIC
waters for purposes subsidiary 10 naf4gal'ol''
And by the Solicitor General in a r1emoran.
dun prepared after careful Investigation u
the subject
THREATENED BY POWERFUL MONOFOl-1 1.
Believing that the national government hss
this power ] am convinced that It's power ousli'
90 be exercised. The people Of the country o. (
THREATENED by monopoly Tar more p.t ~,
because IN far closer touch with their doinesilc
and industrial life. than anything known 10 "sII
experience. A single generation VIII see Iie
exhaustion Of our natural resources or OH ana
gas and such rise in the price OF coal as "llI
make the prtce 0f electrically transmitted Wdti
power q controlling factor in Transportauon' III
Iranufactur+ng, and in household lighting ana
heating. our water power alone. Il 1uIly ueN
oped aud wisely used. is probably sufficient TOT
our present transportation. industrial TnuIllclpai
and domestic needs Most of il is undeEeoped
and is still in national or state control
70 gtve away. without conditions. TINS one ol
the greatest OF our resources would be an ACT
OF folly II " guilty of Il, our ch1ldren WliI
he forced pay an annual return upon a Gap
itaIization based upon the highest prices which
"-the traffic viii bear They VIII nnd themselves
face to face with powerful interests intrenched
balind tbe dacfrfna ~ rested rights and
strengthened By every defence which money can
buy and the ingenuity OF able corporation Jaw
yers can devise. Long before that time tIleF
NAV and very probably will have become con-
Solidated interest, controlled from tDe sTttt
financial centres debating me terms upon up ti
the citizen conduct his business or earn ms
livelihood. and not aurenable TO the wholesome
cheek II local opinion.
Tha total water power now in use by power
is estimated by the
bureau Of census and the geological survey as
5.3oaeso horsepower Information coIleSteQ os
the bureau OF corporations shows that thirteen
large concerns Of which the General Electric
Company and the Westinghouse Electric ana
Manufacturing Company are most lnportdl''
noW hold water power installations anu tut CO. II
taeeous power sites agsregatng ABOUT I"4oV'V
s horse-over where the control by these con-
Z eerns is practically admitted This Is a Qiah-
1ftv eollsi 20 over 10 per cent of the total now
in use Further evidence Of a very strong nat
ure as to additional iptercorporate relations
Furnished by the bureau, leads ne to the CON
Clusion that this total should he increased 10 -
p rsar cent: and stiH other evidence. though less
= conclusive. nevertheless afforos reasoila R ,,t
ground for charging this estimate oy = per &c
3 additional IN other words. II is prohaole t1at
these thirteen concerns directly or Indlrectly
zzeenIEOl developed water power ana @ "a di'oe
f,l1s you-er sites equal 70 more than 81 per cent
of the total water power now In use. rms a6-
fonishing consolidation has taken place prac-
ticsllv within the last five years The moYeInenI
IS still in its infancy and unless II is Controleo
the history of the oil Industry Will be repeated
in the hEQrD-eieClTlt power 4-i'iN9AAET -
far more orDpressiVe and disastrous for the
.s peenie. It is true that the great bulk OF our
potential water power is as yet undeNelopeo' puI
the sites which are now controiled bF CoIloIlio- ~
fions are those which offer the greatest adNah-
images and therefore hold a strategic position
qhis- is certain tn be strengthened by the II.
. creasiug demand for power and the extension OF
long distance electrical Transmission
I II sfS in my opinion. relatively unimportant
for Us TO know whether. or not the promoters
ef this ia artiCular project affiliated with any
of these great corporations If We make an un,
conditional grant TO this grantee, cur contTol
. =e,-e~ II ceases he or any purchaser from him,
Will ne free sell his rights to any one OF llei
at pleasure The time 20 attach condiuonS anu
,preyent monopoly is when a grant IS Ilaue'
CORPORATIONS CONTROLLING POWER,
. The great corporations are acting with fore
sight singieness Of purpose and vigor 10 con
troll The water powers of the country Ihey
- S7a,. no attention TO state boundaries and are
moi interested in the constitutional law AFFECT
Ing, -navigable streams except as II aTords What
dhas been aptiy called a twilight zone "here
1he-i NAV find g. convenient refuge from any
--respiaIion whatever by the public, Whether
through the national or the state governments
-Ir Is Significant thai they opposing the con-
.1rsf of water power on the DesplalneS RNeF by
the state Of Illinois with equal ylsor ana Win
like arguments 10 those with wnlch they oppose
the national government pursuing the poIlcy L
= advocate. Their attitude is the same with rel
: erences their projects upon the mountain
streams OF the West, where the jurisdiction or
The federal government the owner OF the
fljbiic lands and national forests is not open to
-ouer11on They are demanding legislation for
! unconditional grants in perpetulty or land Tor
= reservoirs. conduits, power houses and trans
tniEs1on lines to replace the existing statute
which authorizes the administrative officers OF
/. tkr- government TO impose conditions to protect
the public when any permit is issued Several
hills for that purpose are row penolng IN both
4 ho1isps among them the bill. = b62b, to sub
7spct lands owned or -neld by the United States
to condemnation IN the state courts, and the
bills. H. r. 1856 and 8 26G1. respectively 10
grant iocations and rights of way for electric
nd other power purposes through the public
! lands and Of the United states
These bills were either drafted by representa-
tives Of the power companies or are similar In
sffpcs 10 rhosp thus. drafted On the other hand,
the administration proposes that authority be
given 10 issue power permits for term not 10
exQeed fifty years. iTrevocabe except for breach
of condition. This provision 70 prevent revoca-
tssn Exaud remove the only valid ground of OBJ
lection 10 the act Of 1901 which expressly
makes all permits revccatole at discretion. The
following amendment 20 authorize this in
tianal forests was inserted IN last years agri-
cultural appropriation bill:
And hereafter permits for power plants within
Cor breach OF condition, for such term, not eX-
Teeo!g ing my S TT l md Land al eoxeTed
-SF such permits issued ir pursuance of an apPli-
-s1feeorentlv approved Under the act Of June II.
1905 shall in perpetuitv remain subject to such
: permit and renewals thereof 49,.
= The =rapresenta4fves. Of the power, companies
present in Washington during the last session
agreed upon .hV bill above mentioned as the
stsest frequent conferences were held between
fhem and the representatives Of the admins
i-lFstion for the purpose OF reaching an agree
Tnent if possible The companies refused 70 ac-
gent anything less than a grant IN perpetuity,
1snd insisted that the slight charge TOW imposed
by the Forest Service wss oppressive But they
made response 70 the specific proposal that
The reasona bIeness Of the Charge he determined
through an investigation Of their business by
-ihe Bureau Of Corpora lions
= The amendment OF the agricultural Bin pro
viding for irrevccabe permits being new legis
lstion was stricken out under the House rules