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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 1917)
THE SUNDAY OltJSGOXIAX. PORTLAND. NOVEMBER 18. 1017. 17 WATER HELD POWER IS GREAT HEED Present Federal Laws De clared Bar to Development of Western States. NEW LEGISLATION URGED II. J. Pierce Says Adoption of Water Power Bills Now Before Con gress Will Mean Much to Portland and Vicinity. most useful of all modern discoveries, to obtain, with the- aid of electric energy, un limited supplies of fixed nitrogen from tne atmosphere. Nitrogen plants using over l.oou.Ouu bydro-eiectrlc horsepower ar in operation in European countries, while the United States uses none for that purpose. The American people are far behind the rest of the civilized world In the most Im portant of all human activities, the culti vation of the soli. The present method of fertilizer manufacture produces a finished product containing; but 12 per cent of ac tive fertilizer and 88 per cent of useless material, on which freight and haulage must be paid by the farmer, whereas the electro fertilizer product contains GO per cent of fertiliser material. The use of fer tilizer has a most Intimate relation to the cost of living, which has increased In this country at a much more rapid rate than it has abroad. From liH)0 to 1914 the cost of foods in the United States increased 33 per cent, and abroad only 13 per cent. Ths problem of food shortage and high prices can only be solved through supplying the soil with atmospheric nitrogen fertilizer, thus doubling the crops. One-third of the cost of wood pulp and paper consists of the cost of power, and the of now silent desert lands lying east of the enacted by Congress, no matter of how re- Cascade Mountains would yield immense crops If given water through electrically operated pumping plants. What the Northwest needs Is more diver sity of industry and crops. Sugar beets, first grown In the Taklma Valley two years ago, yield an average of HO tons per acre against 20 tons per acre in Utah, Colorado and California. Two new beet sugar plants are to be Immediately built to supplement the one already working to capacity. Half a million tons of sugar could be annually pro duced In those river valleys if the land were given water. The culture of cotton has not yet been undereaken in a, commercial way, but an acre planted In the Columbia Valley In April last came to full fruition in Sep tember and yielded one and a half bales against the acreage yield of a bale per acre In the Southern states. Cheaper Power Is Most Needed. Cheap water power would result tn estab lishment of great induHtrial plants in these river valleys, the products of whlh. would nass to and through Portland. This great rranary and source of industrial activity and wealth lies almost at the door of Port land, waiting to be unlocked. The Question in of such enormous Importance to the present high cost and scarcity of paper for vA.hAaf tt Kfnn.tnra and Kenro news printing Is almost wholly dus to the entatives would be Justified in giving their strength and time ana energy 10 ine pawag of workable water-power legislation vy mw ine uiesj Development and utilisation of the waterpower of America is the most im nortant Question now before the the people of this Nation, from an eco nomic and commercial standpoint, ac cording to H. J. Pierce, president of the Columbia Valley Reclamation Com pany. It is, he declares, a subject of the greatest interest to everyone, re gardless of what section of the country one may live in. - Mr. Pierce, who Is an expert on the subject, having been a student of reclamation for many years, sets forth his views in the following article: Few things can be used and at the same time conserved. The fullest conservation of water power can only bo reached by its complete utilization. "Water power devel opment brings comfort and profit to hu inanity, without destruction, without de terioration, and without loss. The Internal development of a country must precede its external commerce, and the development of our water powers Is vitally necessary to the industrial progress of the Nation, and will be of enormous importance alter the war to the growth of Us foreign trade. It is not an exaggeration to state that, from an economic and commercial stand point, the development and utilization of our wasting water power is the most Important question now before the American people. While ijt is of particular interest to the far western' and southern sect ions of the coun try, where the greater part of the water powers are located, yet the question Is Na tional in scope, and affects alike the farmer on the Kansas prairie and the resident of the great city. Yet it is a strange fact that out of more than 00,000, 0t0 water horsepower in this country, but 5,500,000, or about 8 per cent, has thus far been developed. Water Power Saves Labor. The utilization of the enormous amount f energy latent but now wasting in our falling waters is intimately connected with the solution of such great National problems as the National de tense; extension of in land waterways; shortage of food; conserva tion of coal, oil and labor; Irrigation of arid lands, and railroad car shortage. In addi tion to conserving vast quantities of coal and labor