Salt Lake Telegram | 1916-02-27 | Page 20 | Pleas for Saving of Water Power Sites For

Pleas is for Saving of R Gifford Pinchot in Letter to Telegrams Telegram's Editor Edito Sounds Warning of Danger That Confronts Am Ame Water Power Sites for Pe J I February 15 16 1916 Editor The Telegram Salt l Lake ake City My Dear Sir I Sir I write to ask your help to defeat a most serious attack on our public resources Since the fight over the Alaska Ala ka resources was won there has not been so pressing a threat against the conservation policy as the present effort in congress to I give our public water powe powers s 's for nothIng nothing nothing noth noth- ing into monopolistic control The Shields bill n now w before the senate gives to the power interests without compensation the use of ot water water wa wa- water ter power on navigable streams The amount of water power these streams will supply Is larger by far than allI all the power of ot every kind now in use in inthe inthe inthe I the United States It pretends to but does not enable the the people to take t back their own property at the end ena of or fifty tifty years for in order to do so under under under un un- un- un der the bill the government would have to pay the unearned increment and to take over whole lighting systems of ot cities and whole manufacturing plants Private corporations are authorized authorized authorized au au- au- au to seize upon any land private ate ato or public they choose to condemn con con- Bills which gave away public water water water wa wa- ter powers vers without due compensation were vetoed by President Roosevelt and President Taft The Shields bill would do precisely the same thing to today to- to day Another water power bill the Ferris bill relating to the public lands and national forests was in the main a good bill as it passed the house As reported to the senate it encourages monopoly b by permitting a corpora i tion to take as many public waterpower water waterpower waterpower power sites as it may please Under it the corporations could not even be kept from fastening upon the Grand canyon the greatest natural wonder on this continent This bill Dill takes the care of ot water powers on national forests forets for for- eats ests from the ex experienced and competent competent competent com com- forest service service and gives it to the interior department thus entailing duplication and needless expense In my opinion there is undue carelessness carelessness carelessness care care- as to the disposal of public resources at present in Washington The water power legislation fore fora the senate is too favora men who as as Secretary Ho Hou Hom mirable recent report show through eighteen than one half of ot the total w er used In n publIc publio service tJ the United States The TV wa wamen men charge that development The Hous Houst shows on the contrary thi that rapid development is in t th forests where conservation enforced On the other h publio service corporations corporations' are holding undeveloped i ause ar use an amount of water p poto po poto to four-fifths four of all there i iSI 11 and In use by all the pul corporations in the States 1 As I said in an o open en lett lette letter ary 29 to the president Natural resources lie at al dation of all preparedness w s peace or for war No pi pla defense can be effect it provides for adequate p pi of ot all the raw materia materi which the defensive tion is made Of these raw rai water power is the most es ess cause without electricity from water power we can 1 facture nitrates and basis of gunpowder The Ther Ther great natural deposits of z the United States as Chili It would be folly t tc tol 1 public water powers ply this indispensable basis defense to pass out of ot f. f control A concerted movement is 1 break down the Feeble resistance or none n ning ing made by official Wash less the press and the pe p the rescue the power int inte likely to win win This is a pj i iter pt ter wholly removed from pc pol Your Tour help is n that of your our paper For Tor I years this fight for the pi pul powers has gone on We o ou lose it now Sincerely yourt youri GIFFORD P PI