Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-08-30


-. -. -.,,...., ,...,.,.,,,,, 49,. ,,b,.,
~. s.,s,., .,.a.,,,,,,, =, a.. a,roo-se 80
s,,,,,a.. 20 sni,.., 'sha,, ,,,dor,.tlo 80 40
- -. a.. A,,,.1a.t,t6ns 80 VNyh,,o
,,,,,,,,at,s 90 ,ho 80 ~, 4. noc, do,ng
a, A.. poo,s,, ,,,o,,,,slns here on, v,est n
,,,,,,iS No hoth 4. caiar,It,, ana a, absurai,y
o.. 81 ,s,,o,ai ,,,,.o.,,,,,.,,, ,,,,., 80 40 an
r. ,,,.st 49,, -, ,h,ns ,hat - n bosvv
,,oo,,nt.r,, 90, !, ,s ,r,,,nv 40 MAJ 4, M
90, a., .o,,,ai oxnori.nho An The east ve
-. 800 -, ,,,,. 80, .hat a.. ratto, and
~, ~ sa,,.ra, s,o,os can heat Guard the
,,,..rs... 20 49, ,,oo,io ,n az u,ot,er ~ ,hn
$500. 80 ar nators a,d ,hs, AZ ~ faus
- a,to,,,, ,hts d,,,,, =, ,ho o,tset a. sill
to,or a. ha,,a 20 ns,, b.a,Il,, in order IN
~. ,,,.,,.d A., 49, 80, a.. ,,ort ,,bicb Ne
.o,,.a 4, 4. 49, -, ia,o oan,ot n. "a veil
49,. a. 90 =, "a ~ h.s,,, eerI,sr
49,, -,
- ,' -, a..
~ ~. I,'s..s,a,,. 1900.
49,. L.. ~ 49,. go. a.,
$500, s-s'.,.-. - "a. as,,,s.r,, 80.
80. -, ,o,tlas .,,,,,I. -, o., ,,oars
Ir,Sor,,,na,.I,, ,ho reoIiza,ion hss come too
iato az regards rnsnv ~ the po,yor sites.
~. 49,, %, ,o,,,at, ,,,th mitch 81, hands
-. &C. 90 daaI w. sho,td r,,Lo ~ our
dntv m see that hereafter the mower sites
are kent under the control Of the general
government for the use of the people as
= ,vholo The fee should remain with the
people as a whole. while the use is leased
on terms which shall secure an ample re-
ward to the lessees. which snail encourage
the DEVELOPMENT and use of the water
power, but which shall not create a per-
manent monopoly or permit the develop
ment to be anti-social to be in any respect
hostile to the public good. The nation alone
has the power to do this effectively, and
It is for this reason that you will find these
corporations, which wish to gain improper
advantage and to be freed from efficient
control on the part of the public. doing all
that they can to secure the substitution OF
state for national action
There is something fairly comic In the
appeal made by many Of these men in
favor OK state control when you reahze
that the great corporations seeking the
privileges Of developing the water power
In any given state are at least as apt &c
be owned outside the state as within II
In this country nowadays, capital has Q
national and not a state use. The great
corporations which are managed and
largely owned In the older states are those
which are most in evidence In developing
and using the mines and water powers and
forests Of the new territories and the new
states. from Alaska to Arizona have
been genuinely amused during the last two
months at having arguments presented tc
me on behalf Of certain rich men from New
York and Ohio, for instance, as to why
Colorado and other Rocky Mountain states
should manage their own water power
sites. Now these men may be good citi'
Gems, according to their lights, but naturally
enough their special interests obscure
their sense of public need, and as theiI
object Is to escape an efficient control
exercised In the interest Of all the people
OF the country, they clamor to be put
under the state instead Of under the ma
ton. II we are foolish enough to gram
their requests, we shall have ourselves t.
blame when we wake up and find tha
we have permitted another privilege to in
trench itself and another portion Of wha
should be kept for the public good to b.
turned over to individuals for purposes o
private enrichment. During the last ses
sion OF congress bills were introduced tc
transfer the water power sites In the ma
tional forests and the public domain to tn
control of the states. I cannot state too
strongly my belief that these measures ar
unwise and that 1t would be 'disastrous {
enact them into law. In substance thei
effect would be to free these great spe
cial interests from all effective control
The passage of such bill would be
i victory Of the special interests over tn
4 general welfare, and long backwar
step down the hill of progress we hav
/ OF late been climbing.
Our people have for many years pro
i ceeded upon the assumption that the ma
i ton should control the public land. ]
is to this assumption Of national outloo
that we owe our wlsest land legislatio
from the Homestead law to the Irriga
ton law. The wise use OF our public dc
main has always been conditioned upo
national action. The states can great
heIp. but the nation must take the lead a
regards the land as regards the fores,
and waters. ana perhaps peculiarly IN IN
casa ~ the x,atars hecauso a1r,ost n