comply with the terms of the treaty, and extending the operations of the Burtou law thus amended so long as the treaty remains in force. The Alexander bill increases the amount of water which can be diverted on the American side from 15,600 cubic feet per second to 20,000 cubic feet per second; and it leaves out of the bill all restrictions upon the transmission of power from Canada into the United States. In other respects the original Burton law is not changed. The original law was intended, in pursuance of its purpose to preserve Niagara Falls, to prevent any new power projects from being started at Niagara; and it therefore stipulated that the permits, which under the law the Secretary of War was authorized to issue for the diversion of water on the American side, should be issued only to those individuals, companies, or corporations which were at that time actually producing power "from the waters of said river, or its tributaries, in the State of New York, or from the Erie Canal." The original law also prescribed penalties of fine and imprisonment for violations of the law, and gave jurisdiction over such cases to the United States circuit court. These provisions in identical language are repeated in the Alexander bill, which is simply the Burton law amended to accord with the treaty.

This bill failed to pass. On April 20, 1911, Senator Root introduced a bill [S. 1490] to give effect to the treaty, and the bill is now pending.

Fourth. Prior to the introduction of the Burton law two American and three Canadian corporations, acting on the faith of laws enacted and contracts made by and with the State of New York, the Province of Ontario, and the Dominion of Canada, had undertaken the construction of five extensive projects for the development of power, three of them on the Canadian and two of them on the American side. At that time upward of $30,000,000 had been expended on these projects, which were all of them incomplete; but relying on the rights granted to them by the public authorities on both sides of the river, the companies had made their plans and entered into contracts, which would have entailed enormous financial loss, if not entire ruin, unless the companies had been permitted to carry out these projects. It was quite clearly shown in the hearings before the Burton committee that the diversion of the water necessary to carry out to their full extent the projects which then were only partially completed, would not result in any serious injury to the scenic grandeur of Niagara Falls. Nevertheless the Burton law only provided for the partial completion of these projects. Its restrictions upon the diversion of water on the American side and the transmission of power from the Canadian side were such that the companies would only have been able partially to complete their projects. This injustice and inequity were remedied by the treaty, which was the result of negotiations extending over nearly two years in which the whole subject was thoroughly examined with the aid of Government experts on both sides. The treaty carries out the original purpose of the Burton Act to preserve the scenic grandeur of Niagara Falls by preventing any new power enterprises, but it permits the companies which had expended such enormous sums of money to carry out the plans which they had formed on the faith of the law as it stood when such plans were made. These plans contemplated the use of a small portion of the waters of Niagara for the delivery of cheap electrical power to the people of central and western New York, nearly 2,500,000 in number, occupying a broad belt more than 200 miles in length between Utica and Dunkirk. Buffalo and the entire Niagara frontier from Niagara Falls to the steel industries at Lackawanna, as well as the cities of Rochester, Syracuse, Auburn, Lockport, Jamestown, Dunkirk, Batavia, and many smaller communities are vitally interested in seeing that this treaty is carried into effect, and that it should no longer be practically nullified by the Burton law in its present form.

Unless the treaty is given full effect the industries of central and western New York will be seriously crippled and their development arrested, because the companies which now have transmission lines of a total length of 500 miles, supplying Niagara power to these industries, have about reached the limit of the power which they can obtain unless the Alexander bill is enacted into law.

Fifth. The average flow of the Niagara River, as determined by the observations of the United States engineers extending over a period of 51 years, is 212,000 cubic feet per second. The treaty authorizes 20,000 cubic feet to be taken out above the Falls on the American side and 36,000 cubic feet on the Canadian side, a total of 56,000 cubic feet, or about one-fourth of the entire amount.

The amount of power which can be produced by 1 cubic foot per second varies among the different power companies from 9 horsepower to 17 horse

power, depending upon where the water is taken and the nature of the installation. The average is a little less than 13 horsepower per cubic foot. The total amount of power which could be developed at Niagara on the basis of using all of the average flow of the river is therefore about 2,750,000 horsepower, and the amount of power that can be developed under the restrictions imposed by the treaty will be less than 700,000 horsepower. The present installation at the Falls is approximately 400,000 horsepower, which will shortly be increased to about 450,000 horsepower.

