The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1933-08-08
OUR VALLEY
By s. P. WERNER

The hydro-electric power prob
lens of the valley present the
many-sided phases characterizing
other public issues. From the
over-shot wheel in the cove for
grinding corn up to the Inflated
Toxaway dam, the transmission
lines of the mighty Duke power
interests now crossing the noun
tains, and now the Muscle
Shoals-Tennessee plan PROPOSE
ton, the power = development
question presents a complicated
subject. Existing interests ques-
ton the advent of additional
power, on the ground both of
their own vested interest and on
the allegation that industry is
not yet ready to support more
power. Conflicting aims and fl
nancial jealousies tie up prop
critics and hold back develop
ment of power sites. Political
factors add to the confusion.
Out of the mass of conjectures
and assertions a few solid facts
may be stated. The U. S. army
engineers map recently publish
ed by the war department car
ries the estimate of maximum
capacity of five thousand horse
power for the. suggested storage
and power dam at Long Shoals
on the French Broad above Ashe-
vile. If We should take this as
the normal practicable power
produced by the natural condi-
lions in the valley, and compare
it with the power requirements
of existing industry, including in
the term all domestic us well as
organized business uses. we find
that this local run-off would
| supply a per capita of one
| twentieth of a horsepower; or
one horsepower for four famil-
les. Needless to say, this would
be a very. small allowance. Re-
duced to such terms, it is evident
that possible local consumption
| of power is vastly in excess of
what would be produced at Long
Shoals. To sacrifice sixty thou
sand acres of fertile level land
for the sake of giving one horse
to each twenty persons looks like
a rather poor exchange. A horse
could be kept on three acres of
that land; allowing one-tenth Of
the average cultivated farm area
for the feed of the horses or
mules, it would appear that the
valley lands could support two
thousand horses, besides all the
cows, hogs, poultry, and people
for a farm population Of fifteen
thousand. The land would af-
ford considerably more power
per acre than the water. 1t
would take the whole watershed
of approximately eight hundred
thousand acres to produce tho
| horsepower given by the army
engineers as five thousands; it
would take six thousand acres of
the valley land to support two
thousand horses; 20 get the five
thousand would require fifteen
thousand acres; and this would
still leave about fifty thousand
acres of bottom lands for the
people and their other livestock
and poultry.
The absurdity of destroying
good land for limited power be-
! comes apparent when such a
| homely but entirely logical COM
parison be instituted. A horse,
moreover can be used in a good
many ways in which electricity
has not yet proven practicable,
1t is probable that Dobbin can
still beat Muscle Shoals as a nj.
trate factory.
| Common sense has been some
thing of a variety in the recent
! era of frenzied finance. The ap-
I plicatOn of some old formulate
would appear to be in order.
When we come to apply them to
the bases of human happiness.
the first question of all ought to
be how will any proposition pro-
mote the wellbeing of humanity
f at large?--not how will it tickle
the, vanity, of the creators of
some vast project? The men who
blessed the Euphrates valley
were not the builders of the
Tower of Babel. but those who
conducted the waters of the river
into the desert and mada r ILL.,