IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - March/April 2018 - 91

march/april 2018

by 1910, his last year in office, hughes
had formulated five guidelines for developing hydropower: river flow should
be regulated and waterpower developed "to the fullest extent that may be
practicable;" only the state should own
power-generating reservoirs on streams
originating in or flowing through state

parks or reservations; the state should
undertake hydropower "whenever such
action appears to be feasible and for the
general interest;" such power should be
made available on "equitable terms and
conditions;" and state forest preserves
should not be jeopardized by waterpower projects.

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ieee power & energy magazine

6709

heads" of the corrupt politicians and
appealing directly to the people. In
two months, he spoke at 40 dinners and
meetings, articulating his credo. "I am
retained by the people of the state of
New York," he said, "with no disposition to injure any investment, but with
every desire to give the fullest opportunity to enterprise... . [what the people] revolt against is dishonest finance.
what they are in rebellion against is favoritism which ... makes one man rich
and drives another man into bankruptcy
or into combinations with his more successful competitor. It is a revolt against
all the influences which have grown out
of ... a failure to recognize that these
great privileges, so necessary for public welfare, have been created by the
public for the public benefit, and not
primarily for private advantage."
by June 1907, hughes had convinced many New Yorkers. when one
state senator got home from albany, he
wrote, "the people fairly mobbed me."
within days, republicans were supporting the governor's plan unanimously, in
the words of one commentator, "to save
the republican party from suicide"; another opined that "an insolent and hostile legislature was on its knees." when
the Public service Law was enacted,
Pearson's Magazine called it "a law that
may profoundly affect the whole future
of the nation."
hughes shared roosevelt's concern
for the environment, "sustainability," in
today's vernacular. the legislature had
routinely granted public land charters to
corporations in perpetuity and at no cost.
hughes insisted that "these resources
should be preserved and held for the benefit of the people and should not be surrendered to private interests." so when a
routine charter for hydropower was sought
along the st. Lawrence river, hughes's
expert estimated the potential profits and
required Us$100,000 up front and an
annual rent. this defense of the state's
usufruct rights set an important national
precedent. hughes acknowledged that
New York was wasting its hydropower
potential, worth Us$6.6 million each year,
for lack of a comprehensive policy, urging
other governors to explore hydropower.

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Power & Energy Magazine - March/April 2018
