One need not be afraid of exaggerating the peril to the beauty of
Niagara in allowing its waters to be used for commercial purposes when
a man of such moderation and public esteem as Senator Burton of Ohio
says, as he did in the Senate on the fourth of March:
I want to say, Mr. President, that in all my experience in either
house of Congress I have never known such an aggregation of persons
to come here seeking to rob and to despoil as those who have come
here after this power. If there is any one who wishes them to
succeed he must answer to the country for it. They not only desired
the water above the Falls, but they now desire to withdraw the
waters below in the rapids, which are second in beauty only to the
Falls themselves. Persons have come here under the guise of public
spirit, or even of philanthropy, when it was but a thin veil to
conceal a scheme to get possession of the waters of the Niagara
River. We ask that for a year this law be continued to stay the
hand of the despoiler.
The law referred to was the Burton Act under which for three years the
assaults of the commercial interests have been stayed. Even with a
concession to the companies of 250,000 horse-power instead of 160,000,
Mr. Burton, owing to a filibuster by Senator O’Gorman, was not able to
secure the desired extension, and the Falls seem to be at the mercy
of those who are interested in turning great scenery into dividends.
We are much mistaken if the new administration does not find some way
of thwarting this form of vandalism. Meanwhile it is well that public
opinion should be directed upon senators and representatives.
Of the damage that has already been done Senator Burton says: “...
The ruthless hand of the promoter has been laid upon this river; and
thus the cataract has been diminished in size and the scenic effect
has been impaired not only by diminishing the flow and the quantity of
the water, but by structures on the banks.” A question of jurisdiction
has been raised as between the State of New York and the National
Government, though the river as a boundary line has long been the
subject of an international treaty. The fact that the taking of water
for commercial purposes whether on the Canadian or the American side
has virtually the same effect on the river makes joint action of the
two countries imperative.
The willingness to destroy or impair great scenery by commercializing
it, whether at Niagara or in the Yosemite National Park, makes it
necessary that the fight for our natural treasures should be kept up
with vigilance. Happily, the good judgment of the late Secretary of the
Interior, Warren L. Fisher, has blocked the attempt of the city of San
Francisco to destroy the wonderful Hetch Hetchy valley by converting
it into a reservoir of water for drinking and power purposes,--which
confessedly can be had elsewhere in the Sierra “by paying for it,”--the
Secretary wisely holding that such a diversion of the valley from
the original purpose of its reservation is too important a matter to
be determined by any power but Congress. Three Secretaries of the
Interior--Hitchcock, Ballinger, and Fisher--are thus on record against
the ruthless project of the city authorities, and we believe it will
not be more successful with Secretary Lane. Should its advocates go
to Congress, it must be remembered that the same principle underlies
the defense of Niagara and of Hetch Hetchy--the conservation of great
scenery for the ultimate benefit of mankind.
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