The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1937-02-04
NEWSPAPERS OPINIONS
FLOOD PRODUCTION VERSUS POWER
PRODUCTION
Editor of The Daily News:

Editor of The Daily News
President Roosevelt in delivering his inaugural
in the drenchng rain of January 20 said that
democratic government has innate capacity to
protect its people against disaster once considered
inevitable, to solve problems once considered UNI
solvabe." At this very time the rain super-soaked
areas of the Ohio river valley were gathering up
the greatest volume of flood waters since possibly
Noah's time, gathering to discharge them on Louis
ville Cincinnati and other towns, as well as farm
ing country all the way down the Ohio and Missis-
sppi with tremendous losses both of lives and
property.
Later on in his address he asks: "Have we
reached the goal of vision of that 4th day of
March, 1898? Have we found our happy valley?"
The stricken inhabitants of the Ohio and Missis-
sippi valleys can but echo back an agonizing No"
Why with all the brain trust plannngs and prod
igal expenditure of billions of money under the
new deal should such catastrophe as that wrought
by the Ohio river be inevitable, and at least up to
now an unsolvable problem? Why should the Ohio
and Mississippi valleys be full not of happiness,
but of death and despair? Perhaps in general
way the answer can be found in several other
passages of that flowing oratory of a rainy day.
Government is competent when all who compose
it work as trustees for the whole people"-"when
it keeps abreast of all the facts'-"we are NOV
ing toward an era of good feeling"-"but there
can be no era of good feeling save among men of
good will
Has the deal government properly acted as
trustees f>r the whole people," which as unit
wants flood protection at any COST in spending bill
lions on dams and power houses with the dominant
motive not of saving lives and property but of at
lacking investments held by millions of American
citizens, by trust funds for widows, orphans, be-
| nevolenceS Of all kinds, and by insurance COM
panies for their policy holders? Has President
Roosevelt shown good feeling or good will" for
| the utility industry? Rather has he not shown ill
will? Has he kept abreast of all the facts if he
thinks that to any important extent he had to
| troll floods by hugely expensive works for produc-
ton Of hydroelectric energy? 1t is true that dams
have valuable for navigation and flood control,
| but they be low dams, and comparatively in
Eexpensve against the very high and tremen-
dously expensive dams for power production. For
| instance, prior to the creation of the IVA, army
engineers reported that navigation and flood con-
troll on the Tennessee river could be accomplished
by series of low dams at cost of S5S ,0OO,O 600.
| But instead the IVA is erecting eight very high
dams to cost 1926, ,000 It's true major ooJec-
/ tive seems not flood control but political attack on
the public utility industry. Thus from the stand
! point of food control alone the immense sum OF
SITS, $1,000 is wasted by the IVA, and TINS Is
only one of many hugely expensive new deal
schemes of power in which food protection is given
minor consideration. The problem of preventing
horrible catastrophes just experienced and pring
ing happiness and security to our great river val
leys, would find much quicker engineering soiu-
ton if the many millions now squandered on hsh
dams, really built for warfare on private COM
panies, instead spent on many low dams pius
/ more effective dyking and dredging OF the river
channels-H. D. Baker of Durham in Greensboro
- - 80. s.-..--,..-.