The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1910-01-14

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which there are valuable deposits Of
coal, oil and phosphate, and in ai-
dition thereto. to preserve control,
under conditions favorable to the
public, of lands, along the streams in
which the fall of water can be made
to generate power to be transmitted
in the form of electricity many miles
to the points of it's use, known as
water power sites.
| Investigations into violations of
public land laws and prosecution of
land frauds have been vigorously
continued under my administration,
as has been the Withdrawals of coal
lands for classification and valuation,
and the temporary withholding of
! power sites.
Since March 4, 1909, temporary
| Withdrawals Of power sites have been
| made on 102 streams and these with
drawals therefore cover 229 per cent
more streams than were covered by
the Withdrawals made prior to that
date
The present statutes, except so far
as they dispose of precious metals
and purely agricultural lands, are not
adapted to carry out the modern
view of the. best disposition of public
lands to private ownership. under
conditions offering, on the one hand.
sufficient inducement to private capt.
| tai to take them over for proper de-
velopment with restrictive conditions.
and, on the other, which shall secure
to the public that character of con-
troll which will prevent a monopoly
or misuse of the lands, or their pro-
ducts.
with respect to the public land
which lies along the streams offering
opportunity to convert water power
important phase of the public ques-
ton is presented. There are valuable
water power sites through all public
land states. Opinion is held that
the transfer of sovereignty from fed
| eraI government to territorial gov
ernments as they become states, in
cludes water power in rivers except
that owned by riparian proprietors.
| do not think it necessary to go into
a discussion of this somewhat mooted
question of law. 1t seems to me SUI
| ficient to say that the man who owns
and controls the land along the
stream from which the power is to
| be converted and transmitted, owns
land which is indispensable to the
conversion and use of that power.
can not 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 is generated and
| converted and securing a right of way
| thereover for transmission lines I'm
| der these conditions, if the govern
ment owns the adjacent lands-in-
deed, if the government is the ripar-
| ian owner-it may control the use of
water power by imposing proper and
! disposition of land necessary in the
creation and utilization of water
power.
Development in electrical ap-
/ pliances for the conversion of water
power into electricity to be transmit
ted long distances has progressed so
far that it is no longer problematical,
the future power of water flowing in
the streams to large extent will
take the place of natural fuels.
I'm 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-
i der private ownership shall be a
monopoly. IL, however, the water
power sites now owned by the gov
ernment-and there are enough of
them-shall be disposed of to private
persons for the investment of their
capital in such way as to prevent
their union for purposes of monopoly
with other water power sites, and
under conditions that shall limit the
right of use to not exceeding fifty