The evening herald. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1906-1942, 1918-08-30
S|NN0TT WANTS
M0b|L|zAT|0N0F.
WATERP0WER

.
Aug. 2S-Nick sinpott. Of Oregon In
A speech on the Water Power Bill
which many veteran observers here
declare To be- one the most eloquent.
mastcrful legal arguments made In
! the House of Representatives during
the past ten years. plead for the I'm.
mediate mobilization Of the vast
storehouses Of white coal" now In
legal shacklcs." lie frankly told his
colleagues that In his opinion there
was no doubt that the States had a
property right In the waters flowing
therein. limited cnly by the right Of
tho Federal Government To protect
navigation. lie WIS equally frank In
saying that he thought the people Of
his state were quite a. competent az
amy federal agency 10 expend any
prOceeds that might be acquired from
development Of water power--that
revenuc going 10 the Government
should be limited 10 cost cf admins.
tration. lie buttressed his position
with numerous court decisions. say.
ing'If tho general government has q
right to exploit the water power re.
sources Of tho several states as q
money making proposition. then the
rights reserved and not surrendered
1 In the Constitution were mere uhad-
ows and not the substance Of sub
stnntinI rights" He asked why the
general government has not charged
tho people Of the states for catching
fish II II had power over the waters
and their contents: and why II could
not exact u charge for any garage.
hotei etc abutting on an Interstate
highway. canals or railroads n II
could exact fees from power plints
on private land.
However he stated that water de.
velopment was the pressing need Of
the hour and that rather than see
these vast and valuable concessions
20 to waste that he was willing to
make concessions. That he believed
the present bill was as fair com.
promise nv could be expected and
wcuid unlock the deadlock that has
for years We'd up one OF the country's
most valuable resources.
Touching upon the vast wster re-
sources Of Oregon and the West he
said: mo section Of the country has
greater interest In legislation that
will promote water power develop.
ment than the states In the Cclumbia
River basin. Here 10 one.third Of the
potential 60. .OO0. 900 horse power es-
timated 10 be In the United States.
Millions OF horse power OF white
coal" are here gOinG to waste. Talk.
Ing To his eastern colleagues In a
language Of comparison that they
could understand he tcld them that
In the last III mile. q . almost un'
known Oregon River near his homo
city---the Deschutes River In this dis.
tancc (iess by ~ miles than the rail
distance from Washington to Phtla.
dciphia) the flow Of water was 1000
second net greater than In the Po-
tomac River Just above Washington.
That In this III miles alone there
could be developed $4,000 horse
p:wer--aimost caualling the present
develo opment at Niagara; that $500.
900 horse power was nowrunning to
waste In Oregon alone. That this
power Is used would cut down tho
national coal bill $l%%,0oo.ooo each
ye,r.
Pleading for immediate action on
the bill. no said: with our water
power developed. We need have NO
concern fer our fuel supply. either
In oil or coal. The Alladin's genii OF
exhaustless electric energy. dormant
and locked up In our mountain
streams and rivers. should be releas.
ed to dispense light. heat and energy
for mankind. Make II easicr for the
irrigationist TO obtain power and mil
,ions OF acres will spring up In farms
OF grain. alfalfa and ether food pro-
ducts. This bill II enacted into law
will accomplish these blessings. II
offers opportunities to municipality.
state. nation or private capital to
minister to our comforts." We have
at last come to q realisation OF the
rich resources, the prodigal and
bcunteoux hand OF nature has placed
at our disposal. Development II We
..a ..lnn onouRh IN Nala lava To nut