fmyr'T
The Commoner
FEBRUAEY, 1915
15
Wafer PoWer and the
Peppl
WELL DONE, GOVERNOR COX
William Lr. Chenery, in his "Guidd
Post" department' of the Chicagd
Herald, writes concerning the water
power policy of the present adminis
tration, as follows:
Should the govefriment allow ltd
dam and reserfdir sites and othdr
lands valuable for power develop
ment to pass from its hands forever?
. The question was put by Franklin
K. Lane, secretary of the interior. It
must bo answered by the senate for
the nation Secretary Lane believed
that permission to use water rightd
should bo given, but that the public
lands belonging to the -people should
not be sold or given away; The sec
retary ha3 worked out a method by
which the natural resources of the
nation can bo used profitably and that
without the prodigal surrender of
properties the control of which may
at some future time be essential to
the welfare of the nation.
THE FIGHT FOR CONTROL
This method is incorporated in the
administration's water power bill,
which was passed by the house on
August 24, and which is now pending
in the senate. "The power trust is
fighting the bill," says Secretary Lane
"although as amended by the senate
committee it is especially liberal and
fair and will bring millions into the
west for the development of the wa
ter power. It is easy to understand
why men who alreauy have great
power plants .on public lands should
be opposing such a bill as our power
bill, aud equally easy to understand
. why tha coal monopolists should be
fighting all opportunity for any com
petitor to get into the field. The
power bill, is vitally right in one
tHing:' that the rights., revert at the
end of fifty years to the government,
if the government wishes to take
them over."
THE RICHNESS OF THE PRIZE
- "With possibly few exceptions the
valuable power sites on lands not
owned by the federal government
have passed into private ownership
in. :perpetuity. k They wan not be re
covered except -at a prohibitive ex
pense, nor can control be exercised
thereover in any manner, except it be
by regulation of transmission and de
livery as a public utility.
"Out of 7,000,000 horse power de
veloped in the United States in 1913
twenty companies or groups of in
terests controlled 2,710,886 develop
ed horse power and 3,556,500 unde
veloped horse power, or a total of
6,267,386 horse power.
"A conservative estimate places
the total available horse power at 35,
000,000, of which not exceeding 7,
000,000 have been developed. Of the
total undeveloped horse power 28,
Q 00,0 00, about 74 per cent, is in what
are known a3 the public land estates,
and 42 per cent of the total Is within
government forest preserves. It is
thus apparent that the extent and
value of this undeveloped resource is
large enough to require most careful
consideration, and disposition.
WHAT SHOULD THE NEW LAW
BE?
"The ideal law is one which will
give to the developer and investor an
assured tenure for a period long
enough to justify his investment and
reward his efforts.- It must be under
conditions known to him in advance,
so that his plans may De laid accord
ingly. It must encourage develop
ment without losing sight of the
needs of the consumer anjl the rights
of the peopIeV'
As Secretary Lane points out, it is
unwise to Hell the water ricrhts and
impractical to exact high rental. The
rental would bo paid by the people in
higher rates. Accordingly he pro-
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The following editorial appeared in
the Columbus (Qhio) Dispatch, an
independent newspaper, under date
of January 10, 1915:
"This Is the last full day of the
regime of Governor Cox. Tomorrow
opposing forces pledged to undo
much of the progressive legislation
of the past two years will be in con
trol of the state. WJiat measure of
success may come to the now admin
istration thd future will determine.
All wish it may be in full measure,
but as to the character of the clos
ing one there 13 no question.
"Every mandate laid on Governor
Cox by the people Is an accomplished
fact; every promise has been kept;
every faculty of his being .has been
strained in single-minded service, A
From tho Columbus (Ohio)
constructive genius, ho has left an
imprint on tho morale of tho stato
that time will not erase.
"As he retires to a well-earned
rest from public duties, The Dispatch
believes that away down deep. In oven
the most partisan heart there Is a
feeling that might be translated ipto
'Well done, thou good and faithful
servant "
poses rather a system of leasing,
which is "rather a permission to use,
a contract or agreement for the de
velopment and v.z of sites." A pe
riod of fifty years for the lease was
agreed upon as doing the largest jus
tice to all concerned.
Private owners exact a charge of
about 5 per cent of the value of tho
lands used for power purposes, but
this rate would, it is held, be prohib
itive for tho government. According
ly this Ferris 1 11 Indorsed by Secre
tary Lane exacts nothing at first
while the plant is building and find
ing a market, except a small charge
sufficient to pay the expense of ad
ministering the law.
The rate, however, would be in
creased moderately year by year, but
a premium would be put on low rates
to the consun.o.
The smaller the cost to the con
sumer the smaller Would be the rate
exacted by the government
THE SATISFACTORY FERRIS BILL
The revenue derived from the wa
ter power sites should be used for the
reclamation of arid lands after the
expenses of administration are paid.
Then one-half would go to the statei
and one-half to th national govern
ment. The Ferris bill, in the words of
Secretary Lane, "seems to meet the
present situation1 as nearly as present
knowledge and conditions will per
mit. It secures development by a
certain and fixed tenure; by a rea
sonable charge for the privilege
given; upon conditions known in ad
vance. "It protects public interests by en
couraging low rates to the consumer;
by reasonable regulative charge; by
contribution to the development of
other resources, and by ultimate con
tributions to the stato treasuries.
"It looks to the future by provid
ing that at tho end of fifty-year pe
riods these sites, with their now un
known possibilities and values, may
be taken over by the government to
be disposed of to the states, munici
palities or individuals are held under
such conditions as tho future shall
disclose to be wisest and best."
It guards against the evils of mon
opoly, high rat' to the consumer and
the inability to secure restoration of
the public lands to public use. And1,
finally, it marks a great advance In
national thinking and in the capacity
for self-government.
The worst feature about a .skeleton
in the closet is that it hi so apt tp,
come to live. Philadelphia Record
THE REPUBLICAN POSITION
All tlie speeches at the Republican
Kansas Day club in Topeka last night
boiled into one:
"Fellow Republicans of the Star and
Stripes and the Red, White and Blue:
We are here, much to our surprise,
because we are here, but wo. don't
know why. And we intend to stay.
Sure Mike.
"The party of Grant and Lpgan
and Garfield and 'Mat' Quay and
Penrose never had brighter prospects,
thanks to the European war which
threatens a deficit in the national
treasury. It Is a dreadful warand
it happened ust at the right time
to help us politically.
"The land of the free and the
home of the brave must endure, and
we stand for the old flag and the old
ways of doing things and people. So,
down with the primary law.
"Wo are for progress. It was our
gle-o-rious party that gave Kansas
such a push forward; the primary
and the 2-cent fare and other laws
that we've got that we are proud of,
and wo ought to repeal them as soon
as we can.
"My Fellow Republicans: As lonr
as Old Glory waves, let us stand still
and fight There must be no forwaai
movement.". Kansas City Star, i
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