Catoctin clarion., 1917-11-22
Undeve|oped Water Power
Enough To Run Every Train,
Trolley, Factory, Mill, Etc,
In This Country.
(By Clifford Pinchot.) }

The great war in which our natlon
is engaged will be won not alone by
food and men, but by mechanical
power as we'll. Without mechanical
power we could not make or move
the weapons with which we fight
guns, ammunition, ships and sup
plies. Our notional resources OF
power, whether from coal, oil or
water power, are National War ne
cessities. We need them to win the
war.
In this gigantic struggle our secur-
ity requires us to use all these great
resources, and to use them wisely and
we'll. 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 electric power plant we
have.
For ten years the friends of Con-
servation have urged the development
of public waterpowers in the public
interest. But development has been
held back by little group of water
power magnates and their friends in
Congress who have blocked all legis-
lation 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 undevelop-
ed and out of use while clamoring for
more.
The time has come when such OBJ
struction threatens the Nations safe
ty and success. We need the devel-
opment 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 ! be-
lieve to be briefly as follows:
/. The thing to do with water
power is to develop it. Whatever re-
tards or restricts the development of
public waterpowers on terms fair to
the public is against public policy and
hostile to the general welfare.
? Waterpower belongs to the peo-
pie. The sites where it is produced
should always be held in public hands
for only 50 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 peri
ods long enough to permit sound, at
tractiye and profitable investment,
but never longer than fifty years. At
the end of each lease all rights should
return to the people who gave them.
4. In order to protect the consum-
er against extortion, rates and ser
vice should be regulated by Federal
authority when State or local author
tiles fail to do so.
5. Reasonably prompt and com
plete development and continuous
operation, subject to market condi-
tions, should be required. Already
millions of water horsepower are held
out of use to further monopoly by
private corporations.
e. Corporations or individualswho
make money out of rights granted by
the people should.. share their profits
with the people.
I. The public has right to COM
plete information about every busi-
ness based on the use of public prop
erty.
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 them
selves to you as wise and reasonable.
am writing to ask your support
for immediate legislation. based upon
them, when Congress 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 toler-
ate the selfishness of private interests
which take the dog-in-th the e-manger po-
sition that they must have these wa
terpowers on their own terms, or no
one shall use them at all.
AS the President has said: 1.-THE
supreme test of the nation has come.
We must all speak, act, and serve
together"