New-York tribune., 1922-04-17


To Encourage Private Capital
"A comprehensive r1aasurc was en-
acted last year and improved this year
under which ii s hoped private capital
may be ENCOURAGED 10 embark in this
undertaking under conditions which
will safeguard the public interests and
protect consumers Companies to
whom franchises have been granted in
the past have been brought under the
regulatory powers Of the state.
There is q possibility of developing
something under 1000 900 horse power
on the American side of the interna-
tional boundary Of the st. Lawrence.
This involves national and interna-
tional complications. and is affected by
the agitation for the st. Lawrence ship
canal.
Power has already been developed
! from all the water that can now be
diverted from Niagara Fails under the
! treaty 10000 cubic feet per second.
Any further development VIII depend
upon treaty changes permitting greater
diversion. except that there are various
! plans for the development Of power be
/ low the falls.
There is j possibility of developing
/ 100000 horsepower on interior
| streams provided the maximum devel-
!
compIished. This is commercially
feasible if the maximum use of the
! power through its general distribution
! can be secured. There are no national
| or international complications to delay
/ the development OF this power eXcent
possibly as ii may be affected b. tine
: Federal Water-power act, which IN
! terms is applicable to all navicsbIc
treqms. Ny nope is that wh.le wo
arc waiting for the removal Of the dif-
tcu!tleS that now delay the develop
mcnt on tho st. Lawrence and the Ma
CARA we may stimulate the develop
ment of the interior streams. A
foundation has at least been laid and
/ it now remains to be seen whether nri-
( vate capital will enter tho field under
! the conditions imposed to protect the
| public.
State to Develop Surplus Waters
! Meanwhile, under measure on
! acted at this session. the state itself
! w'li proceed in the development of the
surplus waters Of the canal. Both
measures were opposed by private pow
! er interests and by demagogues That
! tends to confirm my belief based on the
intrinsic merit Of the bills that the
Legislature has acted in both cases in
the interests OF the public
Last year, in spite of opposition
winch had blocked action for at least
two years, the Legislature concurrontiv
/ with the Legislature of New Jersey.
created the Port District Of New York
and the Port Authority The compuct
between the two states was approved
by the Congress of the United States.
MS year the Legislatures Of the
two states approved the comprohensive
plan tor port Improvement submitted
by the Port Authority For more than
flfty years the development Of The
Port OF New York. involving the crca-
/ tlon and coordination of suitable
/ hat neglect has imposed heavy bur
/ cen upon the commerce of the coun-
try and has promoted discriminatory
rates against the Port Of New York
| and stimulated efforts to create other
outlets to the sea, the latest and mosv
( ambitious scheme being the construc-
ton or the st. Lawrence ship canal.
MeanwhlIe, the burden of excessive
terminal costs has borne heavily upon
the increasing population of the port
district and upon both consumers and
producers throughout the state and the
country because New York is a great
distributing as we'll as receiving CEN
ter.
after all the years of delay this
The machinery has been created and
the agency has been established with
the power and. believe, the ability to
solve the problem.
New York City Transit
"The transit situation in the city Of
New York has for years been growing
| more acute with no constructive effort
being made to solve it. The Legisla-
ture last year passed, and this year
improved, an act which for tho first
time provides for constructive solu-
ton of the problem and creates an
agency with the power to solve it.
That problem is now being advanced
on the road to a solution and every
step taken IS in the public view.
Social welfare has been a phrase
for politicians to mouth. In its name
many unwise experiments have been
proposed and some unfortunately tried
To the theorists, the constitution. our
scheme of government, the fundamen-
tai concept of liberty, has meant moth
ing. undertake to say that. con-
slstently with our constitution and
scheme of government, the last Lepis-
lature has enacted more laws to pro-
mote real social welfare than have
been proposed even during all the time
that agltators and demagogues have
been giving lip service to what they
call social welfare.
"a mere summary Of these measures
must suffice, namely;
The act establishing children's courts
so that children may no longer be
dealt with as criminals.
THE act establishing county boards
of child welfare so that dependent chill
dren may be given every possible
chance in place Of the present indis-
criminate treatment and care of them.
"Thc act under which the state as
sumes the expense of training blind
and deaf children and removes them
from the category of paupers.
"Tho act to supplement the work now
being done to enable those thus afflicted
to maintain their self-respect and to
become as nearly as possible self-sup-
porting.
"The appropriation to enlarge the in
stitution at West Haverstraw for the
treatment of crippled children.
The so-called maternity act extend
ing the work of the division of child
hygiene in the Department of Health
and app1opriating all the money that
the Commissioner said could be eco
nomically expended, the money to be
used not for overhead organization ex~
ADVERTISEMENT