The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, June 17, 1918, Page 16

§ .000,000—to big business, will ! now have to invent some other i country, should write to their Bill to Save Water Power for the People Fake Measures in Congress Can’t Stand Up, Before the Scientifically Drawn Proposal of Representative J eanette Rankin Washington Bureau, Nonpartisan Leader EMBERS of the house and senate who have voted and talked for the 50-year leasing of all the re- maining public waterpower sites—worth more than $1,000,- excuse than that “This was the best conservation measure that was offered.” Miss Rankin of Montana has called their bluff. - She introduced in the house, May 22, a straightout govern- ment - ownership waterpower bill, scientifically drafted and proof against the attacks of the waterpower lobby-lawyers who frequent the ecapitol. b Voters in the West who want to _know the details of the plan for giving to the peo- ple, instead of to the General Electric and to. the Stone & Webster interests the benefit of the waterpower of this congressmen for H. B. 12231. In the first place, this bill copies of { creates a waterpower board, of which the secretaries of .war, agriculture and the interior shall be members, and to which the president shall name also a skilled ' hydro-electric engineer and a lawyer having special l\ _the ' reclamation service. knowledge and experience in the law of watérs, water rights and public administrations. One of these two experts would be known as the water- power commissioner and would be the active exec- utive officer of the board. NO INFRINGEMENT OF STATES’ RIGHTS The business method of the board would re- semble, in general outline, the business method of It would locate power sites on navigable streams or on streams upon the public - lands, and would build power dams. and hydro-electric plants, and plants for the manufac- ture of nitrates useful in fertilizer and in munitions. It would also build auxiliary power plants to be operated by steam, using coal or oil as fuel, for eniergencies of lack of waterpower. The secretaries of the interior and of agriculture The effort to appropriate for private benefit and use the great natyral re- sources of the country which still re- main upon the public domain or within the control of the federal government is not partisan. Republicans and Dem- ocrats alike have tried to do it, not as parties and not as representatlves of party opinion, but as representatives of private interests trying to put some- thing over. The record of the Dem- . ocrats during President Wilson’s in- cumbency on the conservation of nat- ural resources has not been one of great accomplishment. On the great question of the development of water- power for creating hydro-electric en- ergy, the Democrats have not: acted, despite repeated promptings from the president, because the measures that were framed by the Democratic com- - - mittees, aided by some” Republicans, _ were 80 bad that conservationists, both in and-out of congress, rallied all their _.forces' and defeated them, some- . times by a close shave. are authorized in the bill to permit the use of earth, stone and timber from the public lands and national forests, for construction or maintenance of these works. While the bill' does not.mention the use of coal and oil from the public domain, there is no good reason why that should not be provided before the time comes for securing fuel that may be required. Nor is this Rankin bill a federal scheme for de- priving the progressive states, cities, counties or irrigation districts of the right to get their share of development when they are ready to finance ‘a local project. When the board finds that its own project does not make full use of a water resource, ~and the state, county, city or irrigation district is willing to contribute its share toward a bigger development, the board can enter .into contract with any one or more of these political subdivisions, for the joint development at joint expense. . The same sort of joint contract may also be made with pri- . vate corporations, .associations or persons, but in these latter cases the partner of the government is permitted -to charge only a fair return upon its actual investment, less depreciation. I'OR FERTILIZER OR EXPLOSIVES . Water that has gone over the dam, or through the power turbines, is still public property, and this -Rankin bill provides®for its disposal to water users as a profit to the government. The board is given power to determine the benefit, to persons diverting water below its reservou-s, arising from the fact that the flow of the river through the season has been regulated hy the bulldmg of the reservoir. The amount of this benefit is made a tax on the water user, and can be collected by fed- eral process. It must, of course, be a fair propor- ticn of the total benefit from the improvement, en- joyed by all users of the water and power. Section 15 of the Rankin bill answers the tricky .arguments of the big business lobby which has been pleading that the power sites must be given away for 50 years to the special interests, as a “war emergency.” It provides that the board may— “(a) Use for the manufacture of nitrates and cther products useful in munitions or fertilizers the energy, or any part thereof, developed by the generating works‘; also purchase any or all raw materials necessary for or profitable to be used in such manufacture. “(b). Dehven\all or any part of the products so - manufactured, as the president shall direct, to any department or. officer of the Umted States 3 v .. i i ‘PAGE.SIXTEEN & % A . =t 2 W-WWEIL TR T :;::r:.fl-»;,.;,,,‘:.;:\;r\z“ This is Elephant Butte dam, on the Rio Grande, between Texas and New Mexico. United States reclamation service built it and operates it. carrying power produced by impounding the water. (4 authorized to purchase like - products. “(c) Sell and deliver all or any such products not needed by the United States. “(d) Transmit and deliver all or any part of the energy developed by the generating works, as the president shall direct, to any department or officer of the United States . authorized to purchase like energy. ~ “(e) Sell, transmlt and de- liver at high tension any or all such energy not needed by the United States.” Those five clauses give the government full play in using nitrates for explosives, or for fertilizer, either for use by the government or for sale \to states, cities, counties or—pri- vate interests; they. give the board the chance also to use or sell electric current in the same way. It is the most di- rect, complete and " flexible plan of mobilizing the water- powers for use during the war that could possibly be devised. MIGHT ELECTRIFY NATIONAL RAILWAYS For example, the board mlght develop a series of waterpdwer sites in ‘Montana, along the railroad lines, during the war. It could build nitrate plants in connection with the power plants. Then, according to the need of the government, it could use this power either to make exploswes for the army, to make fertilizer for the increase of food production, or to add to the electrification of the railroad sys- tem of that region, thereby saving coal. If some cheaper process of making nitrates were developed, the power could be divided between railroad and other consumers, accordmg to the immediate cir- cumstances. But in any event the cost of elec- tricity, performing necessary work during the war, would for the first time represent honest invest- ment and not speculative profits of private capital. A fund of $50,000,000 is appropriated from the treasury, at the start, to build the first projects. All money received from the power and water, or The The, electric wires you see are Projects such as these show that it is possible for the government to execute great-improvement projects without a penny of graft, and with the greatest benefit to the people. from sales of land or other property in connection .. with' the developments, will be turned into this waterpower fund. Each department of the govern-. ment which buys nitrates or power from the water- power board will pay the agreed amount into the- fund. And from the fund new projects will be in- turn financed and set to earning money to build still other projects. ‘Congress has tried - -desperately, for the last eight years, to sidestep the demand of the- American people that the waterpower resources be kept in public ownershlp The 50-year leasing bill of the ‘present session is just a few degrees less vicious than the leasmg bills of other years. It does not provide for straight public-development and oper- ation of power. 2 Here is an electric high school on Minidoka project. Idaho.- Nine-tenths of the people of four towns un- der this project use electncaty generated by the ‘" Minidoka dam. Rupert is proud of its high school, electrlcally heated, lighted and ventilated: No ¥, pnvate corporation collects:toll from the com- mumty tor thls 1mprovement. S this public waterpower to make -