The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-01-03
SOUNDS WARNING IN
WATER POWER FIGHT
Captain Lay of Gadsden De-
plores Bureaucracy
HE REVIEWS HISTORY
States Efforts Of Certain Element of
Federal Government to Control
Great Alabama Water Deyel-
opments Is Imposition
HE REVIEWS HISTORY
TO the Editor of The Age-Herald:

fNt@ff---a
great danger that threaten. not only fur
ther progress, but the rights of the states
and their citizens in these great natural
resources, / feel that 1 would like to
have something to say on this important
subject, and especially pertaining to the
Coosa-Alabama river.
In doing this, as the long and well
established titles and rights in naviga-
BILE streams is now being more or less
questioned, I shall treat on this partic-
ular point at considerable length.
The Coosa-A Alabama River
Prior to 1923 tho legislature of Ala
bama passed bill to improve the Coosa
river, and in 1924 this act was formally
approved by Congress. For the purpose
of trying to overcome the series of rapids
about midway the length of the Coosa-
Alabama river, the government of the
United States began work on this part
of the river about 40 years ago and
continued the work periodically up to 1890
during which time they completed three
locks and dams, and the dam for the
fourth lock on the upper end of these
rapids, after which they abandoned the
proposed project altogether. Agitation
has been kept up by the people of Ala
baina continuously from the time of the
abandonment of the work in 1890 up to
the present date, urging the government
to again take up this very important
work, but the reply of the government
has always been 'That they did not
think the benefits to general commerce
by said improvement would justify the
expenditure"
AS a means of trying to meet this
objection and at the same time conserve
all tho possibilities of the river we urged
the government 16 or IS years ago to
develop the water powers in connection
with the improvement of the river for
navigation, and for the government it
self to lease out the water powers, there
by creating an asset that we insisted
would justify the government in making
the expenditure. The position we took
and have always taken Though this has
been seriously questioned) was, that if
the government would buy the necessary
land bordering the river, 1t would there
by become the riparian owner. Then if
money in developing its own property for
both navigation and power, the power
being developed incidentally, we felt that
the government would be justly entitled
to the power and could therefore dis
pose of the power as it saw proper How
ever, all of our appeals along this line
fell ON deaf ears and we were again
met with adverse reports.
Not in Water Power Business
We were told by high officials at Wash
ington that the government could not
go into the water power business, that
they could only be interested in naviga-
ton. About this time, in answer to ap
peals we were making to a high repre-
sentative of the government, who had al
ways been against us, he said:
THAT if the water power was as val
liable as we claimed them to be, for us
to get private capital interested in the
development of the power and build as
many of the proposed dams as possible
and in this way tighten the burden on
the federal government and when they
saw we were trying to help ourselves,
they would feel more like helping us"
In line with this suggestion. and also
ment of large portion of the burden.
so it would go on with the work, we
spent many long and weary years as
well as large sums of money in trying
to get private capital interested In the
development of the power on this river
As result of these efforts we finally
succeeded in getting large and clean cap
1tal interested in this most worthy un-
dertaking, from which the present move
for developing the power on this river
by the Alabama Power company is the
outcome.
General Dam Law
As a part of their investigations, the
people We succeeded in getting inter-
ested in the development of the power
on the Coosa- Alabama river. took into
consideration the general dam law as
the same now stands on the statute
books of the United States. They also
took into consideration the expressions
contained in circular No. IA, issued by
the war department. April IA, 1905, and
Endorsed by the Honorable Secretary of
War William H. Taft January II, 1905.
as being comprehensive, accurate and
Instructive: as declaration on the part
OF the United States as to it's nolicy
regarding the building of dams across
navigable streams for the development
of power. With these declarations on
the part of the government outstand-
ing, these people had right to expect
a grant from the federal government
approving the construction of dams
across the Coosa- Alabama river, by the
riparian owners, at places selected for
the building of such dams for the inn
prcvement of navigation, and for the
government now to fail or refuse to
issue such an approval is breech of
Aood faith.
Rights and Titles
Water powers in their natural or un-
developed state belong to the riparian
owners and is held by them under the
sovereignty ana control of the state
This is a property right in which the
riparian owners are protected by the
constitution, and from which they can
not be divested without consent. except
by due process of law for public pur-
poses, upon just compensation. This
right is the same IN both navigable and
non-nayigable streams in every state OF
the union. The only difference being
that in navigable streams, the riparian
rights are subordinate to navigation.
The use of all nayigable rivers of the
United states for highways for COM
merce is an inherent right in the pub
lie, and Is inalienaole from the public
and paramount to all other interests.
Except where the government is a
riparian owner, all the right, title or
interest it has in any navigable river
of the constitution, which gives it the