OCR Text |
Show Water "Trior to MuiY been, on the leiV reclamation servlctV igticultural entry, h regarded as useful i which ought not to buV Dgrlcultural lands, trac to about 4,000,000 acre Urawals were hastily eluded a great deal of lau not useful for power sites. A Intended to Include the poA on 29 rivers In 9 states. Si time 3.475,442 acres have b stored for settlement of the o 4.000,000 because they do not)-' tain lower sites; and meantime, iiew withdrawals have been made which, with other rertoratlons based upon field examination, result In withdrawals withdraw-als at present effective of 1.2 18.356 acres on vacant public land aud 2o2,-197 2o2,-197 acres on entered public land, or a total of 1,420,1.53 acres. These withdrawals with-drawals made from time to time cover all the power sites Included In the first withdraw uls aud many more, on 151 rivers and In 12 atatea. The disposition dis-position of these power sites Involves one of the most difficult questions presented pre-sented In carrying out practical conservation. con-servation. "The subject is one that calls for new legislation. It bas been thought that there was danger of combination to obtain possession of all the power sltea and to unite them under one control. Whatever the evldeuce of this, or lack of It, at present we have had enough experience to know that combination would be profitable, aud the control of a great number of power pow-er at will within certain sections. "However this may be, it la the plain duty of the government to see to it that in the utilisation and development devel-opment of all this Immense amount of water power, conditions shall be 1 Imposed that will prevent extortion-' extortion-' ate charges, which are the usual accompaniment ac-companiment of monopoly. "The question of conservation Is not a partisan one, and I sincerely '. httperthat evea.ln the iVrt tiiujt ' the present session consideration may be given to those questions which have now been much discussed, and I that action may be taken upon them." |