294 PROCEEDINGS OE THE 



the creatures of to-day. It is to-day, as ft has always 

 been, a most active agent in the preservation and up- 

 building of the human race and a most important 

 factor in providing in all ways for man's comfort. It 

 furnishes him with both the necessities and the luxuries 

 of life, nourishing his body and gratifying his soul's 

 desires. From and through it have come the materials 

 by which man has subdued both the land and the sea 

 and, to-day, it is, as it has ever been, the benefactor 

 of all, of "man and bird and beast." 



Others have touched upon its importance as the 

 source of our timber supply, the conservation of water 

 for our irrigation projects, the chief dependence of 

 our range industries, our railroads, our wood-working 

 and publishing interests, and the general welfare of 

 the public. I desire now to invite your attention for 

 a few moment to its importance as a factor in the 

 development of the waste power which lies dormant 

 in all our running streams and upon which the future 

 welfare of the entire country will so greatly depend. 



The people of the United States are but just awak- 

 ening to the great possibilities existing in embryo in 

 our creeks and rivers. Electricity, that giant dynamic 

 of the present generation and of countless generations 

 yet unborn, is hardly more than in its infancy. Every 

 stream, small or large, has potential power, which can 

 be carried practically unlimited distances, at least sev- 

 eral hundreds of miles, and can be used in any amount 

 desired or in any desired combination with that derived 

 from similar streams, though they may be many miles 

 apart. One of the greatest needs that this country 

 has to-day is a cheaper form of power, so that indus- 

 tries as yet undeveloped on account of the excessive 

 cost of operation under existing conditions, may in 

 their turn add to the national wealth. This is true 



