The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-03-05
Muscle Shoals Commission
 To Adjust Difficulties in
 Disposal of Project Urged
tCoutinued from Page one)

l AOOhAu6 lO udCtiV ohodAo LOA hhS solution of their fertilizer problem. They are looking to congress for that relief now and Congress should as sume the responsibility by deciding the question for itsel."
 The commission would be com posed of representatives of the war, treasury and agricultural depart ments, under Mir Kahn's scheme, and be empowered to straighten out gov ernment tangles as 10 existing con tracts, and enter into either a sale or a lease, or a construction arr engagement for the future develop ment of Muscle Shoals.
 Only Logical Way. Mir Kahn said it was his opinion ! that the creation of such a commits sion was the logical and probably the only practical way to safeguard the interests of the people. To such a commission the committee chair man would favor the reference by Congress of the offers for purchase, lease. completion and operation ot the Alabama projects submitted by , Henry Ford, the Alabama Power company, and Frederick E. Eng strum. of Wilmington, N. c. The optional claims of the Air Nitrates corporation, for exclusive purchase rights on nitrate plant No. 2, at Muscle Shoals, also would be laid be- fore the commission for adjustment.
 Congress has four times refused" MT. Kahn said, "to vote appropria- tions for Muscle Shoals, and the committee must take the attitude of Congress in that respect into con- sideration on Mir. Ford's offer, which requires that there shall be appro- priations of from $45,000. 900 to s50,- 000 900. Congress spent seven years in working out fixed policy in re- gard to the development of water powers and in fixing rules and regu- llations under which the rights of the people are to be safeguarded. and in Henry Fords offer for Muscle Shoals he asks that he be exempted from the operation of the existing Fed eral waterpower act, so that the committee must also take that into consideration.
 No Fertilizer Guarantee
 Again, although the Alabama Power company relieves the com mittee from the necessity of asking Congress to appropriate money. in that the power company undertakes
  own expense, their investment being estimated at about $25,oOo000 or s3O. 900, 900 nevertheless the Alabama Power company, although it propo- ses to furnish free power to the gov ernment for the manufacture of fer tilizers. it does not itself guarantee to make fertilizer and our farming population is looking forward to such guarantee in anything the committee recommends, as possible means of reducing the farmers fer tilizer bill and with the hope Of re- ducing the cost of living"
 Finally" MT Kahn continued "the Engstrum offer also requires hsavy government expenditures, and would require the committee to ask for big appropriations,
 "Thisl Congress is avowedfy an economy Congress, and we have all undertaken to sincerely adhere to the administration policy of cutting out every possible appropriation.
 Aside from these points we have to deal with the difficult situation that the Air Nitrates corporation and the Alabama Power company have contracts with the war depart ment, and we know from the state ments of counsel of these companies
 
 rights these companies have under those contracts, irrespective of the opinion of the judge advocate gen erals department or the army, that they are non-enforccable these con tracts will certainly be taken into the courts, dragging their weary way through court after court, until some day the supreme court settles the question of the rights involved
 fl..n frrNr y1rsraf fNa.. The committee must take this into consideration and in my opinion. it would be most difficult for the com mittee to report to Congress that we had decided upon a course of pIo- cedure which would involve long litigation and thus defeat the very object desired, namely, the comple- ton and operation speedily and with the least delay of the Muscle Shoals projects
 New Contrncts Necessary
 -Contracts must be adjusted which are already in existence and new contracts must be made. all of which Is subject of negotiations and not at all a suitable piece of work for either a committee of Congress or the full membership of Congress in debate.
 Tn these circumstances, general litigation, giving the necessary au- thority to executive and administra- tive officers of the government might be the wisest policy for Congress to pursue. If Secretary Weeks had had this authority, especially the par ticular authority to sell real estate. the present difficulties of Congress in regard to Muscle Shoals might have been avoided.
 Tt would seem that the logical thing to do would be for Congress to create a Muscle Shoals commits sion, consisting of representatives of each of the three executive branches of the government involved in the Muscle Shoals project for the future. namely, war, because of the neces- sity of nitrates for explosives; agri- fertilizers for the farmer. and treas- ury, because of the large financial considerations involved. Such a com mission ought to be clothed with full powers to adjust present contracts. and enter into new ones, so that the government and the people may get the utmost possible benefit of the largest water power in the south as one of the country's greatest natural resources. The commi ssiors should report to Congress at the beginning of the next session of Congress. This would give them ample time to study the questions and to make clear, concise report.
 For the military affairs commit tee of the House to try to solve this problem any other way might lead to nothing being done by Congress, be- cause upon the two questions of ap- rropriations for Muscle Shoals and safeguarding the interests of the people under the present water power act, Congress has repeatedly ex- pressed it's attitude"