Sixth. Elaborate measurements taken by the United States engineers in 1908, at a time when the American power houses were all temporarily shut down, show that the difference in depth in the water passing over the American Fall when the power houses are in operation and when not a wheel is turning is only a fraction of an inch. This is determined by minute and complicated scientific measurements. It is not visible to the eye, and it has no effect upon the scenic grandeur of Niagara Falls.

In Exhibit D are reproductions of photographs of the Falls taken in 1876, 1885, and 1888. when there were no electric-power plants; in 1900 and 1905, when the amount of power in use was about 100,000 horsepower; and in 1910, when the amount was more than 330,000 horsepower. These photographs show that under similar conditions, in spite of an increasing diversion of water for power purposes, the appearance of the Falls presents no change which can be. detected by the eye. It can be confidently asserted that, under the restrictions imposed by the treaty, it will require scientific measurements to detect the change in the depth of the water at the Falls, but that this change will not be visible to the eye. The scenic grandeur of Niagara Falls will be preserved unimpaired.

Seventh. The production of 1 horsepower continuously for 24 hours throughout every day in the year requires the consumption, under the most improved and modern apparatus, of about 13 tons of coal per annum. The treaty has decided that about 700,000 horsepower can be taken from Niagara without affecting its scenic grandeur. To produce this amount of power by coal would require about 8,500,000 tons of coal per annum. This is a comparatively small portion of the 450,000,000 tons of coal consumed in the United States every year, but it is still worth saving. There is absolutely no destruction of natural resources in the use of falling water for producing power. The eternal laws of gravity, evaporation, and precipitation form a cycle in which the sun's heat is the ultimate source of energy; and in this cycle the loss of such energy is inappreciable, and can not be measured by any instruments or methods known to man.

The scenic grandeur of Niagara appeals to the imagination as a manifestation of overwhelming force. The utilization of a small portion of this titanic force by the wit and brain of man for the benefit of his fellow men equally appeals to the imagination; and the thousands of visitors who annually go through the different power houses are quite as much impressed by the evidences which they there see of mechanical ingenuity and of the control by man over gigantic force as they are by the spectacle of this gigantic force going to waste.

Eighth. The treaty runs for five years from May, 1910, and thereafter until terminated by either country on one year's notice. It has determined and fixed, after the most careful consideration, the restrictions which, so long as the treaty remains in force, are placed upon the use of Niagara water for power purposes.

Under the contracts made with the Canadian authorities by the Canadian power companies one-half of the power generated in Canada can be transmitted to the United States. The Burton law undertakes to nullify these contracts by limiting the amount of power which could be brought in from Canada. The treaty, recognizing that no harm could be done to Canada and much good could be done to the United States by bringing in this surplus power from Canada, placed no restrictions upon the transmission of power from Canada, so that the manufacturers of western New York might have the benefit of all the power which, under their agreements with the Canadian authorities, the Canadian power companies can send here.

It only remains to enact such legislation as will give full force and effect to the treaty.

FRANCIS V. GREENE.

EXHIBIT A.

THE BURTON LAW.

AN ACT For the control and regulation of the waters of Niagara River, for the preservation of Niagara Falls, and for other purposes. [Public-No. 367.]

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the diversion of water from Niagara River or its tributaries, in the State of New York, is hereby prohibited, except with the consent of the Secretary of War as hereinafter authorized in section 2 of this act: Provided, That this prohibition shall not be interpreted as forbidding the diversion of the waters of the Great Lakes or of Niagara River for sanitary or domestic purposes, or for navigation, the amount of which may be fixed from time to time by the Congress of the United States, or by the Secretary of War of the United States under its direction.

