The Cordova daily times., 1918-02-20

powers mas been such that their de.
velopment instead of being encourag.
ed, has Oeen almost prohibited"
The report continues: "One of the
first things to be clearly perceived
= is that water power develon-
ments are not exceedingly profitable
undertakings earnestly sought by can.
ital as means of securing large re.
turns ON small investment; but that.
on the contrary, steam power is the
superior of water power in almost all
respects. In order to procure the AIDE.
quate development of water power, in
ducements must be offered.
There Is very general. but entire
ly erroneous, belief that any water
power running to waste can be util.
lied at small expense The initial
cost OF a steam plant is in general but
one-haif to one-fifth of water.power
plant OF the same capacity -. It
follows that the. investor in water
power plant is burdened from the very
start with heavy fixed charge =.
The risk to capital in water.power
developments are, therefore, much
greater than the risks in the case of
steam power The advantage of water
power lies in its smaller expense of
maintenance, due to the smaller
amount Of labor and the absence of the
cost of fuel.
water powers will not be developed
unless the conditions are made COM
paratiyely favorable. Present demand
for the development of such power
comes, not from capitalists, but from
communities which, on account of the
high price and scarcity of fuel, are
DESTROYS in their own interest. of in
ducing capital to make such develop
ments.
There are many collateral advant.
lagos resulting from the DEVELOPMENT
of water power, which are reaped by
the community as a whole rather than
by the investor. These advantages
are the saving of coal and oil, which
are exhaustible natural resources and
once used can never be replaced. the
saving of railroad equipment needed
for their transportation, the saving of
labor in coal mines and of railroad
labor and labor in distribution.
IF the water power now CONNER
cially capable of development could be
brought into use, the savings to the
public in the conservation of fuel and
the release of labor and railroad equip.
ment would run into hundreds OF
millions of dollars annually.
"At the present moment the public
has been made to realize, as never
before, the Importance of conserving
fuel and labor, and the present emer
gency aceentuates the public need OF
the formulation of a wise and fail
water-power policy by the federal gov
eEnment
I'm order to secure the adequate
development of water power, it is es
sential that the subject should be ap
preached with an attitude of mine
which recognizes the necessity Of max
ing such developments attractive tc
capital, rather than with that atti
tude which assumes that such enter
prises should be surrounded with as
many restrictions as possible.
"The conservation of every other ma
tural resource means restriction in its
use, for use means consumption, and
permanent destruction. Every pound
of coal burned is forever withdrawn
from use. On the other hand, every
horsepower of water power not used
is lost, and every horsepower con
served and used saves not only the
horsepower but its equivalent in coal
and may incidentally improve naviga.
ton.
The task of this committee has
been, without going into details, to
outline the essentials of a fair con.
tract which shall fully protect the In.
terests of the public, and. at the same
time shall make water-power projects
sufficiently attractive to secure their
development.
The committee has drawn up and
unanimously presents certain recon-
mendations regarding the fundamental
points which 1t considers of the great.
est importance in federal policy II
! It is to accomplish the highly benefit
Icial results which the public interests
demand. 49,. .-.- ..
THE entire committee, with the ex
/ nanfinO ne nn~kfot