The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1937-09-28

in the fact that in its inception,
four years ago, I had some
part.
MY interest in the whole of
the valley of the great Column
bia river goes back TO 1920 when
I first studied its mighty posi-
bilities. Again, in 1882, visited
Oregon and Washington and
Idaho and took occasion in Port
land to express views which have
since, through the action
of Congress, become a recorded
part of American national policy.
Almost exactly three years
ago, I inspected the early con-
struction stages of this dam at
Bonneville.
WATER RESOURCES
The more we study the water
resources of the nation, the
more we accept the fact that
their use is a matter of national
concern, and that in our plans
for their use our line of think.
ing must include great regions
as we'll as narrower localities.
II, for example, we had known
as much and acted as effectively
20 and 80 and 40 years ago as
We do today in the development
of the use of land in that great
semi,arid strip in the center of
the country which runs from
the Canadian border to Texas,
we could have prevented in
great part the abandonment Of
thousands and thousands of
farms in portions of 10 States
and thus prevented the migra-
ton of thousands of destitute
families from those areas into
the states Of Washington and
Oregon and California.
We would have done this by
avoiding the blowing up of vast
areas which should have been
kept in grazing range and by
stricter regulations to prevent
over-grazing. At the same time
we would have checked soil
erosion, stopped the denudation
to our forests and controlled
disastrous fires.
THINKS OF FUTURE
Some of my friends who talk
glibly of the right of any indi-
vidual to do anything he wants
with any of his property take
the point of view that it is not
the concern of Federal or State
or local government to interfere
with what they miScall "the
liberty of the individual" With
them do not agree and never
have agreed, because, unlike
them, I am thinking of the
future of the United States. Ny
conception of liberty does not
permit an individual citizen or
group of citizens to commit acts
of depreciation against nature in
such a way as to harm their
neighbors, and especially to
harm the future generations of
Americans.
If many years ago, we had
the necessary willingness on the
part of the Federal Government
to act on it, we would have
saved a sum which, in the last
few years, has cost the taxpay-
ers of the nation at least two
billion dollars.
Coming back to the watershed
of the Columbia River, which
covers the greater part of the
States of oregon, washington,
Idaho and a part Of Montana,
it is increasingly important that
we think of that region as a
unit-and especially in terms Of
the whole population of that
area as it is today and as we
expect it will be so and even
100 years from now.
I appreciate and I under
stand fully the desire Of some
who live close to some Of the
great sources of power in this
watershed to seek the advan.
tages which come from geo.
graphical proximity.
SOUGHT CHEAP POWER
More than eight years ago,
when became governor of the
State of New York, we devel-
oped plans for the Harvesting
of the st. Lawrence River and
the good people who lived
within a few miles Of the pro-
posed dam were enthused by
the prospect of building up a
huge manufacturing center
close to the source of the
power-another Pittsburgh
vast city of whirling machinery.
It was a natural dream, but
wiser counsels prevailed and
the government Of the State
laid down a policy based on
the distribution of the proposed
power to as wide an area as
the science Of the transmission
could permit.
We felt that the governor
and the legislature of the State
owed it to the people in the
smaller communities for hun
dreds of miles around to give
them the benefit of cheap cleo
tricity in their homes and their
farms and their shops. And
while the st. Lawrence project
is still on paper, have no doubt
of it's ultimate development, and
of the application of the policy
of the widest possible use when
the electric current starts to
flow.
That is why in developing