to mine and handle it, the hydro-electric energy existing in our running waters would, if developed, be utilized in the manu facture of explosives, fertilizers, wood-pulp end paper, electro-chemicals, copper and aluminum, and In the operation of railroads by electricity; operation of irrigation pump ing plants ; and in numberless other Indus trial applications. We are at present but upon the border land of the electric age, yet the wonderful agency of electricity has become man's most popular, reliable and capable servant in do .lng the world's work. Power and machinery efiord the best supplementary means toward furnishing humanity with the necessities, comforts and luxuries of life. Instead, how ever, of utilizing the energy contained In the force of our descending waters, we are ob taining the . energy mainly from steam through use bt coal, which can never be re placed, and which requires hundreds of thousands of mert for mining when labor is ao scarce, and cars for transportation when they are so badly needed for carrying mer chandise and raw materials. ' - Coal Can Be Eliminated. Electric energy obtained from water power can be carried hundreds of miles over un obtrusive wires to furnish light, heat and power to city and village, to the farmer and to residents of districts remote from coal supply. The-use of coal In localities where hydro-electric power is obtainable can be virtually eliminated. Factories, railroads. farm . machinery, all kinds of labor-saving devices where power is required can be op crated, and cooking and heating of homes and buildings can be effected by the obedient electric current. It is estimated that over $.100,000,000 damage Is caused annually in the United States, through smoky burning of coal, to buildings and their contents, and In the cost of extra laundry bills. The use of electricity rids the atmosphere of the smoke and gas so deleterious to human health, and cleanliness and common sense prevail in place of soot and wastefulness. A careful estimate shows that were the water powers developed which are now wast- I lng In the rivers of the United States and were locks Installed in the power dams, over 40OO miles of the upper reaches of these streams would be opened to navigation. The cost of - these river improvements would be upwards of $800,000,000, and, if accomplished by private capital for the purpose of power production, would not cost the Government a dollar except for the locks and removal of minor obstacles in those portions of the stream not connected with power development- War to Affect Commerce. If these river improvements were In one stream. .It would be equivalent to creating a navigable waterway across the continent from New York to San Francisco. But in reality it would mean the extension of navi gation for an aggregate of 40O0 miles In 35 rivers, traversing 20 states in such widely different sections of the country as Cohnectl cutt, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Tennes see, Florida, Arkansas, Ohio, Kentucky, Mis souri, Wisconsin Minnesota, Washington and Idaho. With the United States at war, and its every energy being exerted to increase pro duction of farm, factory and mine, with great bodies of troops and supplies mov ing and with our ships in foreign service, as well as those engaged in coastwise and lake trade, commandeered by the Govern ment to act as carriers for troops, war materials and supplies, there will be an ever-increasing volume of commerce. How is it to be transported? How are the rail roads to handle it? The needs of our Army, Navy and our allies munt be supplied. While it will take a long period of time to improve all of the Inland waterways which could be made navigable in connec tion with development and water powers, yet every 100 miles helps, and the construc tion of river power dams and locks should begin in many different sections ot the country without delay. Cheap Transportation Vital. Germany has thousands of miles of ca nals and rivers which have been made navigable and are being used for carrying heavy freight, leaving the railroads f ree to be used for the rapid transportation of troops and food supplies. It is said that were It not for her freight-carrying Inland waterways the war would be over and Ger many beaten because the rapid movement of her troops from one front to another would have been seriously impeded had the railroads been occupied with heavy freight shipments. Transportation facilities are the very foundation of industrial prosperity, and the advantages of a complete and unified sys tem of internal land and water transporta tion is of incalculable advantage to any country. Cheap transportation is as vital to industry and commerce as ammunition to an army. With the Increasing expense of govern ment It Is becoming more difficult 1 3 se cure appropriations- for river improvements. Why -not ' avoid taxation by allowing pri vate capital to perform the work in return for the privilege of being permitted to de velop, under, public regulation, the water powers now wasting in those streams ? It la estimated that over- 10.000,000 horse power could bo produced from dams in stalled In connection with the improvement of our inland waterways. Our rivers should be put to work. There is only one way by which the food production of this country can be mate rially increased, and that is through the in creased use of fertilizer. Starve the soil and we starve ourselves. European coun tries, through the use of about 200 pounds of fertilizer per acre of cultivated ground, obtain an average yield per acre of 32 bushels of wheat. 