Evening star., 1938-03-16
W|LLK|E TO MEET
L|[|ENTHAL TODAY
Session Here Might Lead to
7. v. A. Purchase of 18
Southern Plants.
BACKGROUND

BACKGROUND
Faced With threatened competi-
ton from municipal power systems
duplicating their o1Dn properties,
priUate utility leaders two Weeks
ago agreed to meet Uith T. v. A.
Director Lilienthal to discuss sale
OF their holdings Opening OF the
discussions ,Uas preceded by serious
split in T. v. A. directorate, ac-
companied by demand TOR con-
gressional investigation. Insisting
upon such inquiry, Chairman Arthur
Morgan refused last ueek to discuss
his complaints NTH President
Roosevelt.
BY the Associated Press.
Wendell L. Willkie and David e.
Lilienthal, who have argued for five
years over public utility policies, came
to Washington today to discuss terms
for the Government purchase of vast
electric power utilities In the Ten
nessee Valley.
Mr.. Willkie is the suave, middle
aged president Of the Commonwealth
q Southern Corp, which owns the
plants IN question. Mr.. Lilienthal Is
the 38-year-old power director of the
Tennessee Valley Authority.
Their climactic meeting followed a
Supreme Court decision which opened
the way for Federal financing of mu-
nicipal power projects in the Ten
neSsee .Valley-long considered Com
monWealth & Southern'S bailiwick.
If Mr.. Willkie and Mr.. Lilienthal
can agree. T. v. A. may buy or lend
municipalities the money to purchase
some l8 power plants and their trans
mission systems. Otherwise these
properties might be paralleled by
$l50,000,O00 of public developments
backed by loans and grants from the
Public Works Administration.
Probe Endorsed.
Mr.. Willkie has insisted that If
T. v. A. purchases his properties they
should be taken over in toto. and the
price should cover their value as go
ing concerns"
Mr.. Lilienthal, with equal firmness,
announced in the beginning that T.
v. A. would consider only a price rep
resenting the actual legitimate cost of
the properties less depreciation
Their conference started amiably.
Mr.. Willkie, entering the meeting, told
reporters he would sell If the Govern
ment met his price.
If Dave is willing to pay me a fair
price" Mr.. Willkie said referring to
Mr.. Lilienthal, I'll make him a big
bad utility officer before the night
over
Another phase of T. " A. activity
held the limelight in the Senate, where
administration supporters divided on
how best to investigate internal dis
sension among the agency's directors.
Majority Leader Barkley of Ken
lucky Endorsed q joint Senate-House
committee inquiry, but Senator Nor
ris, independent. of Nebraska declared
he would oppose such a method.
Five House members and five Sena-
tors would conduct the inquiry under
resolution offered by Senators
Bridges, Republican, Of New Hamp-
shire and King, Democrat, of Utah.
Norris Won't Yield More.
Mr. Norris, baked yesterday in ef-
forts to gain immediate consideration
of his own resolution calling for. a
senatorial investigation, said he would
not compromise further.
i've backed down all I'm going to
on this" declared Mr.. Norris. who
previously had urged an investigation
by the Federal Trade Commission.
The opponents of the T. v. A. have
been asking for senatorial investi-
CATION and when I offer that they try
to block it.