The Little River news., 1919-12-13
OUR WATER POWER.


 America still remains great and a wealthy nation because We have been unable to exhaust, so far, our wonder ful natural resources. We call this developing our resources, when in fact we are doing all We can to exhaust our resources. Tor generations we have been literally slaughtering our forests, building houses and cheap shacks of wood that should have been constructed of brick or stone and say ed our timber for those things for which there is no substitute. When we have finally despoiled the forests we will realize our poverty from this source.
 For generations We have gone along laboriously digging coal out of the bowels of the earth, suffering periodi- cal attacks of fuel shortage at time when it hurts most in human suffer- ing and industrial paralysis. We are robbing posterity to drive our steam plants, lighting plants and plants of all kinds needing power.
 The Department of the Interior is sues statement in which it gives fig ures showing that in this country we have undeveloped water power sutfi- cient to drive every industrial plant pull every train and street car, light every lamp in America and heat many of our homes. Of this water power we have developed only 5,000,000 horse power. It costs nothing after development as it consumes no raw material and is ineXhaustible. This power has been flowing unharnessed down our river and streams since water first began to run down hill,
 There are enough streams in Ark ansas available to development to turn every wheel in Arkansas and enough to look forward to industrial development and take care of it, may be for centuries yet. In Southwest ern Arkansas alone we have latent water power to turn the wheels of cit ies not yet builded,
 America is waking to this great op- portunity, and we hope will be fully awake in time before our coal supplies are depleted, We shall need coal for industrial uses other than for power, for domestic uses and for parts of our country which would be inacees- sible to water power, though electrl- city may be conducted for hundreds of miles.
 The only power known by the an clients was water power. When we moderns have squandered our other resources we must come back to it.. Why not husband that wealth which we have while we still have it? We have been thinking we were deVel- opers when we were only wastefs.
 We are indebteded to the war for the inauguration oij the drive. We put over drive after drive that would have staggered the imagination before to have thought possible. It taught IL that we could do things bei0fe inccn- ceivabIe. Since the war drives nave multiplied and the figures have been large. Lest We go over the top until We have corns on our knees we should take stock, Support those big essen- tial and worthy things and back them to the limit. Consolidate on these and cull cut the others for it may become a fact that drives may become fad Pads soon tire and would result in the injury of those causes that are really worthy. If the drive idea is not to be spoiled from the overriding and in the great multiplicity we must look them square in the face before deciding to invest in every project that may be launched. Just now we have the Red Cross Seal Drive to stamp out tuber- culosie. it's worthy. The Ped Cross is alEays worthy coming second in out 3pinion only to the church itself TheI Ie are other worthy ones but con- centrate according to your conscience, and don't give just for fear of being called short