Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1924-12-28
Real Workers i'm the National Capital

"O be executive secretary to
| one member of the President
| cabinet is some job, but here
| Il Is man who is executive Sec
| rotary for three Cabinet mem
bers and whose job-looking into the
furure-is to see that power, or en-
! ergy, is developed so that there Is an
| adequate supply all over the country
/ thus allowing industry to be spread
| out to greater degree than at pres
| ent, particularly near. the sources OF
| raw material-which will result in
decreasing the congestion of popula-
| ton in industrial sections and avoid
long, one-way freight hauls.
He must have vision to plan and ex-
ecutive ability to carry through eff
| f1cient, economic, properly-propor-
toned conservation of our resources.
His mediate effort Is to get water
power, which exists in many places
in the United States, developed for
the purpose of conserving coal sup
plies, for reducing energy costs and
for interlocking with steam stations
into big regional groups-to get more
power for the same investment.
x x X
o. c. Merrill is the executive secre-
tary OF the Federal Power Commits
sion, which is an ex officio body ere
atcd by Congress, with the Secretary
of War as chairman and the Secre-
taries of the Interior and Agriculture
as other members. He came into the
Government service first in 1909 with
the Forest Service as District engi-
neer in San Francisco and then three
years later he was called to Wash
ington as chief engineer of the Forest
Service until the passage of the
water power act when he was made
executive secretary.
These three cabinet members testi-
fly that there is probably no better
authority than Mr.. Merrill in the
United States. if in the world, on the
legal, financial and technical prob
lens Of power development.
1t can be truthfully said that he
is the real father of the water power
legislation. He drafted the bill and
got it through Congress.
X X X X
The Federal Power Commission, the
three members Of the cabinet has
placed on him the full authority and
responsibility for administration of
the water power act Each one of
these cabinet members is good and
plenty occupied with the proper con-
duct of his own executive department.
So, the initiation and execution of
water power policies is turned over
to Mr.. Merrill, and has proved to be
entirely in the public interest
Under this arrangement. Mr. Mer-
rill deals directly with the depart
ment heads-not only the three on
his own commission, but with all the
other seven on matters of great i'm
portance concerning National natural
resources. He deals similarly with
representatives of the several States
and of foreign governments and Of
public utility corporations.
Proper development of the nations
water power resources, their control
and utilization in industry, is one of
the big economic jobs that the Fed
eral Government must handle right,
and to do this the executive authority
must be exercised by a man who is
constantly and accurately informed
on world developments and the true
economic situation.
x x x
Just stop and consider that under
his administration 204 permits and
licenses are outstanding, aggregating
7.S50,000 horsepower Sixty-seven
projects, with a prospective installa-
ton of 2,7s2,00o horsepower. have
been completed or are under construc-
ton, of which Is, with a combined in
stallation of 259.000 horsepower.
were started during the last year
Investments subject to control under
Mr.. Merrill's executive secretaryship