STREAMS 69 



Unfortunately, the tendency of the present 

 laws is to encourage the acquisition of these re- 

 sources on easy terms or on their own terms by 

 the first applicants, and the power of the streams 

 is rapidly being acquired under conditions that 

 lead to the concentration of ownership in the 

 hands of monopolies. This state of things con- 

 stitutes a real and immediate danger, not to the 

 country life interests alone, but to the entire 

 nation, and it is time that the whole people be- 

 come aroused to it. 



The laws under which water is appropriated 

 or flowage rights secured for power were enacted 

 prior to the introduction of electrical trans- 

 mission, and, consequently, before there was any 

 possibility of water power becoming of more than 

 local importance or value. Monopoly of water 

 power was practically impossible while the 

 sources and uses were alike isolated, but the 

 present ability to concentrate the power of 

 streams and to develop transportation, manu- 

 facturing, heating, and lighting on a vast scale 

 invites monopolization. 



It appears as a result of governmental in- 

 vestigation that practically in the last five years 



