The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-08-23
HOUSE PASSES THE
 COOSA RIVER BILL Entire Alabama Delegation
 Takes Part in Debate UNDERWOOD ACTIVE Denies That Government Has Any Right to the Rivers Except for Navigation-Heflin Charges
 Discrimination
UNDERWOOD ACTIVE
BY C. E. STEWART.

| Washington. August 22. 2.-(Special.l l-The
 House today, after hard fight, passed the. Senate bill allowing the Alapama Power Go. to build a dam across tht
 Coosa river miles above Wetumpka foi
 the purpose of generating power for g | hydro-electrlc plant to manufacture iror
 nitrates for fertilizers. The vote wa'
 94 to S7.
 The entire Alabama delegation pres l ent in Congress took an active part ir the fight for this bill either in speeches
 or otherwise urging their colleagues tc support the bill.
 l Representatives Underwood, Clayton
 Hefiin and Burnett all spoke in favor o
 the bill. It was opposed by numbei I of representatives who seemed to bt
 that has recently been raised in Con
 gress by MT. Pinehot and others.
 Not Partisan Question It was not a partisan question, mum
 bers of republicans voting for the meas.
 ere and some democrats against it. In.
 cle Joe Cannon sided with the Alabam.
 ians, and declared that Alabama is en. l tirely capable of taking care of the in l terests of her own people and so far as
 I am concerned l am willing to leave the matter in her hands,
 l It brought up the old question of states rights. MT. Underwood declared "Gentlemen were opposing this propo- sition which means so much for the de- yelopment of Alabama and in which it was proposed to save the government hundreds of thousands of dollars by pri- vate capital developing the navigation of l the Coosa river and at the same time bring great industry to the state which would benefit the farmers all over the south and they were, by so doing, stand ing in the way of progress
 All this water and power is going to waste,' said MT. Underwood, when it could be used as the basis of great industry. do the gentlemen cail that con servation?"
 MT. Underwood held that the govetn. ment had no right to put tax of Sd ! much per horse power on the company I for the right to build the dam. You
 want to put tax on this water for 1 pcwer," he declared, and after awhile
 you will want to tax the water we drink"
 Representative Heflin, who was the champion of the bill in the House, chided the opposition and ridiculed their at titude unmercifully He declared that the gentlemen were willing to vote for a dam across almost ans other river, bui Ee could picture their constituency ris- | ing up as a man and demanding of them their commission in Congress should they presume to vote to dam the Coosa. Charges Discrimination They will vote to dam the Flint riv- er," said Mr. Hefiin, ''or they will vote
 to dam the Tennessee river or the War 1 rior river but when it comes to building l dam across the Coosa river, they will not vote for fl, not by damsite.' ''The gentleman from Illinois," tMr l Foster), said Mir Hefiin. ''who has taker upon himself the task of representing every district in the country is simpls l trying to block legislation in this House creating a great industry for my dis trct, and which will be of great benefit
 not only to my people but to the people of the south, and under the guise of conservation he Is standing in the way 1 of progression"
 | The bill passed the House, without
 amendments and now goes to the Presi- dent and upon his signature will be- come a law.