34 THE BOOK OF FORESTRY 
Much of the privately owned power is being held 
against the day when it will be more valuable, but the 
Government, while anxious to have the power sites it 
still owns quickly developed, is absolutely opposed to 
their sale. The method appoved by the Forest Ser- 
vice advocates the lease of such sites for a long term 
with the privilege of regulating the rates charged to the 
local consumer of power. When once the power people 
realize that Uncle Sam intends to hold on to his supply 
of “white coal,” as water power is frequently called, 
development will go on apace. 
The question of flood prevention and erosion is 
largely a matter of State and individual concern, al- 
though the proper kind of agriculture on steep slopes 
—alternating belts of forest. contour plowing and 
terracing—will help as far as erosion is concerned. 
The prevention of floods is largely a problem of the 
various States, although in some cases where a par- 
ticularly unmanageable river rises in one State and 
inflicts heavy damage on an adjoining State, Govern- 
ment aid may be necessary. With the Forest Service 
acquiring lands on the headwaters of the larger streams 
and with the numerous State and local organizations 
being formed interested in the waterways and rivers 
of the country, progress along these lines must surely 
be made. 
The mineral lands which have passed into private 
hands are of course the property of the present owners 
to be handled as they see fit. They were acquired for 
the most part for very little money and as a con- 
Sequence a certain amount of waste was not surprising. 
With the rapid decrease in the nation’s supply of iron, 
oil, natural gas, ete., the price will rapidly rise, and 
the increase in value will doubtless lead to more 
