The midland journal., 1916-04-21

interests Get Measure Through
U. s. Senate.
April 10, 1916.
Ewing Bros,
Editors The Midland Journal,
Rising Sun, Md.
My dear Sirs:-
The iniQuitous Shields bill, giving
away the waterpowers on our
navigable streams, about which
wrote you ON February 15, has been
driven through the Senate, but it has
not passed the House. There is still
a good chance not only to stop this
raid on public property, but to pass q
fair and honest waterpower bill in
its place.
Everything said about the
Shields bill in my letter to you was
confirmed in the debate. Accord
ing to its own supporters, this bill
turns over to the power interests
waterpower equivalent to twice the
mechanical power of every kind now
used in the United States, or enough
to meet the needs of two hundred
million people. This it does in per-
petuity. although pretending to limit
the grant to fifty years. Small won
der there is pressure to get it
| through.
On March 21 substitute for the
Shields bill was reported to the
House Of Representatives. Unlike
the Shields bill, this House bill
makes no perpetual grant of public
waterpower. but wisely and in fact
sets a limit Of fifty years. Never
theless, 1t is not yet a good bill.
For example, it gives away the pub
lie waterpowers without compensa-
ton. There is no reason why the
waterpower corporations should not
pay for what they get. The rest of
US do. The house bill should be
amended accordingly.
II the House correots its own bill
and then passes it, the good bill
from the House and the bad bill
from the Senate will go to confer
ence. and the difference will be adj
justed by the conferees. The
managers OF the waterpower cam
paign believe that a majority of
the conferees will be friendly to
them, and will report bill in their
interest. They will then try to
rush the conference bill through
probably in the confused and crowd
ed final hours of the session. Such
a plan has often served the special
interests in the past, and it is
dangerous now.
During the debate on the Shields
bill, this course was openly advised.
There was under discussion an
amendment giving preference to the
applicant for public waterpower
who offeres the best terms to the
public. One Of the supporters of.
the Shields bill, Senator Nelson of
Minnesota. after referring to the
amendment as bad and vicious"
went on to say: ''It is something
that we can eliminate in conference.
We might let it go in and then dis
pose of it in conference" (Con-
gressional Record, March 8, 1915,
page 42S5.)
We can beat this plan only by
letting the people understand the
facts. This the power interests
have set out to prevent by confusing
the public mind with interested
statements and personal attacks.
/ am asking for your help once
more to get the House to pass a
good bill, and then to stand by 1t,
no matter what the conferees may
do. II the House stands firm. the
people will win this fight. But the
House needs to know that the people
are behind it.
Let me call your attention again
to the Ferris bill, good bill dealing |
with waterpower on public lands and
National Forests, which has twice
passed the House. An undesirable
substitute, the Myers bill. now be-
fore the Senate, gives the public
waterpowers away in perpeiuity
Under it, the power interests could
occupy and exploit the Grand Can
on itself, the greatest natural won
der on this continent.
The waterpower interests want
everything or nothing. In the last |
eight years they have killed eight
waterpower development bills that
were fair both to the corporations
and to the public. What the people
need is waterpower development on
equitable terms without further de-
lay. They can have what they want
by letting the House know 1t.
=. Sincerely yours,
CLIFFORD PINCHOT.