Evening star., 1938-07-19
|GNOREDBYA|DES,
MORGAN CHARGES
'Yardstick' Rates at T.. V. A.
Established Without His
knowledge, He Says.
BACKGROUND


DR.. Arthur E. Morgan, chairman
OF the Tennessee Valley Authority,
tcds long in disagreement NTH his
ttpo associates on the Authority
over its policies. He made public
charges against them, and Presi-
dent Roosevelt called upon him to
prove the charges DR.. Morgan re-
Jhsed to present his proof TN ses-
s,ons called by the President at the
White House, and Mr.. Roosevelt
thereupon remoped DR.. Morgan
from Office. Congress authorized d
probe OF the T. V. A. situation. and
DR.. Morgan also has challenged the
Presidents action in court.
BY the Associated Press.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn, July 1e-Dr.
Arthur E. Morgan, depoSed chairman
OF the T. v. A., charged today the
authority's famed "yardstick' power
rates were established and published
without his knowledge.
Testifying before a congressional
investigating committee, he declared
the figures were released by T. v. A.
Director David E. Llienthal in Sep
tember, 1888, four months after the
T. v. A. was created by Congress.
Il learned about them from the
newspapers" he asserted.
He charged Directors Harcourt Nor
gan and Lilienthal ran rough -shod"
over him in board meetings and often
took action without his knowledge.
These figures (the rates the T. v.
A, was to receive for retail and
wholesale power) were fixed by Lilien-
thai without my knowledge" he
charged.
Rates Were Accepted.
Representative Wolverton, Repub-
1ican. of New Jersey, asked the former
chairman if the rates were accepted
by the T. " A. Board.
What could we do?" DR.. Morgan
replied They already had been pub
lished."
DR.. Morgan said he was mot salts
fed" with the rates. He added that
Mr.. Lilienthal reported to the board
they were fixed by group of experts
he had employed.
Mr.. Lilienthal promised to report
how they arrived at the rate base,
the lean, gaunt Ohioan testified, but
"he never made any such report to
the board"
DR.. Morgan told the investigators
6nStoydov Iifornococ
the T. v. A. Board less than month
after Congress created the Authority
in May, 1888
He continued testimony started
yesterday when he said pickering over
matters of policy and procedure
marked the early growth of the valley
development program. He added that
most of his suggestions met opposition
from the other two directors.
The three were far apart in philos-
ophy." the witness said, explaining
that he favored immediate action" in
line with President Roosevelt's emer-
gency relief program. But that the
other two wanted to devolve a delayed
long range" program
Denies Power Grab"
DR.. Morgan told the investigators
that he recommended most of the key
men employed in the early days of T.
v. A. organization, but insisted he
made no effort to grab power" for
himself as charged by Mr.. Lilienthal
and Harcourt Morgan.
The visionary" projects, he said,
included suggestions for % immediate
construction of Norris Dam and erec-
tion Of a transmission line from
Muscle Shoals to the dam site: (2)
adoption of fertilizer program; (3)
research in power transmission and
90 formation Of board to control
possible speculation in real estate.
Other claims by DR.. Morgan were
that Mr.. Lilienthal and Harcourt
Morgan suggested the T. v. A. had
lust two unctions-fertilizer and
power; that they were responsible for
delaying construction of the town of
Norris until I'VE were actually building
the dam" and employees were ''piling
up on each other" and that in some
manner intimate details" of T. v. A.
Board meetings leaked out to the press.