Evening star., 1934-11-21

Government ownership OF public
utilities looms as the livliest kind of
a political issue, in consequence OF
President Roosevelts speeches in the
Tennessee Valley. His declaration that
the T. v. A. plan will extend to every
State in the Union before We get
through" is plain notice of what the
New Deal has up its sleeve. 1t is the
hour of glory for Senator George w.
Norris. Just a little more than three
years ago the veteran Progressive stood
up in a public meeting at Washington
and made his prophetic declaration
that what We need is another Roose-
welt in the White House" The occasion
was rally of Progressive leaders in
favor of pending legislation for Gov
erenment ownership and operation OF
Muscle Shoals. Mr.. Roosevelt's Nation
wide power plans are in line with
Senator Norris ancient ideal of low
cost electrical current for all the
people. The Nebraskan has preached
that gospel day in and day out, and
T. V. A. and what Is to follow repre-
sent victory for his long crusade. Mr..
RooSevelt's power program while Gov
ernor of New York convinced Norris
that F. D. r. was the man to carry
the national kilowatt campaign to
triumph. Hence the Senator's espousal
of the Roosevelt presidential cause
even before Jim Farley launched his
drive for delegates.
Facts brought to light by the Fed
eral Trade Commissions exhaustive
investigation of public utilities will
serve the administration in good stead
when it takes up the cudgels for far
flung T. v. A. legislation. Govern
ment power projects would ordinarily
find party lines pretty well obliter-
ated and Congress widely divided in
its attitude toward utilities. With the
majorities the New Deal now COM
mands on Capitol Hill, President
Roosevelt can get about any sort of
power action he desires, but the T. v
| A. cult has strong foes in the utility
and coal industries, and these lob
structionistS," as the President dubs
them, can be relied upon to offer
plenty of what he calls rugged op-
position" As the New Deals most
stupendous Government in business
venture, some politicians think the
Roosevelt power program might be-
come the paramount issue OF the 1886
presidential campaign.
| ~ i
Forgotten man of the New Deal is
young President Robert H. Hutchini
of the University of Chicago, slated
a month ago to become chairman Of
! the National Labor Relations Board
Now that Philadelphia lawyer Franci
| Biddle, has inherited the job, DR.
Hutchins seems to be lost in the shut
f1e. Efforts to find out whether othel
fields of usefulness await him shee
no light on the Hutchins mystery. i
looks as if the youthful scholar viii
continue to run the big school on Chi.
cagos midway.
If war on utilities becomes tn
order of the day young Senator-elec
Rush D. Holt, Democrat, of West Vir
ginia, is sure to be in the congres
sional limelight from the outset
From the time he entered polite
as a cub member of the State Legis
lature at Charleston the boy states
man has specialized in hammerin
the power barons for charging higl
rates and lodging taxes. Havinl
conducted various Investigations o
big utility corporations, Hollis hea'
is crammed with facts and figure
about their operations. and he use
them with sledge-hammer force.
X 4
California contributes its poe
laureate, so crowned by the Stat
Legislature in 1888, to the Seventy
fourth Congress in the person Of pic