The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1934-06-14
SEEN and HEARD
around the
National Capital
by CARTER FIELD

Washington.-More trouble for the
Mellon interests Is brewing In Wash
ington, this time with a view to fur
nishlng little competition for the
aluminium trust" Two distinct prop
ositions are being considered One is
the application of the Standard Alumni
mum and Alloy company Of Chicago,
for loan of S2OOO0OO0 from Admin
istrator Ickes' Public Works admins
tration. 1t was originally made to the
Reconstruction Finance corporation,
but, no great interest seeming to de-
velop in Jesse Jones' hard-boiled out
fit, little steam seems to have been
injected and the application went over
to PWA
The second proposition Is for the
government itself to go into the alumni
mum business, using the same deposits
on which the Standard proposal is
based. and producing the product per-
| haps at Decatur, Ala, or maybe at
| Tupelo, Miss, the chief Idea Of the
location being to have the plant close
to the source OF Muscle Shoals power.
Naturally the Tennessee Valley au-
thority, which Is handling the Muscle
Shoals development, Is enormously In
terested. What IVA needs more than
anything else is big commercial
user of electric current. The house
| hold and farm consumption Is all
| right, but 1t takes too many small
users added together to produce any
thing like the volume of current that
IVA will be anxious to market. And
the Standard people have been limiting
they would pay fair price for
very large amount OF current--if-
they get the twenty million loan from
the government at low rate to build
the plant.
The Standards project Of course Is
based on deposits Of bauxite ore many
miles from the Tennessee valley. They
happen to be In Arkansas But 1t
would be economical. 1t LIS insisted, to
transport the ore to the power site
for developing and fabrication. rather
than transport the power to the mines.
Swat the Trust
There Is q great deal Of confusion
here as to the actual value OF the
deposits of bauxIte ore. from which
aluminium is made, and OF the eco
Monies of the whole scheme. But
there Is very earnest belief In Brain
Trust circles that the aluminium
Trust" has been gouging the public
for 10 these many years, and here
seems God given opportunity to swat
the trust and to bring prices to the
public down. So the question Is raised
again and again--if the terms Offered
by this applicant are satisfactory. lie
him have 1t. II they are not satisfac
tory, let the government acquire tn
Arkansas deposits of banxitc ore AM
ret Into the business Itself. But b.
all means let us do something for tn,
purchasers of aluminium In this coun
try.
Which Is q popular Idea, because
the Aluminium Company Of Americ
has any friends at court today the
are not much In evidence. and ar
keeping very quiet The general ide
! In the New Deal is that everythin
about Mellon was bad and tied u
with the older order of special pri,
. ilege and monopoly. In fact, one q
: the last crusades OF the old New Yor
World was against the aluminium
monopoly.
Advocates OF the plan are taikin
:. about reduction In the price {
! aluminium approaching 30 per cent
One fly In the ointment Is that tn
Aluminium Company OF America mad
long-term contract with the Niagar
Falls Power company some yeal
J. back at a price for current very muc
lower than IVA Is now willing to sc
Muscle Shoals current. Though I
!. course the fact that the applicant X
/ the new aluminium plant loan migl
= be willing to make concessions on II
: price OF current In return for vel
!. favorable interest rates on the PW
loan must be considered.
q The Richie Puzzle
ID The effort to force United Stat