Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-02
A Hundred Million Dollars.

Vic AuiNACu Allll1ou QOlldES Is b BOOO
round sum. Sock the average either
between the eyes with the mention o.
one hundred million dollars and he be-
comes dazed. his head goes into the
clouds and he experiences some din.
Guilty in seeing because of the fog. Fol
those who write their income tax ir
two figures and a decimal point, one
hundred million dollars becomes one Of
those things that people know exists
because they have been told it exists
like the Einstein theory or the new
planet. They reverence it accordingly
The power interests, therefore, have
disclosed their ace in the hole In the
testimony from the United States engi-
neer for this district, Mai. Brehon
Somervell, that by permitting power de-
velopment of the Potomac at and below
Great Falls the more or less downtrod-
den taxpayers will save themselves one
hundred million dollars. The sum Is
staggering and the Engineer Corps OF
the Army Is accurate and impartial.
This saving has been mentioned be-
fore, in a report from former Chief
Of Engineers of the Army, in this case
the minority member of the National
Capital Park and Planning Commission
In a minority report, dissenting from
the majority view Of the ten other
members Of the commission, Gen. Jad-
win favored power development as
against park development of the upper
Potomac, setting forth with other
reasons for favoring the former the
immense savings that would result to
the people.
The American Civic Association, OF
which Frederic A. Delano--wto also Il
chairman of the National Capital PARK
and Planning Commission president,
takes issue with the one-hundred-mJI-
hon-dollar savings figure submitted BY
Maj. Somervell. The association points
out. first, that the total figure is the
capitalization Of annual hypothetical
savings from such items as the cost of
hydro power compared to steam power;
return in taxes; savings in construc-
ton work that the dams, etc., would
represent If navigation were extended
up the Potomac; savings on the pre-
hninary treatment of Washingtons
water supply, and the savings that
would be represented by bridges across
the dams instead of the bridges that
otherwise would have TO be built. The
association points out that it is not
certain that all these savings would
represent savings to the taxpayers. Pub
lie utility corporations do not always
seek to pass on their savings to the
people. And the association finds that
there is room for argument as to the
manner in which the figures themselves
are computed.
But this dispute over the one hum
dred million dollars is beside the point,
Let us keep it. One hundred million
dollars is nice thing to have around.
The issue that divides opponents and
proponents Of the Cramton bill, which
seeks to save Great Falls and the Poto-
mac for park development, is whether
the river should be given over now to
private power development by private
interests or whether it should be held
by the people against the time that
they may see 1T to undertake this
development Of great source Of power
and profit themselves.
The Cramton bill does not. shut out
the possibility of future development of
the river for power and navigation
purposes. It proposes the purchase of
the river shores for a natural park and
the retention Of river rights until neces-
sity demands their commercialization,
If the power interests are willing to
present the people Of the United States
with a park, bridges, roads and other
embellishments In return for the use
Of the Potomac, it is obvious that their
own savings" from such use will far
outweigh the mere bauble that will con-
sist Of the artificial park.
The Potomac is a birthright and the
$l00,o0o,000 savings" a mess Of pot
tidge.