NEWS AND NOTES 



63 



in the Colorado Springs Gazette of the same 

 date: 



In order to determine just what trees are 

 best suited to the reforestation of the Rocky 

 Mountains, a Government forestry station 

 has been estabHshed on the south slope of 

 Pike's Peak, on Government land near Min- 

 nehaha Falls. Raphael Zon, chief of the 

 division of silvics in the Government For- 

 estry Service, passed through Colorado 

 Springs yesterday on his way to Denver, 

 after having arranged the station. He said 

 that a species of lodge-pole pine has been 

 brought from Wyoming, which, if it can be 

 successfully raised here, will greatly increase 

 the wealth of Colorado. 



From which it appears that instead of the 

 new forestry station being located upon the 

 summit and above timber line, it is in fact 

 near Manitou and in the region of natural 

 forest. Instead of being a wild and insane 

 freak it is in fact a most valuable experi- 

 mental station and one that will be of very , 

 great benefit to all the people of all parts of 

 the state. 



The truth is that in spite of the misrepre- 

 sentations of a few newspapers that have 

 made a campaign against the national forest 

 policy and against Forester Pinchot, based 

 upon partisan prejudice and to some extent 

 upon the selfish interests of those desirous 

 of continuing the spoliation of the public 

 lands, the people of Colorado generally ap- 

 prove the forestry policy. To protect the 

 water sources so that floods may be pre- 

 vented and a constant supply may be assured, 

 to secure reforestation of areas denuded by 

 fire and reckless cutting, to prevent the waste 

 and destruction of present timber resources 

 and to ensure a supply for future years, are 

 recognized as worthy objects, and credit is 

 given to the wise and far-seeing officials who 

 have conceived the forestry policy and are 

 carrying it into eflfect. — Pueblo (Colo.) Chief- 

 tain. 



^ ^ ^ 



Water-'power Sites in the Grip of the Trust 



Investigating the connection between the 

 Electrical Trust, particularly the General 

 Electric and the Westinghouse companies, 

 and the trust that controls water-power sites 

 of the country, the Bureau of Corporations 

 has discovered an interesting and important 

 state of affairs in Colorado. The situation 

 is made more interesting by the fact that 

 Ormsby McHarg, who recently resigned 

 as assistant secretary of Commerce and 

 Labor, denied while in office that there was 

 any water-power trust. The Bureau of Cor- 

 porations is a subordinate of the Department 

 of Commerce and Labor. 



The bureau has found that within an 

 area of 50,000 square miles in Colorado, the 

 General Electric and Westinghouse people 

 absolutely control all the power which turns 

 the wheels in the smelters and other indus- 

 tries, as well as that which lights cities 



and town and runs street car sytems. To 

 use the words of the investigators: 



"The Central Colorado Power Company 

 now claims as its market an area from 

 Grand Junction on the west to fifty miles 

 east of Denver and 100 miles north and 

 south of this line, an area of 50,000 square 

 miles, a commonwealth in itself. 



"In this area, this company, holding the 

 best powers, with sufficient power already in 

 process of development to supply the demand 

 for years, and with its command of the 

 market referred to, controls the territory 

 for the present, but also for the future 

 development as well, since there will be no 

 possibility of equality of competition for fu- 

 ture competitors either in meeting the cost 

 of producing power or in obtaining equal 

 marketing facilities." — Boston (Mass.) Trav- 

 eler. 



iii ^ ^ 



The National Rivers and Harbors Congress 



The National Rivers and Harbors Con- 

 gress held its sixth convention in Washing- 

 ton, D. C, on Wednesday, Thursday, and 

 Friday, December 8, 9, and 10, in the New 

 Willard Hotel. The occasion was in every 

 way a notable one. The order of the ad- 

 dresses was high, the meeting was enthusi- 

 astic and determined. Following are extracts 

 from a few of the more noteworthy utter- 

 ■ ances : 



Count J. H. von Bernstorff, German Am- 

 bassador and Minister Plenipotentiary, said: 

 "When one considers that the railways, in 

 spite of the active inland navigation, have 

 attained a favorable development, and that 

 they are the most profitable in Prussia, where 

 inland navigation is best developed, it is 

 evident that a harmonious cooperation of 

 waterwa3's and railways is also profitable 

 to the latter." 



Hon. Joseph E. Ransdell, president of the 

 National Rivers and Harbors Congress, said : 

 "We must make the people who elect the 

 congressmen and the state legislators under- 

 stand that water transportation is much 

 cheaper than rail for heavy, low-class, bulky 

 articles. We must make them understand 

 that a well improved system of canals and 

 rivers with standard depths along our sea- 

 board and interior would furnish admirable 

 facilities for moving freight and prevent the 

 congestion which caused such heavy losses 

 three years ago and threatens to recur. _ We 

 must teach them that most of the terminals 

 on the water-courses are owned by one or 

 more railroads and used for selfish interest 

 with scant regard for the public welfare. 



"This situation will be changed as soon 

 as the people demand it." 



President William H. Taft said, in part: 

 "You arc going to encomiter in Congress 

 great opposition to the policy of issuing 

 bonds ric-ht out of band. You are much 

 more likely to r^ct from Congress a declara- 

 tion of policv in the shape of a declaration 

 that a certnin improvement ought to be car- 



