Evening star., 1935-01-08

The report Of the Mississippi Valley
Committee of the Public Works Ad-
ministration is appraised by ma
jority of the newspapers commenting
on it as an outline Of vast projects
which may be useful in future years.
1t is a voluminous report, covering
conservation Of water resources in the
great central valley, flood control. ir-
rigation and the national co-ordina-
ton of power generation.
Some attention is paid in the COM
ments to the idea of rural electrifica-
ton, which the report suggests. On
this point the Rock Island Argus OBJ
serves: 1T is apparent that in the
great Mississippi Valley, including, of
course, the upper river region, some
Federal projects of immense scope
will be carried out at some time in
the future. One of those projects will
be rural electrification. That Is a
matter to be considered in connection
with industry in general. 1t is esti-
mated that 100000 farm homes are
without electricity. If there is power
on the farms. the standard of living
will be raised and power machinery,
refrigeration and illumination will be
demanded. This will greatly increase
the demand for industrial production.
It will 60 to restore the balance be-
tween agriculture and industry. How
ever, many of these projects are mat
ters for the future-for the next gen.
Grafton"
Most dramatic" says the New
Haven Journal Courier, ''is its sugges-
ton that power generation be CO.
ordinated nationally under Federal
regulation. The committees approach
to such conclusion is apparent. To
build dams for flood control alone,
while useful, might be economically
unfeasible. But when given multiple
purposes, such as power, recreation
and navigation along with flood con-
troll, the economic status of such a
dam may show decided improve
ment.' No general Federal usurpation
Of the power field is intended, how
ever. This goal does not involve
necessarily any great increase in the
number Of publicly owned lines the
report remarks, especially If the pri-
vate companies cooperate in effect
ing uniflcation.'
1T is possible to visualize many OBJ
stacles in the pathway of such a
project; these chiefly concern our
money economy" according to the
Sioux City Tribune, which, however,
calls the plan zone of the new frontiers
on which men are just beginning to
pioneer" The Lincoln (Nebr) State
Journal points out that "the heart
of the continent is its richest part"
and that the committee "has included
as necessary much that has been done,
some that is being done, much more
that cannot be done now, much that
should be done and some that should
be done soon to prevent greater waste"
The State journal concludes with the
warning: "In handing down our
heritage to generations to come, we
should not weight it with debts that
children yet unborn will not live
long enough to see paid. It Is well to
work for the living, but we have no
right to mortgage posterity."
such q report, dealing with our
social and economic problems, as well
as those which are purely physical"
advises the New Orleans Times-Pica-
yune, cannot be accepted offhand as
disposing of all the complicated issues
which have gone into the history of
the valley, however earnest and well
qualified may have been the compilers
Of the document. The best thought
of our own region has not been con-
cerned 90 much with 'stabilization Of