New Britain herald., 1918-03-02
SUGGEST CHANGING
 WATER POWER BILL
Baker, Lane and Houston Send
 Views to Committee

| the pending administration water 1 power bill to more clearly express the 1 intent of the legislation were recom- mended today to Chairman Sims of | the house special water power com"
 mittee by Secretarys Baker, Lane and ] Houston, who drew the measure. | They urged speedy passage of tho | bill so as to stabilize the power in l dustry generally and encourage the | building of extensions to existing pro ! jects.
 "Water power legislation" said | the letter from the secretarys, should | have in view not only the mainten- 1 ance of the rights of the public iII the national resources, but also tn adequate protection of private capital by which such resources are deVel- oped. The bill before you seems tn do both. After careful consjdera tion, however. it is believed certaiN
 changes in language could be made
 which would more clearly express the
 intent of the proposed legislation.
 Tt is important that the cond1-
 tiOns which affect the disposition of
 the property at the termination Ot
 license should be so definite that un ccrtainties will be removed to min inum. If the properties are not i which a new license may be secured should be entirely clear. If the prop critics are taken OVer the price to bH paid should not include alleged val ues not represented by investment, or, on the other hand, require needless amortization of capital during the period of the license in order to pro- tect the investment. It is therefore believed advisable to define in spe cific language the items which should or should not enter into the price t. 1 be paid.' Net Investment" The letter then suggests incorpo- ! ration in the bill of this definition l of net investment prepared after 1 thorough consideration and after con- ] versation with accounting and bank ] ing experts:
 :" Net investm ent' in a project l means the actual legitimate original cost thereof as defined and inter- l preted in the classification of in- 1 vestment in road and equipment of ! steam roads, issue of 1914, interstate 1 commerce commission plus similar | costs of additions thereto and better 1 mcnt: thereof minus the sum of the | following items properly allocated { thereto, if and to the extent that such items have been accumulated r during the period of the license from 1 earnings in excess of a fair return on such investment, (A) unappropri- 1 ated surplus, (3) aggregate credit ! balances of current appreciation 1 counts and e, aggregate apprOpria- l tions of surplus Or income held in
 authorization, sinking fund or similar
 reserves, or expended for extensions
 onct .Lo.
 include, insofar as applicable, the
 elements thereof prescribed in said
 classification, but shall not include eX-
 penditures from funds obtained
 through donations by states, munici- | paities, individuals or others"
 Development Business Need. l Development of WaterpOWer is 1 urgently needed, the secretaries wrote. 1 if the United States is to maintain it's l proper place in world trade after the | war, or even to supply its domestic | needs. It also is necessary in order
 to reduce the drain on the nations f coal and petroleum supplies par 1 ticularly the latter.
 "The industrial expansion which has 1 been necessary in order to produce
 materials and equipment needed in the ] prosecution of the war; the letter 1 adds, ''has placed unprecedented de-
 mands upon electric power industry .o | such an extent in fact that output of 1 commercial central stations has in
 creased more than 60 per cent since
 1914 This increase has been greatest
 in the manufacturing sections of the | East, where wateT-power development
 is comparatively limited, and has l taken place notwithstanding advances
 in costs of construction and of oper- | ation.
 l While the form of the bill which l was presented for your consideration | Is directly concerned with water l power development only, an adequate
 solution of this problem will have a ] favorable and stabilizing effect upOn