The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-10-30


advantage of the special interests
Because 1t did these things the For
est Service has made enemies, oi
some Of whom it is Justly proud. II
has been easy for these enemies to
raise the cry of illegality, novelty,
and excess of zeal. But Gn every i'm
stance the Service Is fortified either
Ny express statutes, or by decisions
of tthe Supreme Court and other
of the Secretary of the Interior, of
Comptroller, or the Attorney General
or by general principals of law which
are beyond dispute. II there is nov
/ city Ut consists simply in the way
these statutes, decisions, and princi-
! pies have been used TO protect the
public. The law officers of the For
est Service have the Nation for their
client, and they are proud to work as
zealously for the public as they would
in private practice for fee.
SO | think the ghost of illegality
I'm the Forest Service may fairly he
laid at rest. But it is not the only
one which is clouding the issues OF
conservation in the public mind. An
other misconception is that the friend
of conservation are trying to prevent
the development of water power by
private capital. Nothing could be
farther from the truth. The friends
of conservation were the first to call
public attention to the enormous
saving to the Nation which follows
the substitution of the power of fall
ing water, which is constantly renew
ed, for our coal, which can never be
renewed. They favor development by
private capital and not by the govern
ment, but they also favor attaching
such reasonable conditions to the
right to develope as will protect the
public and control water power mon.
opoly in the public interest while at
the same time giving to enterprising
capital its just and full reward They
believe that to grant rights to water
power in perpetuity is wrongful
mortgage of the welfare of our de-
cendants and to grant them without
insisting on some return for value
received is to rob ourselves
I believe in dividends for the peo-
pie as well as taxes. Fifty years is
long enough tor the certainty of pro-
fitable investment in water power
and to fix on the amount of return
that will DE fair to the public and the
corporation is not impossible. What
city does not regret some ill-consider-
ed franchise? And why should not
the Nation profit by the experience
OF its citizens?
Ihere Is no reason why the water
power interests should be given the
peoples property freely and forever
except tina: they would like to have
1t that way. Isuspect that the mere
wishes of the special interests al
though they have been the handspring
OF much public action for many years.
have begun to lose their compelling
power. A good way to begin to regu-
late corporations would be to stop
them from regulating us.
Ihe sober fact is that here is the
imminent battle ground in the end
less contest for the rights of ths
people. Nothing that can be said q.
done viii suffice to postpone longer
the active phases of fight; and that
Is why | attach so great Importance
10 the attitude of administrative Of
hcers In protecting the public wei.
rare In the enforcement OF the law.
FROM time to time a few strong
leaders have tried to unite the peop,e
IN The light of the many for the equal
opportunities to which they are en-
tltled. But the people have only lust
begun to take this fight in earnest
lhey have not realize until RECENTLY
the vital Importance and farreachine
position.
Now that the fight is passing into
an acute stage it is easily seen that
the special interests have used the
period of public Indifference to ma
heuver themselves into n positio,
OIL exceeding strength. IN the frst
place. the Constitutional position of
property In the United States is strong
er than IN any other Nation. In the
second place, it is well understood
that The influence OF the corporations
IN our law making bodies is usually
excessive. not seldom to the point
.ot defeating the will of the people
steadily and with ease. In the third
place cases are not unknown lnwhicn
the special interests, not satisfied with
making the laws, have assumed also
10 interpret them through that worst
OF evils in the body polite, an un-
Just judge.
When an interest or an enemy ds
.entrenched in a position rendered inn
pregnable against an expected mode
oi attack, there is but one remedy.
TO shift the ground and follow lines
against Which no preparation has
been made.
fortunately for us, the special in
terests, with a blindness which nat
urally follows from their wholly
commercialized point of view, have
tailed TO see the essential fact in tba