Evening star., 1934-02-17


articles explaining the aims be-
ing pursued in this great step
forpdrd in Civilization. The
eighth ioiH appear tomorrow.
ture. 1t Is greatly 0Vermanned. Its
production is far below its potential
tiles. In q land OF plenty farmers
and their children suffer from such
Starvation" diseases as pellagra. The
essential job is to bring in industry.
The Tennessee Valley authority
has no power to build and operate
factories. 1t has no particular de-
sire to do so. 1t greatly prefers the
richness and variety which will re-
suit from individual initiative under
q proper social curb. 1t proposes TO
bring industry into the valley by ex-
ample-by the successful conduct of
demonstration projects which will be
attractive to capital. 1t Is convinced
that the private investment of money
is to be the business basis Of the fu-
ture as of the past, but that the
large city development has gone be-
yond the stage of social develop
ment.
There IS plenty Of labor, for the
present. Some counties have large
surplus populations for which, In the
present order, there Is no place. Sixty
years ago 180 farmers were required
20 feed every 1000 persons. In 1880
1t was calculated that only 86 were
needed on the land for the same
purpose. Under the old order "a had
to go to the cities or remain jobless
in the country. They now are avail
able for jobs in local industries.
The T. V. A. looks to the bringing
in Of both large and small industries
although not to the concentration of
large ones in any single locality. One
demonstration area is being set aside
for five or six smaller industries which
can be adapted to cooperative pri-
vate enterprise. 1t will consist of three
counties. One county has a large
strawberry crop and the land is par
ticularly adapted TO the growing of
strawberries. But now good deal of
the crop goes to waste or brings only
starvation prices. 1t is proposed to
set up, as one of the industries, a CO.
operative packing and storage plant
In the same area there is a large
sweet potato crop. Department OF
Agriculture chemists have found that
the sweet potato is an abundant source
Of laundry starch and that this can
be produced economically. Now great
quantities Of starch are imported from
Germany. One Of the proposed in
dfIsfriaa te SfarCh for
tory. Another proposal is co-opera-
tive slaughter house for processing the
local meat supply. A sideline would
be the manufacture of liquid soaps.
Still another prospect is OF factory
for the manufacture Of cheap paints,
using the pigment material found in
the nearby countryside.
Another demonstration area is
planned in a mountain community
and will be based on the development
on q commercial basis OF the local
arts and crafts. The dwellers In
the cover cabins still make fur
nitlTe. baskets, rugs etc, In much
the same way as did their pioneer
ancestors a century ago. They realize
very little from these crafts. 1t Is
A1kCAS l11dl q ROO0 0Cd1 VI
glamour has been thrown over the
mountain handicrafts. The truth is
that most Of them are not very Su-
perior products. But they are original,
there is q market for them, and If
they were co-ordinated and a sales
organization set up they may be made
the basis Of a profitable industry.
A. g. MI RroEan4
Another area has been set aside
tentatively for the demonstration of a
large industrial development. 1t
Is proposed to locate here a factory
which will employ about 1000, get
ting its labor from the surrounding
farms within a radius Of 25 miles. It
will be located at crossed highways.
The proposal Is 10 have night and
morning buses to bring the farm peo-
pie into the factories. This is essen
TALLY the plan followed in the highly
successful industrial development of
the town of Tupelo, Miss, in the Ten
nesSee Valley area. The school bus is
used, on alternate trips bringing the
workers to the cotton mill from a IS
mile radius and the children to the
cooperative school.
In such u development nobody would
be absolutely dependent on a pay
check and nobody would be absolutely
dependent ON the productivity Of a
farm or the state Of the markets for
farm produce.
Once the demonstration areas have
been set up. private promotion of SINH
lar enterprises will be welcomed. But
1t will be kept under close curb.
Already there are such planned in
dustrial communities in the Northern
part Of the Tennessee Valley-Such
cities as Kingsport and Elizabethton
with large factories manned by the
local agricultural population. Neither
are considered ideal. but they repre-
sent enormous advances over the old
type of mill city.
One question Is continually being
brought up-the effect Of the proposed
industrial development on the rest of
the country. Is the Tennessee Valley
experiment calculated to ruin flourish
ing industries IN New England and
Wisconsin by introducing federally
competition which they
cannot withstand? VIII Massachusetts
mill workers be thrown on the streets
to make room in the worlds markets
for utopian mill villages in the Ten
nessee Valley? In such case it would
be merely robbing Peter to pay Paul.
and there would be no permanent
gain In the end.
Such Is very far from the end in
view, says DR.. Harcourt A. Morgan, di-
rector Of the Tennessee Valley Au-
thority who is most directly concerned
with bringing about the combination