Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1914-03-12

favor of granting what amounts to a
subsidy of American vessels sailing
north and south. 1t would be curl
Gus thing if a Democratic house with
in two weeks of the big gathering at
Baltimore had repudiated one of the
planks Of the platform.
Now some of the Democrats are
saying that time has brought a diff
ferent viewpoint. If administration"
were substituted for time" the
Democratic utterance probably would
be nearer the truth. Mr.. Wilson de-
sfres the repeal of the exemption
clause. Probably his party, after hav-
ing done one thing, will do the re-
verse thing at his order. 1t very like
ly is righteous proceeding, but it is
none the less a curious one.
Position of the Opponents.
Members of congress who are eager
for large appropriations for rivers and
harbors also are eager that the tolls
exemption provision shall stand as it
is. This is natural, for the waterway
commerce men are proponents of
means of communication which act as
checks on railway rate extortions, or
at any rate are supposed so to do,
The rivers and harbors advocates
make no secret of their opposition
and it is impossible for them to make
any secret of the reason for attack
ing it.
Pinchot Scores a Point.
A compromise has been made be-
tween the conservationists who be-
lieve in federal control and those who
have stood by states dights. Perhaps
it is not right to call it a compromise,
for the federal conservationists really
won a victory. Secretary Of War Gar
rison struck one of his flags to Gift
ford Pinchot and did it with the ap-
parent approval of Woodrow Wilson.
A few days ago President Pinchot of
the National Conservation association,
who, as everybody knows, was once
chief forester Of the government, and
one of the center figures in the Bal
lingerPinchot trouble which occurred
during the Taft administration, wrote
letter attacking q bill which was
introduced by Senator Martin Of Vir-
ginia, chairman of the senate commit
tee on appropriations. Secretary Of
War Garrison gave his approval to
Senator Martins bill, which was known
as the Roanoke river dam bill. Con-
corning this bill Mr.. Pinchot wrote:
The enactment into law of the Ro-
anoke river dam BILL now on the cal
endar and likely to be acted upon in
the senate within the next few days,
threatens to be the most serious blow
the conservation policy has received
since it first became a national ques-
ton. The bill makes no provision for
payment to the public in return for
the great values it turns over to pri-
vate hands. 1t provides no safeguards
against either monopoly or eXtortion-
ate charges to the consumer. Since
1907 the fight for water power has
been the heart of the conservation
fight and that is true now. 1t is of
critical Importance that the Roanoke
river dam bill shall not pass"
Garrison Backs Pinchot.
Few such letters as this have ap-
peared in years in open and bold at
tack on measure proposed by con-
gress. One has to go back some years
to find its counterpart. Pinchot wrote
one much like it, or at any rate ut
tered words much like those in the
present letter, at the time that a Re-
publican congress was trying to put
through what was called the James
river dam bill. The day after Mr..
Pinchot's last letter appeared con-
gressmen and the public were amazed
by the appearance of a statement from
Secretary of War Garrison to the effect
that Mr.. Pinchot was right in his con-
tention, and that the secretary was
led unwittingly to give approval to a
bill of whose terms he knew little.
1t now appears that Mr. Garrison
found on his desk one morning a
large amount of material to sign. 1t
is the custom in the department to at
tach a little red tag to every letter
or document which it is of prime i'm
portance that the secretary should
read before signing. There is a vast
amount of routine matter which it is
not necessary for cabinet officer to
read, and so the custom has risen to
attach the red tag to those things
which he must read. Either there was
no red tag attached to the Roanoke
river dam bill or else the secretary
overlooked it and gave his approval
without knowledge Of its contents.
Wilson's Water Power Policy.
Congress now has before it wa
ter power regulation plan which has
the approval of the administration. 1t
is not a bill, probably, with which a
majority Of the Democratic members
of congress feel sympathy.
Briefly, the Administrations water
power policy will be to keep the con-
troll of power sites in government
hands. The last word of permission
to do this or to do that, must come
from the secretary Of war. Those
who wish to dam navigable stream
and incidentally create water power
must at the present obtain the right
to do SO from their state, and then
must obtain authority from the con-
gress." Under the bill the individual
state is given greater authority In the
cases than it had before, but checks
are provided and Uncle Sam main
tains the contru: and the right to
guard the interests Of his wards.
In seeking a business, the college
boy almost invariably fails to inquire