The Washington times., 1920-08-23

PARLEY TODAY
Representatives Of Interests and
Commission to Continue Con-
ferenCes All Week.

Further conferences between rep
resentstives OF the waterpower in
terests OF the country and the Federal
Waterpower Commission will be held
today and during the balance OF the
week In regard to the wsterpower act
passed BY the last Congress.
The question of nnance, operating,
accounting, engineering and numer-
Gus legal problems which need In
expectation before the act becomes
really work able are among the many
matters that arc to be discussed by
the power men and the Federal Wa
terpower Commission, according TO
Franklin T. Griffith. OF Portland. Ore,
chairman OF the subcompittee OF the
National Electric Association. which
is meeting with the commission.
DEVELOPING sATIsFACTORILY.
According to the water power men
who have been conferring with the
commission for the past week, the
work on the regulations and rules
which govern the development OF this
vast public resource OF the country is
developing satisfactorily Although
the power men declare that they and
the Water Power Commission are
working tremendously with a view to
making the act workable. they appear
operations OF the act may turn out to
be.
Among the problems to be worked
out at the conferences will be the
questions as to what charges can the
state make, whether the Commission
can make an administrative charge
upon a development that comes under
the Jurisdiction OF the chief of Engi-
neers of the War Department and
whether the State will have anything
to do with prescribing the keeping OF
accounts and supervising the methods
of internal administration OF the act.
FULL OF sNARLs.
Some water power experts who
have made a study OF the water
power act declare 1t to be full OF
snarls. which may. in the long run,
have TO be ironed out through litiga'
ton. They point out that there are
two authorities that have to do with
the development OF water power
other than the Water Power Commits
sion on the one hand and the com
pany seeking a permit on the other.
These authorities are the states in
which the site is located and the de-
velopment is to be made, and the
other Is the chief of the corps >of
engineers of the army.
According to experts, the basic
authorities to develop water power
after all must come from the several
States. and any project that affects
navigability anywhere must have the
approval of the Chief OF Engineers
of the Army. A power dam may af-
feet nayigability, ii Is pointed out,
though 1t may be located in the up
permost reaches OF stream. The
definition OF "navigable waters' car
ried by the bill would seem to be
extensive enough to go beyond in
cluding those rivers that have fig-
ured so largely in the legislation OF
Congress.
While one provision of the act
does contemplate non-naVigabie
stream and provides that one wishing
to make a development on a stream
believed to be -navigable may. in
order to settle the case, submit the
question of navigabilty and Federal
jurisdiction to the Water Power
Commit ssion. legal experts declare
this to be something of joker, in
that a man may be assured that his
project does not fall within the juris-
diction of the commission and does
not ask the commissions opinion,
and his plant may be removed by
Federal authority if 1t is decided that
the development affected navigable
kcapacity.
| SURE OF SUCCESS.
The committee Of water power men
which has been comforting with the
| Federal water power commission,
came to Washington at the invitation
Of the commission to help iron out
some of the many tangles which arc
presented by the bill. These men de-
clare that they are giving the com
| mission every help that can come with
years of experience in the develop
ment of water power and in turn seem
| to feel that the commission is making
| every possible effort to provide rules
| and regulations that will make the
water power act a success.
The committee consists OF Franklin
T. Griffith, chairman, of Portland,
| Ore; w. A. Breckenridge, Los
Angeles: Thomas w. Martin, Birming-
ham, Ala: !. w. Talbot, Portland,
| Ore: H. b. Freeman. Hartford. Conn,