The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1918-09-12
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10 WASHINGTON LETTER Q
0 By Congressman p. d. Norton Q
90 OF 90 o O 90 Q 30 0 0 0 .
l.. Il
OepIelIiDcl y, lo1c'
Water Power Bill


vides for the lease of water power
sites for the construction of water
power dams on navigable rivers, pub
passed by the House on Thursday of
this week. The subject of water
power legislation, to encourage and
promote the development of hydro
electric power throughout the nation,
has been matter of wide public in
terest during the past ten years. Sew.
eral water power bills have passed
the House and several have passed
the Senate within the last five years,
but on account Of far reaching and
fundamental differences between the
House and Senate bills, the various
conference committees appointed
were unable to reach any agreement
and none of the bills were enacted
into law. The bill that has this week
been passed by the House is one that
was. approved and reported to the
House by special committee on wat
er power, consisting of eighteen men,
bers appointed by the Speaker of the
House. This committee was created
by a special rule of the House on the
suggestion of the President. The
members of the special water power
committee were selected by the
Speaker from members of the Com
mittee on Interstate and Foreign Com
merce, the Committee on Public
Lands and the Committee on Agri-
culture. Since the appointment Of
this special committee by the Speak
er on January 16, 1918, the Commit
tee has had complete jurisdiction over
all bills introduced in the House per-
tanning to the development and the
use of water power. The principal
features of the bill as passsd pro-
vide:
/. That the license for the con-
struction and operation of the water
power project shall be issued by the
government for period of not to ex-
coed fifty years and at the end of the
license period tn government may re-
capture the property by making pay
ment to the licensee his net invest
ment in the project.
2. That the licensee shall pay to
the United States reasonable an
nual rental charge to be fixed by the
Federal Water Power Commission,
composed of the Secretary of War,
Secretary of the Interior, and the Sec
rotary of Agriculture.
3. That in the maintenance and
operation of the project the licensee
shall be governed by rules and regu-
lations to be prescribed by the Fed
eral Water Power Commission.
While the bill in it's entirety pro-
tects the interest Of the public more
fully than any water power bill that
has thus far been passed by either
the House or Senate, it is fundament-
ally defective, I believe, in that it con-
tains no provision giving the govern
ment the right to recapture or to
take over the project before the ex-
piration of the license period of fifty
years on the payment to the icensee
of the fair value Of the property. The
drafters and supporters of the bill in
the form in which it passed the House
have, in my judgment, lacked broad:
ness of vision as to the wonderful
probabilities of hydro-electrical de-
velopment in the nation within the
next few decades and have failed te
provide in the bill the protection tt
the public interest and the welfare oil
the people that should be provided
and that would be provided if there
was reserved to the government the
right to recapture the project at any
time it was found to be to the pub
lie interest to do so on payment tc
the licensee of the fair value of the
property.
West Battle Front Successes
The smashing drives that the Am
erican, French and English forces have
been making through the German
lines on the west front the last three
weeks have brought much rejoicing
to all officials Of the government
here. While it is generally belieev
ed that this tremendously successful
offensive on the part of the Allieo
Armies will be a destructive blow
from which the German Armies car
never fully recover and marks the
real beginning of the end of the war
it is not thought that the German
General Staff has yet given up al
hopes of reaching Calais by a sud
den concentrated drive. The admin
istrative officers Of our government
as we'll as the administrative officer:
of our allies are not making the mis-
take of considering that because Of
our recent victories, and advances the
Central Powers are defeated but or
the other hand, they are steadily
working on and carrying out a grea
constructive program for putting into
the struggle to save civilization every
man possible in the nation who car
be of real assistance to the work o.
winning the war, to the end that al
doubt whatever as to the final victory
of our cause in the war may soon bt
dispelled from all minds.