The Washington herald., 1918-03-18
WATER POWER
BILLS COMING
BEFORE HOUSE
Favorable Action on Ad-
ministration Measure Pre-
dicted by Supporters.

President Wilson's water power de-
velopment program. designed to bring
into action for war use the nations
tremendous hydro-electric resources,
begins its Congressional course to-
! day.
A great compromise bill. already sp-
proved by the so-caIled conservation
| and development factions whose diff
ferences have held up legislation for
more than a decade, goes before the
specially created House water power
\ committee.
Present Schedule.
The present schedule outlined by
| administration leaders Is a one-week
series of hearings. then a favorable
report on the measure. A general
agreement has been reached that it
! will be given a preferred place on the
calendar for speedy passage.
General comment of the leaders of
both parties is that no bill OF inn
portance ever has started with the
way made so smooth for it.
The only contest foreseen now Is in
! the Senate. where the Shields bill re-
| Gently was passed. This measure, un-
der the administration program, is to
be shunted aside for the general bill.
| Senator Shields and his hackers have
threatened to fight this procedure.
The development forces which
carried this bill through the Upper
Branch, however. are understood to
have concluded 1t is hopeless to get
as favorable a bill to their interests
as this one. On this understanding.
House leaders believe the compromise
| bill will get through both Houses
without a serious fight.
In the hearings beginning today it
| is planned to have presidents Of sew
| eral large water power companies
unite with Clifford Pinchot in public
endorsement OF the pending bill. Pri-
vate approval of it by both these
forces is claimed to have been obtain
ed several weeks ago.
Provisions of Bill.
/ The present bills chief provisions
are: All great water power devel-
| Opment sites on both navigable and
unnavigable rivers are placed un-
der the control of a national COM
mission.
This commission may lease the
sites to private concerns. but may
not sell them. Leases are to run
for fifty years.
. At the end of fifty years. the
! government may take over both the
site and all property which has
been built to develop it at the actual
cash price the corporation has de-
velOped. No so-called Intangible"
values will be paid for by the gov
| errment.
If the government does not choose
to take over the project, the lease
of the private concern may be re-
! newed on terms then to be fixed.
All the time the plant is under
lease to the private concern, the
rate and terms of service are to
be subject to regulation like any
other public utility by the various
State commissions.
II the service of a plant becomes
interstate, the national commission
exercises this power.
Although power and light are
looked upon as the chief ultimate
products of hydro-electricity, the
governments immediate interest is
in the extraction of nitrogen from
the air by the exercise of tremen-
dous electric power. The nitrates
are invaluable for munitions in war
and fertilizers in peace times. Sup
plies to be obtained by mining are
said to have been greatly depleted
by the war.
Belief is at the Capitol that If
private interests do not immedi-
ately enter the development field
under the terms named in the bill,
Secretary McAdoo will organize
companies with money supplied by
the war finance corporation.
Secretary Lane, who with Sec
retary Houston, will make up the
national water power commission,
will appear fer the bill either today
| or Tuesday.