The Cairo bulletin., 1910-01-15
lEiz1aaEE MH q xlgIHTI5s.,

conditions Offering on the one hand
sufficient inducement to private capi-
tai to take them over for proper de-
yelopment, with restrictive conditions
on the other which shall secure to
the public that character Of control
which will prevent a monopoly or mis-
use OF the lands or their products.
The power of the secretary of the i'll
terror to withdraw from the operation
of existing statutes tracts Of land. the
disposition of which under such sta
tutes would be detrimental to the
public interest. is not clear or salts
factory. This. power has bean eXer-
G18ed- ia The interest of the public
with the hope that congress might af
firm the action of the executive laws
adapted to the new conditions. TN
fortunately congress has not thus
far fully acted on the recommends.
tions Of the executive and the ques-
tion us to what the executive is to
do is, under the circumstances full
of difficulty.
Controlling Power Rights.
With respect to the public land
which lies along the streams Offering
opportunity to convert water power
into transmissible Electricity to an
other. important phase Of the public
land question is presented. There
are valuable water power sites
through all the public land states. The
opinion is held that the transfer of
sovereignty from the federal govern
ment to the territorial governments
as they become states, included the
water power in the rivers except so
far as that owned by riparian pro,
prietors. | do not think it necessary
to 20 into a discussion of this some.
what mooted question Of law. 1t seems
to me sufficient to say that the man
who owns aud controls the land along
the stream from which the power il
to he converted and transmitted, owns
land which is indispensable to the
cuversion and use of that power. !
cannot cnceiye 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 right of way
thGrpuver for transmission lines I'm.
der these conditions, if the govern
ment owns thesadjacent land indeed
If the government is the riparian
owner-it may control the use Of the
water power by imposing proper con
ditions on the disposition OF the land
necessary in the creation aud utilza-
ton of the water power
Suggests Fifty Year Leases.
The development in electrical ap-
rliances for the conversion of water
power into electricity to be trans
mitted long distances has progressed
so far that IL is no longer problemati-
cal. hut il is certain inference that
in the future the power of the water
falling in the streams to large eX-
tent will take the place of natural
fuels. In the disposition of the domain
already granted, many water power
sites have come under absolute owner
ship and may drift into one ownership
so that all the water power under
private ownership shall be q monop-
oily If, however, the water power
sites now owned by the government
and there arc enough of them shall
be disposed of to private persons for
the investment Of their capital in such
a way as 10 prevent their union for
purposes Of monopoly with other
water power sites, and under coudi.
tions that shall limit the right of use
to not exceeding fifty years with
proper means for determining reason
able graduated rental and some eaui..
able provision for fixing terms of re-
newal, il would seem entirely pos