The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1938-06-30
SEEN
HEARD
around the
NATIONAL
CAPITAL
n Ill n
By Carter Field i.

WASHINGTON.-Th army engi- |
neers have certainly made it tough |
for David E. Lilienthal, IN that task |
he has been at for five years now OF |
allocating the cost of IVA as be-
tween navigation, flood control, ana
power. It wouldn't be so bad II
the army engineers didn't have so
much strength on Capitol Hill, but
they Just demonstrated that again
this session. When President Roose-
velts reorganization bill, giving
him pretty nearly carte blanche
to combine agencies and distribute
governmental functions, was BENG
considered, the senate committee
wrote a special proviso into 1t stat
ing that there must be no monkey
ing with the functions and powers
of the army engineers And even
Tommy Corcoran didn't try to lobby
that out. He knew it couldn't be
done.
In the case of IVA the army
engineers figured that navigation on
the Tennessee river could be pro-
duced for a cost of STA, 709, 900
Then they went into the flood dam
age at length, and figured out that
the average annual damage IN the
valley from floods was Sf,784 ,06l.
Daniel w. Mead, former president
of the American Society of Civil
Engineers, has figured that only
$50, 900 600 of the TWAS proposed
expenditures could reasonably be
allocated to flood control. Mead
does make a concession in the di-
rection of Senator George W. Nor
ris. He admits that the high dams
built by IVA, and to be built, would
aid navigation more than the plan
proposed by the army engineers.
He calculates that perhaps as much
as $50, 900 900 should be allocated to
navigation.
Waving aside the point that 1t
has been proved many times that
even the STA, 709, 900 figure is an
economic absurdity, and conceding
the higher figure, this would make
the total that should be allocated
for navigation and flood control II
the IVA development Sl26, 000, 600
Cost Half Billion
But it is common knowledge a
Knoxville that the total cost OF IVA
all its work completed, will exceed
$500, 100000 The lowest estimate
recently made is S479, 1000, 900. It i
true that part of this money ha
and will be spent for development
of the valley-free fertilizer, sol
erosion, etc. Official figures are no
available, but Harcourt A. Morgan
mentioned in his testimony tina
$4,000 tons Of fertilizer had bee
distributed.
ION the unwarranted basis Of III
IVA estimates" Mr.. Mead cor
tends, lit is apparent that it est
mates the cost of power at abou
I'll mills per kiloWatt hour O
q more reasonable basis of cost c
the plants and of the power tina
can be sold, the probable cost Wi
be from to mills per kiloWat
hour. Steam power can certainl
be generated in the Tennessee va
ley for not to exceed 4 mills pc
kiloWatt hour
Actually. right in Washington, tn
local electric company, using 10y
grade coal, produces current a
the switchboard for 3 millsl An
this company pays not only bon
interest but good dividends, Whic
spells a heavy tax bill paid to tn
federal government, both direct an
in the personal income returns c
its security holders.
All of which tends to answer
question which even Senator Norri
has begun to worry about: Why tn
delay. since 1888, in making allt
cations of IVA costs as betwee
power, navigation and flood control
Ambitious Lewis
David J. Lewis, now represent
tive from the Sixth Maryland di
--z.--srict, and the New Deals choice
succeed Senator Millard E. Tydine
who bucked the administration
the Supreme court enlargement pr
gram as well as on most OF Il
other issues on which Preside
Roosevelt has faced opposition, W
crafty an ambition of lifetime
the White House is strong enough
put him over.
A liberal with lot of consery
tive friends, Lewis had a stro
hold on his district, which takes
all Of western Maryland, up un
1916. In that year he had his fl
chance at the senate due to one
the most peculiar setups in MAJ
land rather extraordinary polite
history.
AT that time the Democratic bt
Of the state was Senator 10
Walter Smith. His rival for lead
ship was his colleague, Sena
Blair Lee. Blair Lee had won
record for progressivism in
Maryland legislature. He had wa
ed to be governor. In the prim;
he had been beaten by young Artl
Pue German, son of Marylan