The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1917-11-23
CONSERVE OUR NATURAL RE-
SOURCES.

SOURCES.
Clifford Pinchot Sounds Warming
Against Water Power
Magnates.
November IL, 1917.
Ewing Bros,
The Midland Journal,
Rising Sun, Md.
Dear Sirs:~
The great War in which our Ma
ton is engaged will be won not alone
by food and men, but by mechanical
power as well. without mechanical
power we could not make or move
the weapons with which we fight
guns, ammunition, ships, and sup
plies Our National resources of
power, whether from coal, oil, or
waterpower, are National War neces-
stiles. We need them to win the
War.
In this gigantic struggle our
security requires us to use all these
great resources, and to use them
wisely and well. The people of the
United States own some fifty million
undeveloped water horsepower, or
about enough to run every train,
trolley, factory, mill, mine, and cleo
trio power plant we have.
For ten years the friends of Con-
servation have urged the develop
ment of public waterpowers in the
public interest. But development
has been held back by a little group
of water-power magnates and their
friends in Congress who have block
ed all legislation which would not
give them these valuable properties
forever and for nothing.
Today, when the Nation needs all
it's resources, the same men who have
been blocking reasonable waterpower
legislation own and are holding mil
lions of water horsepower unde-
veloped and out of use while clamor-
ing for more.
The time has come when such OBJ
struction threatens the Nations
safety and success. We need the
development Of these powers in War
even more than in peace. At the
coming session Of Congress sound
waterpower legislation should be
enacted as War measure, based
upon principles fair to all sides.
These principles I believe to be brief
" as follows:
(1) The thing to do with water
power is to develop it. Whatever
of public waterpowers on terms fair
to the public is against public policy
and hostile to the general welfare.
(2) Waterpower belongs to the
people. The sites where it is pro-
duced should always be held in pub
lie hands, for only so can effective
control in the general interest be
secured.
(3) Where public DEVELOPMENT
is not desired, the right to use water
power sites should be leased for
periods long enough to permit
sound, attractive, and profitable in
vestment, but never longer than fifty
years. At the end of each lease ali
rights should return to the people
who gave them.
+ (4) In order to protect the con-
sumner against extortion, rates and
service should be regulated by Fed
eral authority when State or local
authorities fail to do so.
(5) Reasonably prompt and COM
plete development and continuous
operation, subject to market condi-
lions, should be required. Already
millions of water horsepower are
1 held out of use to further monopoly
by private corporations.
! co Corporations or individuals
who make money out of rights grant
ed by the people should share their
profits with the people.
CD The public has a right to
complete information about every
/ business based on the use of public
q
property. N
These are the principles for which
the friends of Conservation have
been contending. Many waterpower
men believe them to be fair and
sound. They will, hope, commend
themselves to you as wise and
reasonable. / am writing to ask
your support for immediate legisla-
ton, based upon them, when Con-
gress meets.
This is no time to give away public
assets necessary for the welfare of
our people both in the War and after
the War; and we should no longer
tolerate the selfishness of private
interests which take the dog-in-the-
manger position that they must have
these waterpowers on their own