Evening star., 1927-06-19
POTOMAC POWER PLAN
AGAIN WILL BE PRESSED
New Campaign to Be Waged in Congress
i'm Effort to Have Great Falls Project
Started at Once.
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

BY WILL p. KENNEDY.
LANS are being laid for early
- legislative action in both House
and Senate looking toward pow
i err development from the waters
that have for so many years
been running to waste over the rocks
of the Great Falls on the Potomac.
and which are considered a great ma
tional asset and resource, either
through construction and operation of
a great hydro-electric plant by the
Federal Government or by private cap
ital, or by Federal construction and
private operation under lease.
The drive is to be made to secure
definite decision, first, that this great
natural resource should be utilized inn
mediately for supplying light, heat
and power TO the largest industrial
plant in the world, Uncle Sans work
shop in Washington. and to the COM
munity that has grown up about it,
and then for meeting the industrial
demands within a radius of several
hundred miles Of the Capital City.
Second, as to whether the entire
project should be Federal, both con-
struction of plant and it's operation,
as Is insistently demanded by Senator
Norris OF Nebraska, who has secured
the passage of such legislation in the
Senate, or whether 1t might be better
to have the Government construct the
works and then lease the plant, under
strict supervision and control, to a
private concern. 1t also has been pro-
posed in a House bill fathered by
Chairman Zihlman of the House Dis
trict committee and Representative r.
Walton Moore of Virginia, who have
sought a compromise with Senator
Norris, that in order to get the work
started as a Federal project 1t might
be well to leave the determination as
to eventual operation for future de-
cision.
Application Pending.
Meanwhile there is pending before
the Federal Power Commission for
NAL application from the Potomac
River Corporation at Wilmington, Del,
for a preliminary permit for a huge
hydro-electric plant, even larger than
the scope thus far contemplated in
legislative hearings, for immediate
construction. This application is made
really to secure priority rights in the
Great Falls power development, be-
cause 1t will cost any concern upward
Of a quarter Of a million dollars to
make the necessary survey and lay
down definite plan of construction
and operation, which must be ap-
proved by the Federal Power Commits
sion before the final permit to under
take the work is granted. 1t is to pro-
tect such an investment that the pend
ing application has been made.
Any such application must be ad-
yertised for eight weeks in the terri
tory affected before the Federal Power
Commission can take any action, and
such advertisement is now being
made. In the meantime the applica.
ton has been referred to the Army
Engineer officer in charge of this
rivers and harbors district, Maj. Bre.
hon Somervell, for investigation and
report. Maj. Somervell is handling
the investigation personally, and this
has been delayed by the fact that he
is now ILL.,, so that it will probably be
several months before his report is
ready. 1t also is expected that a pub
lie hearing will be granted. 1t is
hoped that Congress will have reached
a basic decision as to it's policy before
the Federal Power Commission is
ready to act upon the pending applica
ton, both that the time has come fol-
development of the water power from
the falls and also as to whether IL
should be by Federal engineers or
those employed by private capital, or
whether the Government and private
capital should be partners in this
work.
In view of the development of water
power now in progress everywhere, it
is to be expected that in the near fu-
ture there will be something done at
the Great Falls and also at the Occo-
quan Falls. A map shows that the
quan Inlet. bends like semi-circle
around Fairfax County, Va, with the
Great Falls at the northern point and
the Occoquan Falls at the southern
point. The appurtenant land at the
first place Is owned by subsidiary of
the Washington Railway & Electric
Co., and at the latter place by a cor
poration which has acquired the ripa-
rfan rights for several miles westward.
but has not yet done anything specific.
Project Long Considered.
Perhaps no water power in the
United States has been considered for
longer period than that of the Great
Fails, its history going back prior to
the Civil War. 1t will be remembered
that, pursuant to an act of Congress,
the chief of engineers, through MAJ.
NJ. c. Tyler, submitted a report in the
third session Of the Sixty-sixth Con-
gress showing how a plant can be
constructed with view toward gen
Grating the current necessary for all
uses in the District of Columbia and
leaving very large excess.
The general conclusion of this Tyler
report Is to the effect that the develop
ment is practicable and would insure
current at low cost, provided the
excess could be taken care of. On this
latter point there does not seem to be
much doubt. in view of the fact that
the radius Of economical current dis