The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-03-07
BY MARK HOWARD. NEA Service Special
 Correspondent


 Lincoln, Neb., March 7.-The six year fight by prIvate utility com- panies or Nebraska's little IVA" power and irrigation project moves into new and crucial phase.
 The offensive of the companies now takes the form of pressure upon the legislature to fasten reg ulatory curbs on the states three public power districts which were created in 1883 as self-liquidating hydro-electric and irrigation proj- ectS.
 The power interests ask state regulation of hydro-electric rates and demand taxing of the prop erty of the districts on the same scale that the property of the private companies always has been taxed.
 Senator George w. Norris, faG ther of the districts and of the unicameral legislature that holds some of the districts fate in its hands, counter-attacks the power trust" following launching of its new drive. He is supported by PWA officials in Washington.
 If the people of Nebraska want to kill the program" says Norris, they are the ones who will suf- fer. The thing in the project is the building of the 2,000, ,000- acre reservoir on the Platte river, fought by the power trust from the beginning. If that reser- voir had been built this year, ther'd have been bountiful crops in the Platte valley. The water that goes down in the winter and spring to do damage farther down the Mississippi valley would have been held back"
 HISTORY OF
 STRUGGLE
 Inspiration for the struggle is the $100,000, ,000 program announced last fall by the three districts which calls for purchase of the 13 private companies operating in the state and amalgamation of their fa- cilities in a 1000-mile statewide transmission system now nearly IOIllkJlCICu. 1oouC Ol 4CtCl1uC UOIlOS was the financing.
 The Iowa Nebraska Light and Power Go. of Lincoln sought and obtained federal power commits sion approval for the $20,000, ,000 sale of its proprieties. Guy C.. Myers, New York financiar, helped to arrange the transaction, with financing by the Bancamerica- Blair corporation of New York.
 The Nebraska League of Mu- inequalities, admittedly inspired by the Nebraska Power Go. of Omaha, then launched its legislative pro- gram. It outlined regulatory leg islation, threatened condemnation proceedings against most of the private companies, and several other small organizations of the state prepared other court action against the districts.
 Bancamerica Blair announced, a few days after the state legis- lature convened in January, that it had decided to postpone plans for the financing pending the out COIilC Ol CCI odAl ulCdOlA Co UCAlS considered by the legislature. Iowa Nebraska announced imme- diately that it had broken off all negotiations with the districts.
 The private companies want an almost complete revision of the law creating the districts. Under this law, which enabled the dis tricts to borrow PWA money, the districts are forced to charge rates sufficient to meet operating ex- penses and pay debt charges. They are not allowed to make a profit.
 They owe PWA $38,56e, ,OO0, a debt which will be amortized OH a 33-year basis in 1922, and must pay interest on that debt until the amortization. According to the arguments of private companies, this debt alone will make it im- possible for the districts to set