The Washington herald., 1918-01-05
WATER POWER
ISSUE ACUTE
Holland Says Coal Shortage
Gives Special Point to
Present Agitation.

ing special interest in various pro1ects
which have for their purpose the de-
velopment OF. the great water powers
OF New York state. The governors
attention was called a few days ago
to a statement made by an eminent
engineer in which it was said that If
the state of New York had availed
itself Of only, 30 per cent of its water
powers tbere would have arisen no
serious crisis such as for some days
has prevailed throughout the State on
account OF the shortage of coal
From, New England comes a report
that the Development Of the water
powers OF the Connecticut River, near
Brattleboro. Vt, has been of special
service at this time. for it in some
measure relieved anxiety due to the
prevalent coal shortage in New Eng
land The Connecticut River Water
Power Company is of such magnitude
that il is able to deliver power to the
many factories in the Connecticut
Valley. some of them 100 miles distant
from the power house This Is done
without the expenditure Of a. pound OF
coal.
Correspondence from Washington to
the Manufacturers Record at Balti-
will there be any legislation for the
purpose of developing American water
powers. because Congress is disposed
to await the organization Of the Fed
eraI water power board
Nevertheless there appears to be
growing throughout the country a
strong disposition in favor of the
wise legislation whereby private
capital can. without impairing pub
lie interests and operating under
Federal supervision. make use OF
some Of the great water powers so
that adequate, energy can be fur
nished industrial plants without
the burning OF coal.
1t is reported that this new i'm
pulse is directly traceable to the
success which has followed the de-
yelopment OF water powers in
some parts of the South. So sue
csssful has this been that various
Industries there are, so far as the
operation of their own plants is
concerned, are not concerned about
the shortage of coal.
President and Water Powers.
President Wilson's brief recon-
mendation which was made in his
annual message to Congress at it's
meeting in December that legisla-
tion be adopted which will hasten
the development of American wa
ter powers reflects his own under
standing of the great Importance
of rapidly developing these mex
haustible resources of energy.
Probably the Presidents atten-
tion has been called to this great
WhrnrNorh HE Ii
zatiOn that coal, whatever the Tea-
son be, has not been furnished in
sufficient amounts to make possible
the speeding up to the highest ca
paeity of American industries en-
gagged in producing war material.
The President, II is understood, has
also been informed that at the pres
ent rate of consumption of coal the
anthracite deposits will be exhaust
ed within a half century. whereas.
were our water powers to be made
Of avail, the exhaustion of the an
thracite coal deposits would not
take place for perhaps two or three
centuries.
When the Presidents mind is made
up he does MT permit. il he can
Eelp 1t. representation by Congress
or by admin istrative bodies. The
Manufacturers Record says that the
President has been Informed that
Congress has been disposed TO del,y
any action wnich might serve Ior
ne development Cf our water powers.
lie knows that there has been a
S-eat deal Of talk and that many
documents have seen published, but
almost nothing has been done ex-
cepting the authorization of the water
powers of the Tennessee River at
Muscle Shoals.
President Wilson. therefore it is
Understood, recently decided to take
this matter into his own hands using
such power as he possesses. He has
had conferences with the Secretaries
OF War, Agriculture and the Interior,
and these conferences have made it
possible for him to work out a plan
whereby a Federal water board will
be created which will direcct ad-
fninistrative action so far as all the
governmental water powers are con-
ceTned.
The Scandinavian peninsula has so
thorough utilized its water powers
that the various pients that have
been established in Norway and
sweden now furnish the equivalent
OF 4OO,OOo horse power. In Scandinavia
there is iron of sxrtiIent quality and
OF vast amount, but there is little
coal. and that Is the reason why
IRON ore from that peninsula has been
sent, sometimes to England and, be-
tore the war, to Germany, for such
development as would produce metal
lie iron. Now with great deyeIop-
ment OF water power the Scandina-
vians will be less and less dependent
on England or other nations for treat
ment Of their iron ores. since their
water powers will take the place Of
coal.
1t was the remarkably sueoessfuI
jdevelopment of water powers in
scandinavia which led the du Pont
and DE Nemours company to make a
proposition to the War DEPARTMENT
nearly two years ago, which il adopt-
ed would by this time have put the
government in possession of all of the
nitric acid that il needs for war nur-
poses The Wilmington compa ny, would
have advanced all the capital needed
for the establishment and operation
Of great plants, provided the govern
ment would permit it to utilize some
part of the great water powers on one
Of the government reservations. The
company was willing that the govern
ment should supervise and regulate
the construction and operation of this
water power plant and should even
nx the percentage of profit which the
company would receive for its pro-
duct Furthermore. the company did
not ask for a perpetual lease of the
water power, believing that the people
should still retain the title to it. Con-
sress paid no heed to this proposition.
II is believed. however, that the