Evening star., 1939-11-19
7. y. Ability Feud
Renewed as Leaders
Exchange Charges
Defamation Loid to
liIienthoI After Speech
Alleging obstruction
By the Associated Press,

~ the AoSOCldLcQ FIeSB.
LAFAYETTE, Ala, Nov. ls.-
Sharp words between executives to.
day broke quiescent relations of the
Tennessee Valley Authority and the
Alabama Power Co., a Common
wealth g. Southern Corp. subsid-
iary.
T. v. A. Director David e. Lilien-
thai declared in a speech here the
company maintained q policy of
"antagonism and obstruction" to-
ward cooperative rural electrifica-
ton; expressed hope for an end to
this dog-in-the-manger policy Of
lighting farmers co-operatives."
At Washington, President Thomas
w. Martin of the Alabama Power
Co. accused Mr.. Lilienthal Of com
tinuing the campaign of defamation
of utilities" and called upon him
"and others in similar positions" to
cease their unfair and untrue at
tacks."
A long controversy between Gov.
ernment and public utility leaders
was ended last August Is when the
Commonwealth and Southern turned
over its Tennessee Electric Power
Co. properties to the T. v. A. for
$78, ,425 ,096.
Six County Gathering.
Mr.. Lilienthal criticized the Ala
bama subsidiary at a county
gathering here celebrating energiz-
ing of the Tuscaloosa River Electric
Membership Corps 377-mile lines,
financed from a 1925, 900 r. E. A.
allotment. 1t is Alabama's eleventh
such cooperative.
Last winter" he said, "the power
companies of the Southeast and the
T. v. A., after years of controversy,
worked out their differences in a
spirit of compromise and reason
ableness.
Il thought that the Alabama
Power Co. would, in the spirit and
following the lead of other util-
tiles, inaugurate a policy of har-
mony with cooperative associations
like your own, and with the r. E. A.
Instead, you have been the object of
the same old policy of antagonism
and obstruction.
Tallapoosa River section farmers,
he said, tried unsuccessfully for
20 years" to obtain rural electrifica-
ton from the Alabama company and
were met with spite lines" and
hostile propaganda when they un-
dertook to do the job themselves.
Company Defended.
Mr.. Martin, in a statement issued
soon after Mr.. Lilienthal spoke, de-
clared the Alabama Power Co. has
national record for building rural
lines, which apparently have escaped
Mr.. Lilienthals attention.
This is natural because the pro-
gram was developed before Mr..
Lilienthal knew anything about the
power business"
He said more than 1000 miles
OF rural lines, costing approxi-
mately $4,000 900, have thus been
built to serve more than $4,000
customers - without a single
dollar donated by the Federal Gov
ernment.
1T is apparent" he said, that
Mr.. Lilienthal is continuing the
campaign OF defamation of utili-
ties which has rendered it impos-
sible for utilities in the area of
T. v. A. to refinance or to raise
new money for construction. If Mr..
Lilienthal and others in similar
positions would cease their unfair
and untrue attacks upon these
companies, the companies could
spend additional millions of dollars
IN putting men back to work, and
make it unnecessary for the Gov
ernment to spend millions of dol
lars which it is spending in de-
veloping useless Federal power
projects, thus increasing the ma
tional debt to point which is
jeopardizing the national economy"