SEC. 2. That the Secretary of War is hereby authorized to grant permits for the diversion of water in the United States from said Niagara River or its tributaries for the creation of power to individuals, companies, or corporations which are now actually producing power from the waters of said river, or its tributaries, in the State of New York, or from the Erie Canal; also permits for the transmission of power from the Dominion of Canada into the United States. to companies legally authorized therefor, both for diversion and transmission, as hereinafter stated, but permits for diversion shall be issued only to the individuals, companies, or corporations as aforesaid, and only to the amount now actually in use or contracted to be used in factories the buildings for which are now in process of construction, not exceeding to any one individual, company, or corporation as aforesaid a maximum amount of 8,600 cubic feet per second, and not exceeding to all individuals, companies, or corporations as aforesaid an aggregate amount of 15,600 cubic feet per second; but no revocable permits shall be issued by the said Secretary under the provisions hereafter set forth for the diversion of additional amounts of water from the said river or its tributaries until the approximate amount for which permits may be issued as above, to wit, 15,600 cubic feet per second, shall for a period of not less than six months have been diverted from the waters of said river or its tributaries, in the State of New York: Provided, That the said Secretary, subject to the provisions of section 5 of this act, under the limitations relating to time above set forth, is hereby authorized to grant revocable permits from time to time to such individuals, companies, or corporations, or their assigns, for the diversion of additional amounts of water from the said river or its tributaries to such amount, if any, as, in connection with the amount diverted on the Canadian side, shall not injure or interfere with the navigable capacity of said river or its integrity and proper volume as a boundary stream or the scenic grandeur of Niagara Falls; and that the quantity of electrical power which may by permits be allowed to be transmitted from the Dominion of Canada into the United States shall be 160,000 horsepower: Provided further, That the said Secretary, subject to the provisions of section 5 of this act, may issue revocable permits for the transmission of additional electrical power so generated in Canada, but in no event shall the amount included in such permits, together with the said 160,000 horsepower and the amount generated and used in Canada, exceed 350.000 horsepower: Provided always, That the provisions herem permitting diversions and fixing the aggregate horsepower herein permitted to be transmitted into the United States as aforesaid are intended as a limitation on the authority of the Secretary of War, and shall in no wise be construed as a direction to said Secretary to issue permits, and the Secretary of War shall make regulations preventing or limiting the diversion of water and the admission of electrical power as herein stated; and the permits for the transmis sion of electrical power issued by the Secretary of War may specify the persons, companies, or corporations by whom the same shall be transmitted and the persons, companies, or corporations to whom the same shall be delivered. SEC. 3. That any person, company, or corporation diverting water from the said Niagara River or its tributaries, or transmitting electrical power into the United States from Canada, except as herein stated, or violating any of the provisions of this act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $2,500 nor less than $500, or by imprisonment (in the case of a natural person) not exceeding one year, or by both such punishments, in the discretion of the court. And, further, the removal of any structures or parts of structures erected in violation of

this act, or any construction incidental to or used for such diversion of water or transmission of power as is herein prohibited, as well as any diversion of water or transmission of power in violation hereof, may be enforced or enjoined at the suit of the United States by any circuit court having jurisdiction in any district. in which the same may be located, and proper proceedings to this end may be instituted under the direction of the Attorney General of the United States.

SEC. 4. That the President of the United States is respectfully requested to open negotiations with the Government of Great Britain for the purpose of effectually providing, by suitable treaty with said Government, for such regulation and control of the waters of Niagara River and its tributaries as will preserve the scenic grandeur of Niagara Falls and of the rapids in said river.

SEC. 5. That the provisions of this act shall remain in force for three years from and after date of its passage, at the expiration of which time all permits granted hereunder by the Secretary of War shall terminate unless sooner revoked, and the Secretary of War is hereby authorized to revoke any or all permits granted by him by authority of this act, and nothing herein contained shall be held to confirm, establish, or confer any rights heretofore claimed or exercised in the diversion of water or the transmission of power.

SEC. 6. That for accomplishing the purposes detailed in this act the sum of $50,000, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated from any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated.

SEC. 7. That the right to alter, amend, or repeal this act is hereby expressly reserved.

Approved, June 29, 1906.

JOINT RESOLUTION Extending the operation of an act for the control and regulation of the waters of Niagara River, for the preservation of Niagara Falls, and for other purposes. Public-H. J. Res. 262.]

Whereas the provisions of the act entitled "An act for the control and regulation of the waters of Niagara River, for the preservation of Niagara Falls, and for other purposes," approved June 29, 1906, will expire by limitation on June 29, 1910; and

Whereas a date for the termination of the operation of said act was provided therein, but with a view to the more permanent settlement of the questions involved by a treaty with Great Britain, and by further legislation appropriate to the situation and such treaty not having been negotiated, it is desirable that the provisions of said act should be continued until such permanent settlement can be made: Therefore be it

Resolved, etc., That the provisions of the aforesaid act be, and they are hereby, extended for two years from June 29, 1909, being the date of the expiration of the operation of said act, save in so far as any portion thereof may be found inapplicable or already complied with.

Approved, March 3, 1909.

EXHIBIT B.

TREATY BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND GREAT BRITAIN-BOUNDARY
BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA.

