The Sentinel=record., 1910-01-15
PRESIDENT SENDS ANOTHER MESSAGE TO CONGRESS ON
 THE LAND QUESTION.
Government May Control the Streams
 Where It Owns Adjacent Prop erty to the Water Sites.

Washington, Jan, 14-President Taft's special message on conserva- ton of natural resources sent to con gress today is in part as follows: ITO the Senate and House of repre-
 sentatives:
 Tn my annual message, I reserved the subject of the conservation of our natural resources for discussion in a special message as follows:
 Tn several departments there is presented the necessity for legislation looking 10 the further conservation of our natural resources and the sub ject is one of such importance to re- quire more detailed and extended discussion than can be entered upon in this communication.
 For this reason I shall take an ear ly opportunity to send a special mes sage to congress on the subject of the improvement of our waterways; upon the reclamation and irrigation of arid semi-arid and swamp lands upon the preservation of our forests and the reforesting of suitable areas; upon the reclassification of the pub lice domain with view of separating from agricultural settlement mineral. coal and phosphate lands and sites be- longing 10 the government bordering on streams suitable for the utilization of water power.
 With respect to the public land which lies along the streams offering opportunity to convert power into transmissable electricity. another i'm portant phase of the public land ques- tion Is presented There are valuable water power sites through all the public land states.
 The opinion is held that the trans fer of sovereignty from the federal government to the territorial govern ments, as they become states, includ- ed the water power in the rivers ex- cept so far as that owned by riparian prcprietons
 n do not think 1t necessary to go into ad iscussion of this somewhat mooted question of law. It seems to be sufficient to say the man who owns nnd controls the land along the stream from which the power is to be conveyed and transmitted, owns land which is indispensable to the conversion and use of that power.
 T cannot conceive how the power in streams flowing through public lands can be made available at all except by using the land itself as the site for the construction of the plant by which the power in generated, and se- curing a right of way there over for transmission lines.
 Under these conditions, if the gov ernment owns the adjacent land-in- deed, if the government is the ripar- ian owner--it may control the use of the water power by imposing proper conditions or the disposition of the land necessary in the creation and utilization of the waterpower,
 The development in electrical ap- rliances for the conversion of water power into electricity to be transmit ted long distances has progressed so far that it is no longer problematicai but it is certain inference that in the future the power of the water fall ing in streams. to large extent, will take the place of natural fuels.
 Tn the disposition of the domain already granted many water power sites have come under absolute own ership and may drift into one owner ship So that all the water power un' der private ownership shall be mon opoly
 But there are millions of acres or completely arid land in the public do- main which by the establishment or reservoirs for the storing of water