The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-04-17
POWER COMPANIES
 SHOWING INTEREST IN MUSCLE SHOALS
Secretary Weeks Suggestion That Private Corporations Operate Big Project Is
 Receiving Attention
By HUGH ". ROBERTS Washington Bureau The Age-Herald
 300 Dayidaan BuifdiuE

Washington, April 1s.-tSpecial-) Since John w. Weeks, Secretary of War. ar- hrmed some weeks ago that he would complete the government projects at Muscle Shoals, in the Tennessee river, provided some private corporation guar feed the government fitting return on it's investment, water power com panies have been unusually busy. The engineers of several of these companies have already been on the scene of the stupendous works ,and almost daily their representatives have dropped off in Washington.
 Under instruction of the Secretary of War, Gen. Lansing Beach, chief of the corps of government engineers, is con ducting the negotiations between the government and the companies. He has | just announced that he will be unable to undertake scheduled itinerary because of such negotiations. This has left the impression that the matter approaches a climax. At any rate. the idea pre- vails that Secretary Weeks in a very short time will be in position to ask Con- gross to appropriate 80 00o,WO the amount which it is estimated will be re- quired to complete the Wilson dam.
 NATIONAL ASSET
 The Muscle Shoals properties are ad- mittedly national asset of incalculable value In the event of war they will make the United States independent of Chile for the basis of it's explosives In time of peace they will be able to pro- duce very high-grade fertilizer very cheaply. There will be 6Sso0oo horse power capable of lighting the entire south and turning the wheels of indus try with the conservation of an infinite quantity of coal.
 There is, of course, certain dissatisfac- ton expressed over the plan of turning Muscle Shoals over to private corpora tions. Under the plan proposed by the | Wilson administration the government would produce the fertilizer, and would not be primarily interested in proht- making. Fertilizer produced by private corporation even though produced very cheaply in a comparative sense would be retailed, in all probability, at trust prices. Under the Wilson plan, every farmer in the United States would have received the benefit of Muscle Shoals fer tilizer Under the Harding plan the ben eficiaries will be those farmers living close enough to enjoy short hauls in transportation All the south will be included, nevertheless.
 THE LENROOT ATTACK
 1 When the plan of the former admins ltration was before Congress certain re- pubiicans, notabley Senator Lenroot and Representative Good chairman of the appropriations committee, charged that the scheme lilly concealed the desire oi the administration to turn the Muscle Shoals properties over to the water power corporations notably the Ala bama Power company. Since the re publican administration is preparing tc do openly what they charged the pre-: 4 cecing administration was attempting tt do, which charge was vigorously denied by the preceding administration, the ac' tion of these partisan republicans is. an ticipated with interest.
 Likewise the trusts of the country the gunpowder, the fertilizer the wate' power and others, which fought the gov ernment scheme because of prospective competition, and which spent vast sun of money in denouncing the plants al ! worthless, now see something of trans cendent value in the properties. IL Il anticipated that they will be found ar dently supporting the plan of Secre' tary Weeks when it is finally promul gated
 The government will have expended more than $100000,0O0 when the plant are completed and the dam constructed
 The dam. which bears the name Of Pres ident Wilson, will be one of the Amer jean wonders It will extend a mil
 across the river, and will be broa' enough for several teams to pass abreast