Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-07-24
WAR is CLOAK FOR STEALING
PUBLIC LANDS,
BY Frederick Monroe.

BY Frederick Monroe.
War is always the cloak for capital
istic stealing. Not only is this accom-
plished by means of fat contracts for
rotten supplies and munitions, as nap
pened in the Civil war and the Spanish
American war-the well-remembered
"embalmed beef days-but war is the
cloak for stealing of public lands ana
resources.
1t was during the Civil war days that
the great transconinental railroads
( put over" the enormous land steals
for which the country has had to Pay
dearly ever since.
Similarly, preparedness" is now
the cloak for the most barefaced at
tempts to steal resources still in pub
lie hands, that has taken place in re-
cent years. The Mexican crisis" oc-
cupies the headlines and front pages
of our newspapers, and serves to dull
the public interest in vital economic
questions.
Four big steals are now being at
tempted in congress, equal in all re-
spects to the famous "Ballinger-Pin-
chot" controversy over the Cunning
ham coal claims in Alaska which so
stirred the country during the Taft adj
ministration, and which resulted in
the political upheaval that brought the
democratic administration into power.
A Notorious Power Bill.
The worst of these is the Shields
water power bill. In a report on this
measure by the National Conservation
association it is stated that under its
terms AN amount Of water power suf-
ficient TO meet the needs of 100000, 900
people will be granted in perpetuity
TO the water power interests. 1t goes
further and gives away the use of this
incredibly valuable public property
without compensation The worst
feature of the bill is the practically
perpetual grant. Although it is made
to appear that the grant is for 80 years,
the 50-yeaF limit is set in fact not upon
the grant by upon the right of the
United States or other public agency
to condemn the property. Under this
bill municipal ownership Of water
power is made practically impossible.
AS a matter Of fact it has been so
drawn as to make it impraCticable for
the people to take their own water
powers back into their own hands.
This it does not only by the jOkered
limit of so years, but also by opening
the way for indefinite litigation, and
by the use of language under which the
United States might be required to
take over and pay for the whole cleo
trio lighting system of a city or the
whole equipment of manufacturing
plants in order to get possession again
of a water power owned by the people. a"
Hits at Public Ownership.
The Shields bill applies to the re
naming water powers still in public
control on navigable rivers, over which
congress has jurisdiction under the
constitution.
A companion bill to this Shields bill
is the equally vicious Myers water
power bill, applying to the remaining
public power sites on public lands and
national forests. 1t was reported to
the senate on March II as a committee
substitute for a house bill BY its ex-
press terms, and without any restric-
ton whatever, it allows the CONNER
cial exploitation to an unlimited de-
gress of national forests and national
monuments, including specifically the
Grand Canyon national monument
Under its terms, the officers of the
government could not refuse to give
a lease however injurious the proposed
water power development might be to
natural scenery or however much it
might interfere with the main purpose
of the national forests.
1t would transfer Jurisdiction over
water power on national forests from
the agricultural department to the in
terror department. The forest service
IS now providing for water power de-
Yelopment under permits, but the
power grabbers want to get rid of the
forest service administration, which in
a measure protects the public interest
The Myers bill grants d lease, which.
like the Shields bill, though ostensibly