The people's voice., 1957-05-31


dest" example of ''the betrayal of tn
public trust by those in public offic
at Hells Canyon, Patton recalled tha
TR had warned the nation almost 5
years ago of the growing concentra
ton on resource plundering by mann
moth corporate groups" In 1910, a
Denver, Colorado" Roosevelt stated
We should make it our duty to
see that hereafter power sites are
kept under control of the general
government for the use of the peo-
pie as a whole, in a way which shall
encourage development of the
water power, but which shall not
create a monopoly or permit the
development to be anti-social, to be
in any way hostile to the public
good. The nation alone has the
power to do this effectively +.
L have been genuinely amused
at having arguments presented to
me on behalf of certain rich men in
New York and Ohio, for instance,
as to why Colorado and other west
ern states should manage their own
water power sites. Now these men
may be good citizens according to
their own lights, actually their
special interests obscure their sense
of public need; and their OBJ
ject is to escape an efficient con-
troll exercised in the interest of
all the people.
IF we are foolish enough to
grant their requests, we shall have
ourselves to blame when we wake
up and find that we have permitted
another privilege to entrench itself,
and another portion of what should
be kept for the public good, to be
turned over to individuals for pur-
poses of private enrichment
How Theodore Roosevelt would
ave poured out his scorn upon So
allied partnership policy in which
he people pay the bills and private
grabs the profits!' Patton
ontinued. "How he would have
ongue-lashed those who have con-
ived to ruin and to forego most of
ne potential public benefits of a
reat river, in order to give away the
langled remains!
JORSE THAN TEAPOT DOME
81 say to you that the Hells Can
on deal is morally worse than the
eapot Dome scandal which until now
ood as the very epitome of the be-
ayal of the public trust in this CEN
lowest of the low.
"There are only two differences
stween them. First, the plunder at
ellis Canyon is so much greater and,
cond, the conspirators are cody |
alking away with it in broad day
yht, rather than stealthily by night.
'In both cases, men high in the
were and are respon-
Die. Tom Stokes, the famous column
:, says flatly that the order to Doug
5 Mckay to withdraw federal oppo-
ion to the give-away at Hells Can
n was given to Mckay by no less
official of this administration than
erman Adams, the Assistant to the
esident of the United States.
"Consider the facts: The Idaho
wer Company, domiciled in Maine
d owned chiefly in the east, pleaded
at it had ample resources to build
lat my friend Clyde Ellis has 50
tly called its 'runt dams on the
axe River. These would be in place
the great public structure that
uld have meant four times the stor-
2 for flood control and irrigation,
i nearly half a million more kilo-
It's of power for the development of
entire Northwest.
"A fact that has been forgotten,
nix, is that under President Harry
imam the Interior Department Of |
ed to set-aside, as rapidly as the
no Power Company. could use it, a {
re of the power for it from the t
at dam, almost equal to that which s
'runt dams will develop. lr