Twin city review. [volume] (Champaign, Ill.) 19??-1929, 1926-03-19

"a PATRONIzE THE FOLLOWING MERCHANTS
People May Lose Muscle
Shoals; Congress Votes
Fifty-Year Lease

Washington. March l7.-Aitef a
long fVht the senate, by noh-paiti u
san vote Of 81 to &c, adopted the ad-
p1inist4ation's plan to have a Join3'
congressional committee receive Dds
foy 50zyear lease Of the govern
nent's 100000, 900 nitrate and hydro
electric plants at Muscle Shoals. Inc
bin has passed the house
One senate amendment provides that
the commission shall report 10 con
gress b. April 20 instead OF Apnl J.
Advocates Of leasing resisted any
change in the house resolution, and the
senate amendment may postpone hnai
action on the question until the De
cember session, as congress VIII prom
ably adjourn in May. -.
The senate rejected a proposal by
Senator Smith 6. O. that the gov
eminent operate Muscle Shoals. The
vote was II to % This was original
t. urged by Senator Norris who led
the opposition to leasing.
Lease advocates emphasized that
farmers will secure fertilizer at cast,
plus s per cent profit. This, they said,
will be "a blow at the fertilizer trust.
Opponents repeatedly pointed out that
theer is no provision i'm the resolution
to keep down the cost Of fertilizer
production and that it can not be
made in the obsolete nitrate plants al
Muscle Shoals. Testimony Of scientists
was quoted 10 prove that new meth
ods Tor manufacturing fertilizer are
being discovered. Germany, the pion-
eer in ar nitrogen development, has
discarded water power for this pur-
pose, it was stated.
Senator LaFolette said that the
hydro-electic power trust is using the
cry, cheap fertilizer for the farmers
as a blind. Just as privilege used free
land for the people" years ago, when
the homestead act was passed. 1t was
late rdiscovered that privilege secured
valuable lands and timber and mineral
resources.
Senator LaFollette also pointed
out that in the last congress when the
senate inserted binding fertilizer
amendment in the Underwood bill,
which also provided for the private
leasing of Muscle Shoals, the interests
that were backing that bill had no
further use for it.
The Ford bill-that preceded the
Underwood bill--had the same CHEAP
fertilizer" joker.
TIE water power trust and its allies
are not interested in fertilizer, but
their propagandists have led the eoun-
try to believe that the dawn of cheap
fertilizer for farmers is at hand.
The Underwood bill provided that
the parties who leased Muscle Shoals
should manufacture commercial fer
tilizer "as far as it is practicable to
do so" Senator Norris was so insis-
tent that the courts would release the
company from any obligation 10 mo-
duce fertilizer that Senator Under
wood was forced to strike out the
phrase. Then the water power trust
dropped the bill.
The Muscle Shoals development was
started by the government for war
during the world war, fol-
lowing an act by congress in 1916, |
provided
"The plant or plants provided under
this act shall be constructed aud oper-
ated solely by the government and not
in conjunction with any other indus |
Try OF enterprise carried on by private |,
capital"
The development was completed in
a few years and them instead of using
it to supply cheap hydro-eleetric pow
er to the public, as does the province
of Ontario, the power trust and its
allies launched a campaign to get
he government out of business"