The Mena weekly star., 1913-11-27
Former Chief Forester Says Water Power of the Nation Is
 MOnOpOliZed.
Says Control of Power Means Con trOl of Industry, and in End
 Political Control.
TIME TOFICHTI IS NOW"
Conservation Congress Is Urged to Put an End 10 the Present Rapid Tendency Toward COncentra-
 ton Into Few Hands.

Washington Nov. l9.-With the declaration that the water power of She United States rapidly was pass ang under monopolistic control, Gif- ford Pinchot, former chief forester of the government. told delegates to the National Conservation Congress today that stern methods must be adopted to offset the tendency. His address was accepted by some of khe delegates as a defiance to those gho were said TO seek the loosening of federal control and an extension sf the regulatory powers of the in aiYidual states.
 "Time to Fight"
 If the public rights cannot be recognized without conflict" said Pinchot with emphasis. then we shall have to fight, and if we fight BOW is the time
 Henry x. Graves. head of the United States forest service, and E.. A. Sterling, director of the Ameri- gan Forestry Association, also were % discuss national forest and meth ads for their protection.
 Pinchot declared that the devel- opment of water power under safe guards was the greatest necessity of the whole water power situation He quoted figures collected by the Federal Bureau of Corporations and she National Conservation Associa- tion intended to show that cOncen- sration of water power control had aearly doubled in the past two years.
 Increase of Control Is Rapid.
 1Iu the last seven years" he said, the concentration of control in the len greatest groups has increased about seven time faster than the total of all water power developed n the United States. If this is not monopoly in the making, where can 1t be shown? Commercial power to Shis degree is political power. and there lies the great danger.
 "It is argued that concentration of wafer power controls Is lncreas- ing faster than power developed Because high risks and low returns Keep capital away. But, according 50 the figures published by one of 4he ten greatest groups of power interests, in the last ten years the aet earnings of the gas and electric companies of the United States have aeVer dropped below 8 per cent, as against 4.25 per cent for railroads and 7.79 per cent for industrial cor porations.
 Danger to Industry.
 The control of any source of me shanical pOWers-coal, oil, natural gas, water pOWer-carries with it control over the industries which require the power, as the rapidly increasing domination of water power interests over electric lights and street railway companies well illustrates.
 Under these circumstances We ind that the control of the water power business, like the control of 3he oil business. the meat business and the anthracite coal business is passing into a few strong hands.
 Like coal, meat and oil. mechani- cal power from falling water is a necessity of modern life. Control aver a necessity of life is control over fine people who must have that necessity. Private monopOlization of any necessity of life means pri- yate control over the people with out responsibility tO the people.
 Increase Cost of Living.
 Tt means also the power to in- crease the cost of necessaries of Fife and therefore the cost of living without regard to the public inter est, up to whatever point will yield She largest profit
 Pinchot continued with a denial of the assertion that full and com Dlete regulation of water powers would check their development. The advances made in development of such powers in the national forests m the past two years, he said, showed the fallacy of the conten- sion