The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1924-04-15
SE(;RE IARY
HELDREAL
RULER
Congressman Little Declares
Cabinet Members Have No .
Time to Give Duties.
BY TOM EVERRITT.
Cosmopolitan News Service.

Cosmopolitan News Service.
Charging that it is a "one-man"
eoncern, members Of Congress are
threatening to introduce legisla-
ton to reorganize the Federal
Power Commission, under whose
administration the great and inn
portant waterpowers of the United
States are disposed Of.
The Federal Power Commission
is composed Of the Secretary of
War, the Secretary of the Interior,
and the Secretary Of Agriculture.
It has a chief engineer and an
executive secretary.
DivuIged at Hearings.
During recent hearings on the
Swing-J ohnson bill providing for
Government construction Of great
dam at Boulder Canyon on the Col.
orado river in Arizona. Nevada, be-
fore the House Irrigation Commit
tee, o. C. Merrill, executive secre.
tary Of the power commission, gave
testimony tending to show that the
commission is guided entirely by his
personal opinions, Congressman say.
Congressman Edward C. Little,
Rep) Of Kansas, today said: cit IL
pretty hard for q committee to get
at the facts when they ask for the
opinion Of three Cabinet members
and get the opinion Of some minor
whether he recommended the report
the Federal Power Commission made
to the committee. He said: Yes;
like all other matters that come
before the commission, a draft Of
this report was prepared in my Of
flee, submitted to the Individual
members Of the commission, brought
UP by them at meeting Of the
commission, and there discussed and
signed
''He said it contained his own
Views Of the subject. Indeed, this
oracular gentleman has become so
accustomed to doing all the work
Of the Federal Power Commission
and making all its decisions that in.
Variably he refers to himself as
A'we' when speaking Of the commits
sion,
HE was asked on recross-examin-
alton, Who do you mean when you
say, I'VE will act",? Mr.. Merrill re-
piled, Well, can say IT" or can
say 1--WE" as you prefer. When I
say "we," I think / am expressing
the policy Of the commission. Or.
I can say 81" and make it indicate
that it was who would recommend
i IN my position as executice secre-
tary:'
Congress is much disposed to
give each cabinet member so many
things to attend to that he cannot
give any of them the consideration
It deserves.
Private Profit Victor.
"After some eight years of ex.
perfence in the House, I have
reached the conclusion that the
most essential equipment for a
great administrative office holder is
the ability to shift responsibility to
somebody else.
'"The Federal Power Commission,
for example. has the responsible
charge of one Of the greatest assets
OF the American people; yet the
only thing Congress could think of
was to devo.ve that duty upon the
Secretary of WNr, the Secretary of
the Interior and the Secretary of
Agriculture, none of whom had par
t1cular training for it and no time
at all to give to it,
This was brought out quite
clearly the other day when these
three secretaries who constitute the
Federal Power Commission, Informed
the House Committee on Irrigation
that the great dam over the Color.
ado river should be built by private
interests for profit instead of by
the Government for the profit Of
all the people"
Examination promptly developed
that neither one Of the secretaries
had any information Of his own
upon the subject, but that they
had been compelled to depend en-
tirely upon what the secretary of
the commission told them; except
ing for this, that they had their
personal opinion that 1t is better to
permit private capital to draw
down the profits"
1.-THE time has come when com.
mittees Of the National Congress
should be able to get reports that
cease to be purely nominal and
that come from responsible parties.
The present system must be
changed"