The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-05-14
POWER COMMISSION
 SECRETARY PLAYS SHOALS PROPOSALS
Some of Offers Comparable to Glorified Shell Games, Mer- Till Declares Before
 Committee
Hx A.soninsad Pr..a

Washington, May I3.--Proposittons which have been made to the govegn. ment by private interests to lease oR power and nitrate properties vers given scant support by Oscar c. Msr- Till, executive secretary of the fsd- eral power commission. in testimony today before the Senate agriculture committee. He said many of the offers wore Hong on what ths xov- ernment puts up and short on wha& the private interests supply ana some of them. he said. were com- parable to "siorified shsil gamss-
 With reference to the offsr of Henry Ford. Mir. Merrill declared that the government by accepting the proposal would bs granting "a sheer outright subsidy" to the De- troit manufacturer. He criticised the Ford proposal further as containing unreasonable" terms and asserted that Mir. Ford '.is not goinw down there 90 much as & philanthropist as for the purpose Of obtaining the cheapest power in the world" for his manufacturing interest.
 Estimates Annual Returns
 The witness in the course of discussion of tho value of the shoals properties gave an estimate of Ss,2so.- GOO as the probable annual return. provided primary and secondary in- stallation of 850.00o horsepower ta accomplished. Hs set against thas figure an operating cost of S7,a0o,- 900 year. He told the committee that both figures were. in tho very nature of things. estimates but said that he believed other engineers. cal- culatins totals based on the same facts and accompanied by the same assumptions. would arrive at soms- what similar results
 Mr. Merrill believed that energy produced on the Tennessee river plants could be sold at from four mills to five mills A kiiowatt hour. and that fair profit would be de- rived at these figures. The Ala bama Power company. according to tho witness. Is ceiling quantity power in the sarne section at aix to six and n half mills per kilowatt hour. Sees Political InfIuepce Mr. Merrilis infersntisi opposition to tho various offers which have been submitted to the government was followed by . request from Chair- man Norris of the nommittes for a statement Te8aIoin& tne b8udtoT . bill which would sst up . govern mont controlled corporation to ds- vsIop the properties Mir. Merrill did not oppose. that sort of . program but he said that ths chief difficulty presented by It was the influence of politics. He did not believe, he said. that any legislative body ever would pay the price for competent men" which would be required to properly manage the undertaking.
 The witness in connection with his discussion of tho private offers ex- pressed the fear that they would not result in the benefit to the eu- tire southern section that would bs contemplated by Congress in enact. ing Legislation to turn over the Ten~ nessee river development. He exc piained that there would be divsrs gent opinions as to what should bs done with the power. whether ie should be used in industrial develop- ment or to the manufacture of fer tilixer, and he did not know how the question of policy could satisfactorily be settled.
 Interpretation of the contracts of fered tho government was another point upon which the witnsss dweiled at length. declaring h that d1scus' sion that there were many questions contained in them that might lea4 0 long drawn out legal sntangls- ments