Evening star., 1938-12-11
Utilities Spokesman
In Squabb|e With
Rankin 0verT Y. A. +;
Industry Tries TO Destroy
Yordstick Rotes, Says
Mississippion
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
Representative Rankin, Democrat,
Of Mississippi and private utility
spokesmen engaged in some forth,
right name-calling yesterday when
the Representative appeared before
the Tennessee Valley Authority In
vestigating Committee to laud the
vast public power project.
The gray-haired Mississippian
contended the T. V. A. and its
"yardstick rates had Topped $685.
600 900 from the annual electric bills
of consumers and that for this
reason the utility industry was try
ing to destroy this yardstick of the
people"
Representative Rankin, CO.
author of the T. v. A. Act and
longtime advocate of public power,
interrupted his prepared statement
several times to charge private
utility leaders had attempted to
intimidate the courts and the press,
to "bribe legislators directly and
indirectly" and influence churches
and schools
Bristling Replies Made.
He nodded assent when Senator
| Schwartz, Democrat, of Wyoming
inquired whether the integration of
| private utilities was not a form Of
Fascism.
Shortly after Representative
Rankin had concluded his testi-
mony, two private utility men he
had mentioned replied with bristling
statements.
c. w. Kellogg, president of the
Edison Electric Institute, said Mr..
Rankin's testimony was "fallacious
and deliberately misleading" and an
''unfai1 attack on one of the key
industries of the country, at a
time when restored confidence to
investors and encouragement to
| Initiative is badly needed"
Representative Rankin had re-
ferred to the institute as the mouth
piece Of the private interests
Mr.. Kellogg said Representative
| Rankin's contention that T. V. A.
| had reduced electric costs all over
| the country was ridiculous" He
| added that the same argument
would credit the utility industry
with saving consumers s25. 900 ,0O0.-
900 a year since it began. through
rate reductions
Mr.. Kellogg, answering each of
the Rankin charges, termed them
absurd, untrue, false and mac
curate."
Representative Rankin told the
committee that under the admin
| istration of President Hoover. the
Government sold power at Muscle
Shoals Dam, prior to the estab-
lishment of the T. V. A., to the
Alabama Power Co. fer mills a
kilowatt, which the private utility
later resold to the public for as
much as 10 cents.
Thomas W. Martin, president OF
the Alabama Power Co. of Birming-
ham, quickly issued statement
that the Rankin testimony was
"the bunk" 80
Rates Fixed by State.
Mr.. Martin said his company paid
a rate fixed by Army engineers, and
that the resale rates were regtl-
lated by the Alabama State Com
mission, a practice lauded by Presi-
dent Roosevelt when he was Gov
ernor of New York.
This is typical Of Mr.. Rankins
usual OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES Mar
tin concluded.
Before the committee, Represen-
tative Wolverton, Republican. of
New Jersey offered a report from
five auditors of the Federal Power
Commission who were sent to T.
V. A. headquarters at the request
OF the investigating committee to
survey T. V. A. books and account
ing methods.
They reported that the T. v. A.
had failed to use the accounting
system set up by the power COM
mission for public and private cleo
trio agencies.
AS result, the commissions ac-
countaints said, it was impossible
to tell power costs from T. v. A.
books and its financial reports did
not command the confidence which
they would if other procedure were
used.