Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-11-16

NdtlOudl wafer Herce-aTe
Power Policy soms,h,ur snout the
kind of report which will be made by the
| committee on water power of the Ma
tional Conservation Congress- which is
! meeting in this city during the coming
| week. Through number of bureaus
which are interested in the development
| of a national water power policy a re-
| port has been spread that there may be
! considerable difficulty in bringing the
committee of distinguished electrical en-
| gineers and water power experts to agree
on any one report and that It is proba BILE
| that minority report will be submitted
to the congress.
Water power and forestry have been
listed as the two important subjects to be
considered by the conservation congress
which meets in Washington for the first
tine since the Roosevelt conservation
conference or governors in 1908. but it
Is generally understood by government
experts connected with the various bu
feaus that most interest will center on
water power. in view of the fact that the
governments forest policy is fairly well
fixed. is generally agreed upon. and offers
little opportunity for discussion
| Dr. George r. Swain professor of en-
gineerIng of Harvard University, is chair
| man OF the water power committee of the
NATIONAL Conservation Congress- and as
soclated with him on the committee are
Ginord Pinchot. chairman of the Roose-
vet conservation commission and former
chief of the United States forest service:
Henry L. Stimson, Secretary of War I'M
der President Taft Louis B. StiIIwer an
engineer of New York city: Representa-
i've \. r Lever OF South Carolina: Prof
.naries .. Van Htse of the University of
wisconsin, Nj. O. Leighton former chief
hydrogfapher of the United States geo
ioSical survey. now a consulting engineer
III Washington. D. c., E. S Webster an
engineer of Boston, and b. NJ Hall. an
engineer of Atlanta, Ga, and Joseph NJ
real or oregon, leading conseryationist
on the Pacific coast. who was mentioned
Tor place in President Wilson's cabinet
~ Vi these men are recognized experts
IN the handling of water power proble,ns
With such keenly defined ideas of thear
own mat 1t is feared that there NAV
De a sharp clash of opinions A meeting
OF the run committee has not been he'd.
although there has been considerable
correspondence and several conferences
OF groups in the committee Tomorrow
the committee will hold its first full
meeting i'll NJ O. Leightons office in
.his city. Everything poss BILE will be
done 10 get the agreement of the COM
mittee on one report because there is a
general desire on the part of both the con
serVatlVe members of the committee and
those with further advanced ideas that
a O.
port may open bitter controversy and
result IN further delay toward the solu-
on OF the water power problem. which
mas been the subject of much discussion
for the last six years
IL Is expected that the committeeS 20
port will be submitted Tuesday after
noon 70 the conservation congress, and
mat Wednesday morning the discussion
VIII be opened by various authorities on
the conservation and DEVELOPMENT of
water resources As tot. 6
the Wilson administration it is expected
that Secretary Lane of the Interior De-
partment. who has already announced
ms support or advance ideas in water
power legislation, will speak. and it is
also planned that Secretary of War Gar
r'son VIII take up the water power prob
lem from the viewpoint of the army en-
slneers, who have authority over the
construction of power dams on navigable
streams Secretary Houston of the
Department of Agriculture speaks Tues
DAY, the first day of the meeting on
farm problems. but it is expected that
ne VIII also have considerable to say
about water power there during his ad-
dress. or that he will join in the discus
sion Wednesday morning The forest
service. which IS one of the bureaus I'M
der the direction of Secretary Houston
mas control of the development of power
on the national forests in the western
states and in Alaska, which aggregate
nearly 2h,OOn0OO acres of land
While public interest in the conserva-
ton of water power has never been
aroused it has in the discussion of
the tariff, various government experts
believe that national water power
policy is one of the most important sub
jects which will come up for early
consideration by the Wilson administra-
ton. Electricity is coming into wider
use every year and control of power
viii soon mean the control of not only
transportation, the telephone, the tele-
sIY,, yict,f
but to large degree the control of
many private enterprises, such as
factories which depend upon d supply of
cheap electricity for power
Up until six or eight years ago val
liable water power rights were given
away by the government in perpetuty
and practically without provision for
future regulation to protect the publics
interests. With the increasing i'm
portance of electricity in every line of
industry and commerce. however. there
came demand to stop the gifts of
power to private corporations without
valuable consideration This movement
was at first fou~ht vigorously but
at the present time it is agreed to prac-
ticaly by all the progressive engineering
interests of the country AS Well by
the leaders of all the principal political
parties and heads of various government
bureaus which have to deal with water
power problems.
X K
There is no rest for the weary germ.
II is the hope of public health experts to
close all of the places
Finger Bowls of refuge for the bacil-
r:4 Ii of typhoid tubercu-
Ansahl.a'y' losis and other com
municable diseases. The common drink
ing cup and common roller towel are
strongholds of germdom which already
have been attacked with considerable
success by health authorities of the
United States government, various NUM-
cipalties, transportation companies and
private concerns.
Early in the present year a surgeon o.
the United States public health service.
nI c. II. Lavinder. made the first Off
cial attack on another great institution
of the civilized world-the finger bowl
which he looks upon as a haven for germs
of all varieties, and the use of which
he denounced as one of the most obJec-
tionable customs practiced by the PEG
pie of all nations today.
Since DR. lavinder's attack on the sell
dom washed and much abused finger bowl
hotel men in all parts of the country
have taken up the fight and, judging
from the reports which have come in to
Surgeon General Blue of the tniteN
States public health service, the days o.
the finger bowl are numbered. Almost
every week there is a report OF some ho-
tel mems association declaring against