Evening star., 1936-02-25
MINTON EXPLAINS
DEC|S|ONON IVA.
Holds Water Power Clause
in Constitution Is Author
ity for Projects.


clause of the Constitution contains
sample" authority to sustain all Gov
ernment power projects currently un-
der construction, Senator Sherman
Minton, Democrat, of Indiana. said
last night in an address analyzing
the Supreme Courts T. v. A. de-
edsion.
He spoke on the National Radio
Forum, sponsored by The Evening Star
and broadcast at 1890 pm. over
Station WRC and Nationwide net
work of the National Broadcasting Co.
The net result of the courts de-
cision, Senator Minton said, is that
Congress may build dams like the
Wilson Dam in the navigable streams
OF the country; that the water power
thus created may be converted into
electricity. instead of permitting it to
60 to waste, and when the electricity
Is generated it is the property of the
United States; that any surplus en-
ergy thus generated may be sold by
the Government, and in order to en-
able the Government to market the
surplus, the Government may acquire
the transmission facilities for the pur-
pose of conveying the surplus to the
market"
Other Constitutional Powers.
In addition to the Constitutions
war powers and commerce clause,
there are other constitutional powers
'that might be called on in aid of
the powers mentioned by the court
in the T. V. A. opinion" the Senator
said.
Declaring it to be untrue that the
Governments excursions into the elec-
trio power field were njuring private
utilities, Senator Minton said all the
principal power companies in the
Tennessee Valley area had "Substan-
TALLY larger earnings in 1885 than
in 1884. Likewise, he said, the prl-
vate concerns have increased greatly
their sales of electric facilities such
as refrigerators, ranges and heaters,
as the result of rate reductions caused
by T. V. A.
Text Of Minton's Address.
The text of Senator Minton's ad-
dress follows:
wish to discuss with you this
evening the recent decision OF the
Supreme Court sustaining the con-
stitutionality OF the act OF Congress
creating the Tennessee Valley Au-
thority commonly called the T. v. A.
In 1916 the Congress authorized
the construction of dam on the
Tennessee River at Muscle Shoals,
Ala, which was completed in 1927.
and is known as the Wilson Dam. The
purpose of this construction was two
fold. First, to establish a plant for
the production of nitrates and other
materials used in the manufacture of
munitions of war; second, to improve
the navigation Of the Tennessee
River, a navigable stream which has
its headwaters in West Virginia and
North Carolina, and flows across sew
eral States, draining an area OF some
10000 square miles. At the dam
were built hydroelectric units for the
generation of electricity, by allowing
the water from its fall over the dam
to pass over turbines which generated
the electricity. The electricity so
generated was used to operate the nj
trate plants and other governmental
machinery at the dam. However, the
volume of electricity generated was
in excess of the needs of the Govern
ment and large surplus was available
for sale to the public. AS units for
the production OF nitrates and ma
terials for the manufacture of NUM-
tions, the plants at Muscle Shoals were
not commercially successful and In
peace time their operation Is not
attempted.
Built Other Dams.
With large investment in Wilson
Dam and the production of materials
to be used in the manufacture of mu-
nitions of war and for other CONNER
cial purposes not being feasible at
the time, Congress turned to the i'm
provement of the navigability Of the
river and the construction of other
dams to be used in conjunction with
the Wilson dam to produce q s-foot
stage of water from Knoxville, Tenn,
to Paducah, KY, a distance of some
658 miles. The authorization for this
e-foot stage was by an act of Congress
under the Hoover administration in
1880. To carry out this objective of
Congress, the T. v. A. was created
as a corporate body by an act of
Congress May Is, 1888, pursuant to a
recommendation of President Roose-
welt, but Mr.. Hoover. and Mr.. Coolidge
before him, had vetoed such legisla-
ton. Now, in the construction of
this series of dams to effectuate navi-
cation, large bodies of water are i'm
pounded and as the water falls to the
lower level tremendous power is Gre
ated by the simple fall of the water,
and the power inherent in the fall is
developed whether we want it or not,
and such power has been used by
mankind throughout the ages to do
his work. So, as the water goes over