The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-12-13

and without any considerable expenditure on the part of the government. But no important commerce has been developed by this valuable navigation improvement
 without expense of the government because the commerce along this inn provement of 30 miles, and especially tho commerce of the city of Chattanooga, Tenn, located on this stretch of inl- provement, has no outlet being corked up by Muscle Shoals. .
 And now, fortunately for the tax pay CTS of the country, and luckily for the development of the natural resources and commerce In the vast drainage area of the Tennessee river, the costly naviga- tion improvement of the Muscle Shoals stretch of the Tennessee river can be accomplished under plan by which through the development of water power the United States government is repaid all of its expenditure for navigation and water power development and becomes the sole possessor of all tho things for which that expenditure was. made Great Conservation Plan
 "The project carries with 1t the great est single conservation plan on any one water course ever yet proposed to the United States government It is a con servation plan by which the normal high water flow of the Tennessee river is con- served to an extent which makes feasible the development of CSC, 900 horse power at Muscle Shoals where, except by the com bination plan proposed, only 200,O0O horse power could be developed This plan is possible only through the combination of power development on the Tennessee river with the proposed water power develop ments on the Tallapoosa river and Little river (with their extraordinary storage reservoirs), which are tributaries to the Coosa-Alabama river. in the state of Ala bama. It is a conservation plan by which Tthese combined hydroelectric developments will conserve 10.017, 300 tons of coal an- nually. whereas if these three power de- yelopments, one at Muscle Shoals on the Tennessee river. one at Cherokee Bluffs on the Tallapoosa river and one on Little river are made independently of each other, only 5,641.321 tons of coal would be annually conserved.
 Tn connection with the possible develop ment at Cherokee Bluffs on the Talla- poosa river as contemplated in the pro- ject, the committees especial attention Is directed to page B, section D, in House document No. 253 Sixty-third Congress, first session, containing the reports on ex- animation and survey of Etowah, Coosa, Tallapoosa and Alabama rivers.
 'As. stated by the board of engineers for rivers and harbors, this is the first project recommended for cooperation of the United States with power interests in river work on Very large scale While the project as recommended by the board of engineers is new and without a prece- dent, in this respect, however, there are not wanting abundant precedents in which the government has, in very large way co operated with and aided, by the use of the governments credit. in the deyelop- ment of enterprises where such enter prises seemed to be so important in the publics interest and the development of the country as to justify the adoption of cooperative plans by the government. The United States participates and aided in the financing of six of the pioneer rail- roads of this country, namely, the Gen. tral Pacific. the Union Pacific, the Kan sas Pacific, Hannibal and St. Joseph, Sioux City and Pacific and Western Pa cific (all located in the western states), to the exten of s64, ,62S.5l2. Bonds of the United States to this amount were issued to aid the financing and construction of these railroads.
 Not only so the United States has made land grants to aid in the construc- tion of railroads, wagon roads. canal and river Improvements.
 The United States has made land grants in cooperation with and in aid of