The daily independent., 1937-07-02
Mps MAhh

Morgan's Feud With iva Col
leagues Ended BY Executive
Shake-up; Chairman No Long
er Chief Engineer, Now Merely
Minority Members; FDR Silent
On Court Vacancy; Has Given
Robinson No Assurances; New
Airline Will Join Washington.
Ottawa; Feed Atlantic Route.
Washington-It was done very
quietly, but the long-raging un-
dercover diSSenSiCn between iva
Chairman Arthur E. Morgan and
his two fellow commissioners has
been squelched by President
Roosevelt. At his direct !nstiga-
ton. an administrative shake-up
has taken place that has stripped
Morgan of most of his power and
in effect relegated him to the role
Of a minority member of the
board.
Morgan and his colleagues have
been scrapping bitterly for sew
eral years over personal and pol
icy differences. He favorS a con-
ciliatory attitude toward private
power interests. The other two
commissioners advocate vigorous
competition. Last year, when the
term of Commissioner David Lii
ienthal expired, Morgan threaten
ed to resign if he was reappo!nted.
The President gave Lil.enthal a
new SiX-year term, but Morgan
did not quit.
Lilienthal's reappointment in
tensified the feud and for months
the President tried to find a way
to end it. A plan was finally eVol-
we'd and at the prompting Of the
President put into effect.
Under it Morgan continues to
hold the title Of Chairman but re-
linquishes his executive duties as
Chief Engineer. The other two
members also give up their indi-
vidual executive spheres. This
t hire c-cornered administrative
control is replaced with a one
man rule in the person of EXecu-
tive Officer j. B. Blandford
former Safety Director of Cincin-
natl, Ohio.
The board is now solely a poll
cy-making body. 1t makes decis-
ions and Blandford executes
them, thus removing a chief
source of friction.
In practice the arrangement
means that Morgan is merely one
member of a three-man direct
crate. As Commissioners Lilien-
thai and HarcOurt A. Morgan see
eye to eye on most issues. this
puts Chairman Morgan in the
position of the minority member
That Morgan is aware he has
been shelved was indicated by his
remark to a friend following the
board meeting at which the re-
organization was approved.
We'll" he observed glumly, 1t S
all over as far as 1 am concern
ed"
New Job
White House. insiders predict
that Morgan shortly will be offer
ed a new post by the President.
His IVA term still has three
years to run. 1t S an open secret
that the President and Senator
George Norris. father of the IVA.
would like to eliminate him from
the agency. Morgan may be ask
ed to take charge of a large re-
clamation project on the Red
River in Texas.
Norris resentment at Morgan'S
constant Wrangling with COL
leagues was expressed in his re-
Gently introduced bill to create
seven new regional Twas. The fol-
lowing paragraph was aimed di-
reCtly at the IVA Chairman:
AL matters of policy shall be
considered and determined by
the directors acting as a board;
and in carrying out the provisions
of this act, it shall be the duty of
each director to act consistently
with such policies as they may
from time to time determine"
The specific event that prompt
ed Norris to include this language
was Morgan's persistent object
ion to the IVA signing a power
contract with Chattanooga, Tenn,