The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1910-08-29

ular rights; and as to these l believe
in states rights. But there are large
classes Of cases where only the au-
thority Of the national government
will secure the rights of the people,
nd where this is the case l am q
Ill., eced and thorough-going be-
iR g. the rights Of the national
govepeef,. u Big business, for in
stance, Is onger an affair of any
one state; big business has become
nationalized, and the only effective
way of controlling and directing it,
and preventing abuses in connection
with it, is by having the people ma
tionalize this control in order to pre-
vent their being exploited by the in
dividuals who have nationalized the
business. All commerce on a scale
sufficiently large to warrant any con-
troll over it by the government is now
adays Interstate or foreign COM
merce; and until this fact is heartily
acknowledged and acted upon by both
courts and legislative bodies, national
and state alike, the interest of the
people will suffer.
"1n the matter of conservation, l
heartily approve Of state action where
under our form of government the
state only. has the power to act.
cordially join with those who desire
TO see the state, within. it's own sphere
take the most advanced position in re-
gard to the whole matter of conser-
walton. have taken exactly this at
titude in my own state of New York.
Where the state alone had power to
act, l have done all could OF get it
to act in the most advanced manner,
and where the nation could act, l
have done all could to get national
! action in the same direction. I'm
fortunately, in the east we have in
this matter paid the penalty of not
having our forest land under national
control; and the penalty has been Sc
we're. Most of the states-although
they are old states have not pro-
tected their forests, each failing to
act by itself, because the action was
really the common concern. of all;
and where action is the common con-
cern of all, experience. has shown that
it can oniy be prontably undertaken
by the national government. ..
Water Power.
Take the question of the control
of the water power sites. The enor-
nous Importance Of water power sites
to the future industrial development
Of this country has only been realized
within a very few years. Unfortu-
nately, the realization has come too
late as regards many of the power
sites; but many yet remain with
which our hands are free to deal. We
should make it our. duty to see that
hereafter the power sites are kept
under the control of the general gov
ernment, for the use Of the people as
whole. The fee should remain with
the people as a whole, while the use
is leased on terms which shall Sc
cure an ample reward to the lessees,
which shall encourage the develop
ment and use of the water power, but
which shall not create permanent
monopoly or permit the development
to be anti-social, to be in any respect
hostile to the public good. The ma
ton alone has the power to do this
effet lively, and it Is for this reason
that you will find these corporations
which wish to gain improper advant-
age and to be freed from efficient con-
troll on the part of the public, doing
all that they can to secure the sub
stitution of state for national action.
"There is something fairly comic in
the appeal made by many of these
men in favor of state control when
you realize that the great corpora
tions seeking the privileges of devel-
oping the water power in any given
state are at least as apt to be owned
outside the state as within 1t. In
this country, nowadays. capital has a
national and not state use. The
great corporations which are manag-
ed 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 past two months at having argu-
ments presented to me on behalf of
certain rich men from New York and
Ohio. for instance, as to why Colo
RADIO and other Rocky mountain
states should manage their own wa
ter power sites. Now these men may
be good citizens according to their
lights, but naturally their special In
CeroSCS OOSCuTO Luc1T boubc VI puUAAC
need; and as their object Is to escape
an eficient control. exercised in the
interest of all the people Of the coun-
try, they clamor to be put under the
state instead Of under the nation. II
we are foolish enough to grant their
requests, we shall have ourselves to
blame when we wake up and find that
we have permitted another privilege
to intrench itself and another portion
of what should be kept for the public
good to be turned over to individuals
for the purpose of private enrichment.
During the last session Of congress
bills were introduced to transfer the
water power sites in the national for
ests and the public domain to the con-
troll Of the states. I cannot state too
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