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Show license may be seeking to derive the benefit from large Federal investment in projects elsewhere in the stream. These and other questions must be considered against the background of the historical develop- ment of the Nation's power supply and the legisla- tion through which Congress has sought to express the public interest in this vital resource. Our Power Supply The past 60 years have seen the country's elec- tric power supply increase from a few thousand to about 67 million kilowatts. Hydroelectric de- velopments appeared early in the power age. Today, water power provides about 17.5 million of the 67 million kilowatts of utility capacity. The first great period in the power age was engineered and operated largely by private enter- prise operating under public franchises. But beginning early in the twentieth century, impor- tant city-owned electric systems were developed. Many of these became instrumentalities for dem- onstrating the practicability of lower electric rates with larger consumption of electrical energy, par- ticularly in homes. Two of these municipal plants, one at Tacoma and the other at Seattle, played a significant part in the building of the Pacific Northwest. An- other, the Los Angeles municipal system, contrib- uted in lite manner to the development of southern California. These three great munici- pally owned systems were supported by private business enterprise in these cities because the large blocks of low-cost power helped to attract industry. During this period many smaller municipal electric systems came into being to meet the needs of their cities. These included Burbank, Glen- dale, and Pasadena, Calif.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Springfield, 111.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Kansas City, Kans.; Holyoke, Mass.; Kalamazoo and Lansing, Mich.; arid Columbus and Hamilton, Ohio. More recently other cities joined the group pre- ferring municipal ownership, including Lincoln and Omaha, Nebr.; the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, Calif.; Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis, and Nashville, Tenn.; and Austin and San Antonio, Tex. The country's power supply, however, is oper- ated predominantly by private corporations. Thus, of the country's total of 67 million kilo- watts installed in all generating stations supply- ing the general public at the middle of 1950, the privately owned total amounted to 53.5 mil- lion kilowatts as compared with 13.5 million kilowatts in public plants. The latter figure in- cludes all Federal hydroelectric projects. Early Development of Federal Power Policy In 1890, Congress, by legislation, forbade the construction of obstructive dams and other struc- tures in navigable waters without its consent and the approval of the plans by the Chief of Engi- neers and the Secretary of War. The 1890 River and Harbor Act contained the first indication of the intent of Congress to limit the period of occu- pancy of a power site. Then, in a special authori- zation for the Secretary of War to grant leases for power development in the Green and Barren Rivers, Congress specified that the leases were not to exceed 20 years. In 1901, the first legislation was passed to pro- tect power sites on public lands. A 1916 report on Water Power Development and Use of Public Lands by the House Committee on Public Lands (House Report No. 16, 64th Congress, 1st session (1916), p. 8) commented on the background of this legislation as follows: Prior to the act of February 15, 1901, there was no legislation on the subject at all; water-power sites went to patent unmolested, either as parts of home- steads or by purchase, and were given no Federal attention whatever. Under this procedure a large number of the power sites on the public domain were frittered away and have passed into private ownership beyond regulation, beyond control. As we look back on this procedure it seems like criminal neglect. Many of the valuable water-power sites of the country passed as fast as eager private concerns and persons could grab them under the several laws then in existence. These are now forever, in part, to be enjoyed by the few who at will may practice 220 |