The Washington herald., 1920-10-10
Need Of Water Power, and
Deep Sea Channel from
Lakes Detailed. Country
AlsoMust UntangleTran
,portation Situation, De-
clares Engineer.

clares Engineer.
have not yet been born because Of
the immense difficulties OF our neg
ative legislation. I may cite one or
two Of these. 1t has long been pro-
posed by able engineers that we
| must have a great electrical power
|. line through the great power con-
! suming districts OF the Atlantic
| seapoard. That we should feed into
this great road power generated al
| strategic points, from the mines and
from available water sources. and
draw from this power road into
every town and city. The consurn-
nation of this project will near
much cheaper power to all con-
sumers. 1t will mean an enormous
| national economy in the conserva'
! tion Of coal, and the prolongatios
of our coal resources. II will greatly
strengthen the regularity of output
from the coal mines II will mean
great relief to our railway systems
II means greater ability TO compete
in the world fer manufacture. II
in fact, means an increasing stand
ard of living and a decreased cost
. of living to a large section of our
population. With our public utility
. commissions of eleven States, with
our national laws on combination
this enterprise is simply impossible
without some form of cooperation
from the Federal government. 1t Is
an enterprise just as essential for
the welfare and Development Of the
American people as was the first
transcontinental line OF railroad.
Water Power Development Needed.
Another such problem lies in the
opening of the Great Lakes to deer
sea vessels through the st. Law.
renee River. Here is an enterprise
that will add five cents a bushel 10
| the grain of every farmer in ten
/ States. 1t will furnish a relief to
the already congested Allegheny
gateways Of our railways. 1t will
develop a water power that is OF
infinite value to our people. Again,
scme Federal cooperation must be
found. We need no less the con.
structive development of the impor-
tsnt Erie Canal. OF our internal
waterways, in substitution OF our
terial traffic in our bulk commodi.
ties.
We are confronted throughout the
West with the fact that our sum-
mer flow of water is now practically
all under engagement for irrigation
| and power. We cannot further sub
stantially expand irrigation OF land
available for such cultivation unless
we can increase the minimum flow
| of water. This problem is a prob.
| lem OF winter storage on a scale
that We have not hitherto dreamed
( of. Again, within the essential linn
itations that We must place on indi-
viduals in the control Of profits. we
have to evolve some method of Fed
| eral cooperation to secure the eN.
pEnsion of this vital tool Of produc-
tion.
All these projects have a simple
result in the engineers mind. They
/ are essential for an expanding popU.
: latiOn, for an increased standard OF
living. Surely it must be the 'pri-
mary duty Of organized society tc
enlarge the lives and increase the
standard OF living OF all the people
not Of any class whatever
"FtcSco on ttSch OF PRODUCTION.
But It is no less certain that any
/ plan to that end which fails to pre-.
serve the great motive power Of al
human progress-individual initia,
l tive-will defeat its object Our So.
cialist friends present us with al
easy solution on paper Of thes'
questions by way OF nationalizk
tion. All the pansceas OF Socialism
! Syndicslism. Communism. are basec
on the assumption that production
can be maintained without self-in,
terest. The world is now witness
( ing the terrible proof in Russia o.
the wreck OF Socialism upon tn,
rock OF production. The dominant
motive power Of initiative is self
interest.
Altruism in the form Of patriotism
may accomplish these things IN
war. but IL will not do so in peace
! for a few hundred generations vet
| The whole SoCialistic conception
fails on this one issue. Our eco.
nomic system has created such al
intensity of production that undel
any form by. which individual initis
tive is lost. we. like Russia, coulC
not keep alive our total numbers
TO say nothing Of supporting more
Entire Task Is Reviewed.
! fhe problem Of how to secure the
I forward march Of great production
and to maintain the community from
economic domination is nevertheless
not yet solved. On the one side. tn,
whole history of our legislation dur.
ing the last forty years is proof thai
we have abandoned the theory o.
unrestrained capitalism. The con
stgnctive work that we have befor,
us is to find some solution by which
We may maintain the initiative o
the individual by which. with in,
creasing production. We can stead
lily increase the standard of livin z
on the other hand. we must svoit
the rock of corporate domination
and it's destruction of an equality o.
I opportunity. This solution is no
/ beyond the ingenuity Of the Ameri,
can mind. it is a solution that mus
be found IL We are not to see a ris,
OF radicalism from disappointment
and lack OF confidence in party gov.
ernment.
This question OF individual initia
tive penetrates infinitely deeper in.
to our social life than the question
Of maintenance of production. Tn,
whole basis of our civilization 4.