The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1937-08-09
NEWSPAPERS OPINIONS
IVA YARDSTICK


can people, are paying for the electricity general
ed and distributed by the Tennessee Valley Au-
thority says William F. Austin, Jr., in The Eco
nomc Forum. Farmers in the valley "are hrmiy
astride the ponies on the IVA merry-go-round and
highly enjoying their ride But we know that the
current that flows through their power lines comes
directly from the federal treasury; not only that;
but the money that paid for the lines came from
the same source. And, without going too deeply
into the subject of electric power costs, we can
quickly see that if the farmers who now have
TVA-REA power are to keep it, the federal treas
ury is going to make up the difference between
what it costs to serve them and what they pay for
the service"
Taking into consideration both the lack of big
power users and the enormous amount of equip
ment necessary "to serve each and every domestic
consumer, it is more than apparent that the REA
cooperative buying IVA power cannot pay their
own way even when power is put into their lines
by the cost-ignoring Tennessee Valley Authority.
The federal treasury will have to hold the bag for
the IVA or the REA, more possibly, for both
of them" Mr.. Austin predicts that "neither the
farmers nor the city jewellers Of other areas are
going to be content for long to help the farmers
in Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia pay for the
electric power they use. They will either demand
that an end be put to this discrimination with
their tax money they will insist on equal
participation in the government bounty-or booty,
which ever you prefer. There is no doubt but that
the federal sock, deep as it is is unequal to the
task of selling power below cost to all the citizens
of the United States, so that we can see that the
TYA-REA cooperative power users are travelling
on thin ice. When the American public learns
about the actual gifts of electric power they
receiving, they will be face to face with the ne
cessity for paying what the power really costs"
Mr. Austin reminds that Wendell L. Wilkie,
president of the Commonwealth and Southern Cor
poration, which is interested in the South Carolina
Power company, has said that, given the direct
money grants, the freedom from taxes, and the
money borrowing facilities of the iva and its af-
filiated municipal systems his company could prof
itabIy sell power in Alabama and elsewhere at 80
per cent below iva rates. This is another way
of saying that the IVA yardstick is myth, rain
bow with pot of gold its end. 1t does things
free-handedly on the funds supplied by the whole
people for the benefit of the IVA customers. Pri-
vate companies cannot be assisted by navigation
projects and fertilizer plants which cost them moth
ing They cannot tell the tax collectors to chase
themselves but they must chase the tax collectors
with the tax money in their hands.
This IVA yardstick is another of the RooSe-
veltan phrases. II is atisonant but it is make
believe. AS Mr.. Austin reminds, the Tennessee
Valley Authority is circus merry-go-round, with
it's decorative hobby horses of flood control, ero-
sion control fertilizer development, social and eco
nomic planning following one another around and
around to the accompaniment of the iva public
ity caope at is hard to find either beginning
or an end to the parade"
It looks as if all of the American people have
been fooled for time by the New Deals liberal
promises but it is probably true that not all the
people can be fooled all the time by politicians with
plenty of hokum, good old-fashioned hokum. The
former comptroller Of the United States govern
ment said some disagreeable things about the IVA
extravaganza and wastefulness. This gentleman
was thorn in the side of the spending politicians.
The point is: when will the people of the United
States awaken to the fact that they are supporting
the IVA and it's REA affates? When will they
understand that they are paying for the ambitious
power and water scheme of the Boulder Dam de-
velopment? As long as Georgians. Tennesseeans
and Aabamians can get power at the expense of
their compatriotS they on velvet but 1t is most
unlikely that their good fortune can last indefinite
ly. Soon or late, there must come an awakening.
Charleston News and Courier.