The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1933-12-12
Protest Flooding French Broad Valley
BY GLENN MARSTON
In Public Service Magazine

nroiect as a yardstlck with WHICH
70 measure the cost of privately
rendered electric service. MI
Iiiienthal admits that there IS
more power available today than
can be sold, yet he advocates the
entrance of the government into
An already overc2owded field on
the plea that such entrance "ll!
constitute a "yardstick." How
sucb an enterprise can be used
as a yardstick if it is to take
millions upon millions Of dollars
from the Public Works Authority
and pay no charges thereon IS
something. that Mr.. Lilienthal
does not explain. The initial ap-
propriation to be requested from
the Public Works Authority for
the French Broad reservoir Is
stated to be $20,000,00O. What
the ultimate amount required for
this work will be has never been
made public! in fact, it cannot
be made public because no ne
gotiations have yet been entered
into for condemnation of the
land and property which is to DE
flooded.
Clearly if the Public Works
Authority is to put up scores
of millions of dollars for the
Tennessee Valley Authority, all
of which will be collected from
the taxpayers. Muscle Shoals VIII
prove of slight value as yard
stick. While the Tennessee Val
ley Authority has spent great
deal of time and effort and
money in the production of pow
er and development of additional
power producing facilities, it has
vet found no market for any OF
this power with the exception
of one small Mississippi town
with demand of less than
thousand kilowatts.
Preliminary surveys for the
French Broad reservoir Indicated
that the main street of the city
of Hendersonville, with a winter
population of 5000 and a sum
mer population of over 1000,
and that practically all of the
city would be flooded. To avoid
this, construction Of an earth
dixie, 60 to 20 feet high, for the
protection of HendersOnville, Is
contemplated. H wever, even
though Hendersonvile itself is not
to be flooded (provided the earth
dixie holds) the project involves
the flooding of nearly $4,000 acres
OF land-all the best farm land IN
western North Carolina, and will
result in the eviction OF all per-
sons living on that land. 1t will
also result IN flooding and wiping
out the principal industrial esta5-
lishments in Pennsylvania county
and many of those in Henderson
and Buncombe counties. AS no
land will be left for farming eX-
,ept what is locally termed
scratch land" all of the farmers
evicted from the flooded area will |
nave to seek a living in places far
distant from where they and their
rorebears have always lived.
A factor which is giving grave
to county officials is that
he flooded lands will, of course,
leing government owned. become
lax exempt and all of the county
hX burdens will fall upon the re.
naming property. 1t is estimat-
I'd that half Of the taxable values
Of Henderson and Pennsylvania
counties will be wiped out and
hat, therefore, taxation against
he remaining property will be
doubled. All of the counties af-
'ected have heavy bonded debts
and are having extreme difficulty
n making tax collections at pres
entiratcs. 1t is believed that II
axes ere increased much of the
and will be abandoned by its
owners.
Citizens of these counties are
rot unmindful of the situation in
Tacoma and Seattle both of which /
nave engaged in large public own
,rship ventures where tax eXemp-
ion of publicly-owned property
las made the tax rate in those |
titles the highest in the United
States.
According to the statement of
Evans, consulting en- /
gineer on the Muscle Shoals de.
,elopment, made before the Pub
ic Ownership League IN Chicago
n September. it is expected to
,ell power from the Tennessee
Valley development so as to !
'ealize a revenue of $3.50 per
horsepower year. This would
mean if the total capacity of the !
French Broad dam were ,
marketable, a gross revenue Of