47 of oats and 15S of po tatoes,, against the use of 28 pounds of fer tilizer per acre of cultivated ground in ths United States, with resultant average pro duction' of 15 bushels of wheat, 20 of oati and ! of potatoes. It is here where the relation of water power to food produc tion comes in.. impossibility of developing, under present restrictive Federal laws, the water powers now wasting in the streams of ths United States. Unless this condition csn be reme died many of the newspapers of the United States will be forced either to suspend pub lication or to Increase the price at which the papers are eold, as well as advertising rates. This comes home to every citizen of our country. None are so poor but what they can buy "the penny newspaper and cheap paper, made from wood pulp, has alone made "the penny paper" possible. Valuable Timber Wasting. Nature has largely segregated her natural resources In the Far Western states. There the forests necessary to the manufacture of wood pulp and paper line the banks of the falling water. Far more spruce, larch and hemlock timber Is coming to fruition and wasting each year in our Western forests con tiguous to also wasting water powers than sufficient to produce, at cheapest cost, all the wood pulp and paper required by the newspapers or this country. The states of Oregon and Washington con tain more available water power and more pulp wood than any other two states In the Union. Out of the 17,000.000 horsepower within the borders of these states, but 2 per cent in all has thus far been developed. The Government forest reserves In these two states contain over 44,000,000,00(1 feet of timber suitable for the manufacture of wood pulp. It seems almost incredible that an enlight ened Government like ours should keep laws In force which bar the way to the develop ment of this great natural resource. Can ada, Norway and Sweden have been devel oping their water powers, and the United States census shows that over 400,000 tons of wood pulp were Imported Into the United States from those countries during 1915. There Is a Norwegian business man In this country at the present time who is desirous of establishing large woost pulp and paper plants in the United States with Norwegian capital, but he finds It impossible to do so because the Federal policy governing the development of water power is so narrow, so full of restrictions, so loaded down with conditions, that no prudent man will ven ture to embark in the business. Practical Legislation Needed. Were" Congress to enact practical water power legislation, under which capital could be obtained for development purposes, tne erection of plants for production of wood pulp and paper would be undertaken in the Pacific Coast states oi a capacity suiiicieni to supply at a reasonable price the full re quirements of this country without importa tion. In view of the great economical success oi the electrification of 450 miles of the Mil waukee line. It Is almost certain that in the near future a majority of the railroads oper ating through the mountainous country of the Far West, where hydro-electric power can be developed cheaply, will adopt elec tricity as motive power. Forty-eight thou sand seven hundred miles of railroad are now being operated In the states of Washington, Oregon, California, laano, jviontana, Wyo ming. North Dakota. South Dakota. tJiah, Arizona, Colorado and Nevada, It is esti mated that 10,000 horsepower Is needed to operate 100 miles of single track, and there fore it will require 4.H70.000 horsepower to electrify all ot tne rauroaos in tnese states, or one-ninth of the total hydro-electric pow er possible to develop in the territory trav ersed by these railroads. A great portion of ths trackage Is over mountain divisions, and the use of electricity in nlace of coal will result In great economy of operation, obviate the danger of forest fires, and by elimination oi noise, smutte, ran and dust, and through a more generous ventilation which will be possible when the flying cinder need no longer be taken into account, will make travel far more safe. comfortable and pleasant than at present, and It will go far toward curing the freight transportation problem through relieving car shortage, as the cars now used for carrying coal for railroad uss can be used to carry freight. Industrial Development Retarded. Manufacturing plants costing millions of dollars and employing thousands of men, and turning out products Indispensable to the life of a nation, which might have been built in this country, have been forced to locate in foreign countries, and to continue turh conditions Is wasteful and destructive. The enactment into law of the water power bills now pending before the United States Senate is of enormous importance to ron land. The results which would accrue from the passage of these bills in their present practical, workable form would mean more to the growth and prosperity of Portland