The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-06-03
SHOALS QUESTION IS BROUGHT UP BY
 CHAIRMAN NORRIS
Williams Attacks Opponents of Ford 0ffer-CaIIs Atten- ton to Fact That Manu-
 facturer Is Democrat
By AssocIated Pre.s

" doHlnS lOilt June o. Hc Otilatc late today voted to continue con- struction work on Dam No. 2 of the Muscle Shoals federal power project and attached to the army appropri- ation bill an amendment appropriat- ing $7,500,000 for the purpose. As the amendment has not been agreed to yet by the House, it must go to conference for adjustment and if accepted by the House, work will be begun within 30 days.
 ! The action of the Senate. Chair man Norris of the agriculture conn mittee explained. does not involvs In any way the negotiations for the sale or lease of the great power project. He told the Senate, In pre- senting the amendment that no de- cislon had been reached as to the governments policy but declared 1t would be an economic crime" to delay further the work on dam No. ?.
 Senator Lodge. of Massachusetts, the republican leader, objected to consideration of the amendment un- der the rules governing disposition of an appropriation measure but aft CT a parliamentary wrangle, he with drew his point of order and the amendment was agreed to with only a scattering of Tho" votes.
 
 threatened to reopen the whole Muscle Shoals question which has been before Congress or some of it's committees almest without break since late in the war with Germany.
 Senator Williams, democrat. Mis- sissippi, however. was the only one actually to discuss the broader phase and he did so. hd safu, because he regarded the discussion as the "open- ing skirmlsh, the firing on the pick ct line" in the question of whether the government should lease or sell the property or develop it itself. Mfr. Williams dwe1t at some length on what he described as the "republl-s can antlpathy" for the offer of Hem ry Ford and asserted that the con iTONeTSy ONtF tHe FOIQ OALbi WILL the consequent delay was because Mir. Ford had once run for the Sem ate as democrat.
 Ford Not Republicnn
 ''I charge here" the Mississippi senator continued that the only req son the Ford proposition. either original or the present one. and it is more in favor of the government than the first, has not been accepted Is because the majorities of both houses are republicans and Mir. Ford
 Is not. There seems to be some- thing of a private understanding that Mir. Ford is not to be permitted to make any money out of anything connected with the government"
 Mir. Williams declared he had pever seen a parliamentary objection made except as means of defeating a pro- posal and he characterized the ac- tion to hold off the amendment on Muscle Shoals as such.
 It was. another evidence, he said, If republican effort to junk the whole project but expressed the hope that the future would see the river har- messed to the fullest advantage of the nation.
 Senator Underwood of Alabama. the democratic leader. mentioned inc tOTu O1Itr dlSO, SdyluS tHat IF " were submitted he would vote for it. but that that phase was aside from the question at hand, which he de- scribed as whether the government should throw millions of dollars into the Tennessee river to sink or to make the project national asset.
 Waste Time and Money Tt is a question" he said. whether we desire to have the government W aste the time and waste the money it has put in or to complete tho propect and get as much out of 1t as Is possible. Completed. 1t Is na- ticnal asset; uncompleted. absolute loss.''
 MT. Norris said the agriculture committee had believed in submitting the amendment 1t was working to chs best interest of the government and explained that the appropriation of l $7 300. 900 was all that was imme- diately involved inasmuch as the ma chinery. equipment and men already were on the ground. Every engineer who has fnves.t- gated the project. he said, agreed that even though the permanent poi- I icy in respect to the properties was l "up in the air" the Wilson dam l should be completed. It could not affect in any way the discussions or negotiations for the sale or lease. he | explained, except that cognizance 1 woold have to be taken of the addi- i tional money put into the project The amendment was given the sup port of Senator Lenroot, republican. Wisconsin. although. he said he op- posed further expenditures on the plant previously. His earlier objec- l tion. he said. was based on the be- lief that only the Alabama Power | cc mpany would be able to use the power developed but declared he was convinced now that an ample market