The Coconino sun., 1927-02-04
DANGER IN THE BOULDER
CANYON PROJECT SAYS
ECONOMIST OF HARVARD
BY PHILIP CABOT
Public Utility Administration Harvard Business School

United States government land are
clearly within the powers of the fell
eral government.
But unfortunately the proposed de-
velopment does not stop there. The
scope of the enterprise has been great
ly enlarged (if not inflated), so as to
include the generation of electric
power upon very large scale, and
the evidence available appears to in
dicate that the dam which it is now
proposed to build at Black or Boulder
Canyon on the Colorado river is not
primarily designed for the purpose of
flood control and irrigation at all, but
for the purpose OF generating electric
power. If flood control and irrigation
alone were aimed at, these objects
could be best attained by the construc-
tion of much cheaper dam at Topock
further down the river. The genera
ton of electric power has apparently
been injected into this scheme for the
purpose of making it self-supporting,
but it should be noted at once that it
is by no means clear that this will be
the result. The engineering difficult
ties involved in building a dam at
Black or Boulder Canyon are stag
gering, and it may safely be assumed
that the cost of the work will greatly
exceed the present estimates.
Clearly the production of electric
power at this point is highly specu-
lative enterprise, and there is grave
doubt whether power generated in a
desert hundreds of miles from any
available markets can be sold at
prices which will pay an adequate re-
turn upon it's cost. The influences
which appear to be pressing this fea-
ture of power development originate
in California and seem to be of a
highly political character.
But whether the enterprise will pay
or not is really beside the point, be-
cause there is far more important OBJ
lection to the development of electric
power by the federal government as q
part of this flood control enterprise.
The policy of the United States for
two generations has been to leave the
manufacture and distribution of cleo
trio power in the hands of private en-
terprise, and under this policy we
have prospered amazingly. Develop.
ment has proceeded more rapidly
ard more efficiently than in any 9TH
CT part VI lilc NOItu, dlIu lllS 1cII Iiilt
more power is applied to industry in
the United States than anywhere in
Europe is one of the main causes of
our prosperity.
Now it is a well known economic
principle that private enterprise can
not stand the competition of the gov
ernment. Where it is desired that pri-
vate enterprise should operate, it must
be allowed to operate without fear of
this competition. Otherwise it will
quite the field. This point has been
well illustrated, not only in this
country, but abroad, in the develop
ment of housing projects. The devel-
opment of cities is mainly in the
hands of private persons who build
for profit, and it goes on with great
rapidity and with marked intelli-
gence 1t has been observed, how
ever, that when the government (or
private enterprise not designed for
profit enters the field the speculative
builder retires from it, and as re-
suit the development is not promoted
but hindered.
Such competition By the govern
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