than all other' Influences combined. Were th water Dowers developed which are now wasting in the Columbia and Snake Rivers nnri thpir tributaries, the flow of commerce. of products oi factory ana iarm oy river and rail to Portland for trans-ship ment and use wouia oe enormous anrt micht easily double the popula tlon and the wealth of the city witnm iu vUTft Ral roads would have to uouoie track their lines to nanuie ine uuBiiireo, anu B pront tonnase would now tnrougn tne tje inn C"annl. Hundreds of thousand or acres onncrefia at Its coming session, that the investor will accept any legislation strlctive a nature, is absurd and unbusin ike. as is Droved by the fact that, under the present law governing development of water powers in streams in part navigaoie, not a single water power has been developed during the past six years. A natural resource which may not be used might as well not exist. It is like a would- be banker, who mistakes the safety deposit business for banking, and locks up all the money In the vaults and keeps It there un used, to the detriment of both depositors and the public Why not give thoe who would develop our wasting -water power the right to work, the rlKht to build and expend and develop. the right to help create a greater and more powerful industrial Nation? Why not give them laws to work under, which, while plac ing them under the constant supervision of the DUbtlo authorities and safeguarding every public interest, yet shall be of uch fair and businesslike character that under their operation men may hope for a generous re turn for their work and their rtsk In i necessarily hazardous business, and capital b suuiured of a safe Investment? The pend lng bills are of a nature which thoroughly protects-" the public Interest, and yet are fair toward capital ana wouiu result in ueveiup menL Let us hone that we of the North wftitt shall see the dawn of a new era of de velopment, prosperity and growth through the passage of these water-power bills by Congress during the coming Vi inter. DRAMA WILL BE GIVEN BEX GREET FLAYERS TO APPEAR AT PUBLIC AUDITORIUM. Players' history in connection with the I open lr play t Columbia University before an .aumence oi over oww ifin. "The Merchant of Venire" Will Be Pre sented by Organization Know Throughout Country. The Ben Greet Players will appear in Portland at the Municipal Audi torium Monday: night, November 26. in "The Merchant of Venice." The organ ization, long famed for its portrayal of Shakespearean drama. Is viewed ' as especially strong this year, and in the cast are several interesting person alities who have played with the Neigh borhood House Players and the W ash ln(rton Square Players, of New York. All members of the cast are personally coached by Ben Greet. I A recent account of the Ben Greet Grset stage says: Mr. Greet presents the beat In dramatic literature with true hiatrionlc art In a way which has not been excelled by any other producer. Mr. Greet la considered today one of the greatest living; authorities on the English drama, and Is world famous for his remarkable productions of Shakes perlan plays and old English comedies. He has been connected with tne stage tor ju years and has taught many actors, per haps more than any other man living to day. For 20 years Mr. Greet has Deen prom inent In England for the performances which his splendid companies nave ,iph vej&r In London. Oxford. camDnuge, Stratford-upon-Avon and oiner places in Khkneira'i Enaland. Mr. Greet became well known In America several years ago tvimti.h hi. nr,wntitioa of the morality play 'Everyman" under the management of Charlee Frohman. This Is the first time a play was presented In America by a profes sional company in the Elizabethan manner. This was later followed by the production of Shakespearian plays and classical com edies. The Ben Greet nlavers gave a season the Garden Theater. New York, covering nearly 200 pert ormancea. followed by ap pearances In other cities throughout the United states, tsoane years ago tne en Woodland" Players gave their Iirst followed by performances at Harvard. Yale. Princeton. Oberlin. universities Of cnicage. Pennsylvania. Virginia. Michigan. Minne sota and California, and repealed ever since almost annually. Mr. oraet s company was tne first to be li.ited appear at .ne White House grounds. Tbe great success of Mr. Greet's productions s largely due his ability to choose capable -players and train ihem properiy to delineate the characters in classical plays. The plays presented by him are given In pure fashion with the minimum stage effect. There is nothing to detract attention from the play. These are real educational productions of masterpieces. of classical comedy and drama. There are no atars In the cast, but every actor is experienced and competent. Eacn piays his part with the sole purpose of depicting the character as it should be Absolutely correct diction and ' pronuncia tion is a distinguishing characteristic of Mr. Greel's players Pasco Woman Railway Worker Hart PASCO. Wash.. Nov. 17. (Special.) Mrs. Nellie Adams, of this city, while at work at the turntable in the TTorth ern Pacific roundhouse had her leg broken. She Is resting comfortably at the hospital. 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