WATERS

[Signed at Washington, January 11, 1909. Ratification advised by the Senate March 3, 1909. Ratified by the President April 1, 1909. Ratified by Great Britain March 31, 1910. Ratifications exchanged at Washington, May 5, 1910. Proclaimed May 13, 1910.]

A proclamation by the President of the United States of America: Whereas a treaty between the United States of America and His Majesty the King of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Emperor of India, to prevent disputes regarding the use of boundary waters and to settle all questions which are now pending between the United States and the Dominion of Canada involving the rights, obligations, or interests of either in relation to the other or to the inhabitants of the other, along their common frontier, and to make provision for the adjustment and settlement of all such questions as may hereafter arise, was concluded and signed by their respective plenipotentiaries at Washington on the 11th day of January, 1909, the original of which treaty is word for word as follows:

The United States of America and His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and of the British Dominions beyond the seas, Emperor of India, being equally desirous to prevent disputes regarding the use of boundary waters and to settle all questions which are now pending between the United States and the Dominion of Canada involving the rights, obligations, or interests of either in relation to the other or to the inhabitants of the other, along their common frontier, and to make provision for the adjustment and settlement of all such questions as may hereafter arise, have resolved to conclude a treaty in furtherance of these ends, and for that purpose have appointed as their respective plenipotentiaries:

The President of the United States of America; Elihu Root, Secretary of State of the United States; and

His Britannic Majesty, the Right Hon. James Bryce, O. M., his ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary at Washington;

Who, after having communicated to one another their full powers, found in good and due form, have agreed upon the following articles:

PRELIMINARY ARTICLE. For the purposes of this treaty boundary waters are defined as the waters from main shore to main shore of the lakes and rivers and connecting waterways, or the portions thereof, along which the international boundary between the United States and the Dominion of Canada passes, including all bays, arms, and inlets thereof, but not including tributary waters which in their natural channels would flow into such lakes, rivers, and waterways, or waters flowing from such lakes, rivers, and waterways, or the waters of rivers flowing across the boundary.

ARTICLE I. The high contracting parties agree that the navigation of all navigable boundary waters shall forever continue free and open for the purposes of commerce to the inhabitants and to the ships, vessels, and boats of both countries equally, subject, however, to any laws and regulations of either country, within its own territory, not inconsistent with such privilege of free navigation and applying equally and without discrimination to the inhabitants, ships, vessels, and boats of both countries.

It is further agreed that so long as this treaty shall remain in force this same right of navigation shall extend to the waters of Lake Michigan and to all canals connecting boundary waters and now existing or which may hereafter be constructed on either side of the line. Either of the high contracting parties may adopt rules and regulations governing the use of such canals within its own territory and may charge tolls for the use thereof, but all such rules and regulations and all tolls charged shall apply alike to the subjects or citizens of the high contracting parties and the ships, vessels, and boats of both of the high contracting parties, and they shall be placed on terms of equality in the use thereof.

ART. II. Each of the high contracting parties reserves to itself or to the several State governments on the one side and the Dominion or Provincial governments on the other, as the case may be, subject to any treaty provisions now existing with respect thereto, the exclusive jurisdiction and control over the use and diversion, whether temporary or permanent, of all waters on its own side of the line which in their natural channels would flow across the boundary or into boundary waters; but it is agreed that any interference with or diversion from their natural channel of such waters on either side of the boundary, resulting in any injury on the other side of the boundary, shall give rise to the same rights and entitle the injured parties to the same legal remedies as if such injury took place in the country where such diversion or interference occurs; but this provision shall not apply to cases already existing or to cases expressly covered by special agreement between the parties hereto.

It is understood, however, that neither of the high contracting parties intends by the foregoing provision to surrender any right which it may have to object to any interference with or diversions of waters on the other side of the boundary the effect of which would be productive of material injury to the navigation interests on its own side of the boundary.

ART. III. It is agreed that, in addition to the uses, obstructions, and diversions heretofore permitted or hereafter provided for by special agreement between the parties hereto, no further or other uses or obstructions or diversions, whether temporary or permanent, of boundary waters on either side of the line, affecting the natural level or flow of boundary waters on the other side of the line, shall be made except by authority of the United States or the Dominion of Canada within their respective jurisdictions and with the approval, as hereinafter provided, of a joint commission, to be known as the International Joint Commission.