Evening star., 1912-11-19
CALLS IT POLITICS.
Secretary Fishers View OF
Water Power Legislation.
PROPER LAWS IMPORTANT
Opinion Announced at Conference on
Lands in California.
ii
REpREsENTs MANY INTERESTS
Oscar T. Crosby Expresses opposi-
ton to Regulation Of Charges
by National Commission.
REPRESENTS MANY INTERESTS

This is politics. said Secretary Of the
Interior Fisher. emphasiz ng the verb. dis
cussing the proposed federal and state
legislation governing the state conserva-
Ion and regulation OF water power de-
velopnnent on United States lands in Cal
ifornia at q conference OF interests In
this and similar conditions from all over
the United States. The conference was
opened yesterday in the Secretary's room
at the department. He was responding es-
pecially to the exposit on Of the attitude
Of capital interested set forth by Oscar
7. Crosby. Washington attorney, who
had urged that politics be kept out Of
he consideration of the problem.
This sort Of thing ought to be
politics., continued Mr.. Fisher. "A lot
pie into he belief that other things
Are politics. like election. and choice of
men to office But economic interests
are true poll les. and ways and means
10 attain proper legislation are poiit-
,cal function in the generally under
stood meaning OF the term"
Secretary Fisher vigorously pointed out
10 representatives OF the California rail-
way and water commissions. power cor
porations and others, that he believed the
.etufns OF any corporation was funda-
mentally wrong. because 1t did not en-
courage e---c.ency In management he
said he favored local control Of utilities
ferred by revocable federal permits based
on agreement of the corporations to con-
form to the reasonable regulations of
the states.
commission and the state water commits
sion Of California, especially interested
in the pending conference. were present.
Representatives Of California water
power companies. invited to be present
by the state commission; members Of the
National Electric Light Association. COM
prising light and power corporations
throughout the country; members Of the
| American Institute Of Electrical Engi-
neers and representatives OF all inter-
ested water Iower companies operating
| on government lands, at the request Of
| the Secretary Of the Interior, also
| were on hand
Participants In Conference.
Prof. c. D. Marx Of Leland Stanford.
| jr.. University, chairman Of the state
water commission. represented the state
| of California. Guy c. Earl and II. H.
Trowbridge were the emissaries Of Cali
forn.a power corporations. Others present
| In representative capacity were D. l..
Huntington. president of the Washington
water Power Company; Josiah T. New
| comb of New York, formerly of this city.
and ]. II. Ffnney Of the Aluminium Com
pany of America.
oscar Terry Crosby of Warrenton Va,
| president of public utility corporations in
wilmington, Del, Chester, Pa. and Tren-
ton. N. j., was the principal speaker for
the power companies. He opposed leav-
ing to state commissions the right to de-
term ne the question of reasOnableness
L r0 feS a md hot rx~hn
| had regulated its corporations there was
virtually nothing for the Secretary OF the
| anterior to DO about 1t. He attacked
| the competency Of state commissions to
| go into the question Of fiscal operations
| Of the companies.
THE task Of going to the national gov
ernment for remedial legis4at.on," he
said. even for confessed wrong, splendid
task that can be put upon man." He
| declared that motives were assailed by
blackjack" Onslaughts that impeded anu
| blocked fair consideration Of any propo-
| sitiOn advanced by capital.
Mem bers Of the California railway and
water commissions defended the commits
sion form of control saying corporations
really wanted to weaken the arm of the
state regulating power.
A warning that hydro-electric devel-
opment probably would have to face the
economic development of the United
States, which had imposed national regu-
lation of railways upon the nation. vas
delivered by Secretary Fisher, replying
to Mr.. Crosby. He suggested that the
wtsest course in considering the present
situation would be to develop legislation
along these revolutionary lines, as less
liable to be mistaken and to make work
that might have to be done over again.
Question Of Fee.
The concrete issue. as he set il forth,
xr,t,0 tlAy he
quire a fee from water-power develop.n
companies on government lands, the fee
to be applied to the conservation Of
the water course and the watershed,
or whether no fee should be charged.
He believed 1t right that the develop
ing capital which profited from the pro-
lection of the water course and shed
should pay for 1t rather than that the
expense should be put upon the tax
payer.
He agreed with the general principle
that local utilities commissions were bet
ter qualified by intimacy with local con-
dittons to undertake he functions Of GEN.
commission. He. however, cited the ex-
perience Of corporation which declared
that state commissions had SO curtailed
the profits of operation that profits had
Viewpoint Of Congress.
No matter what individual or collec-
tive view the conference might hold
regarding interstate regulation by ma
tional commission. Mr.. Fisher said he
doubted THAT Congress or public opin-
ion would yield the propriety Of such
Legislation. He deemed it best to pro-
coed along lines amenable to this gen.
eral view, as the line of least resist
ance.
The problem. as Mr.. Fisher elaborated
1t, for the conference was to decide
whether national tax for permit to