Evening star., 1941-03-18

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to keep them drained, only to have
their accomplishments periodically
torn asunder by somebody elses
water from somebody else's State u
These rivers are all navigable fol
short distances and they were once
navigable for greater distances, but
somebody else's sand" has filled the
stream beds until navigation is per-
lshing. For as long as man has
sailed the seas, navigation has beer
the cheapest transportation anc
wherever it has been encouraged il
has brought with it increased raj
and motor transportation.
T. V. A. has made the Tennessee
one of the worlds busiest lanes O.
water traffic. The channel was fal
from complete year ago, but the
developments there had increased
traffic from 20 million ton miles ir
'35 to 81 million ton miles in 80
New industries are moving in and
other types Of transportation art
rapidly increasing.
When the four rivers of the A. v
A. are brought under control, chan.
mel developments, no longer subject
to flood hazards, will become perma.
nent and flood waters released from
the dams during the dry season will
make each river navigable for sew
eral hundred additional miles.
The authority will be authorized
to generate and distribute electric
power.
The 100000 people of the A. v. A
basins are staggering under power
rates so high that electricity is bare
ly more than luxury; so abomina-
bly, high that millions cannot afford
1t and so high that commerce and
industry, in our highly competitive
economy, can never experience nor
NAL growth. Conservative estimates
Of the Army engineers are that more
than 4,000, ,000,000 kilowatt hours
can be produced annually, econom-
ically and feasibly at these multi
purpose dams. This power, supple
mented by additional power from
steam plants run with the areas
cheap gas, oil and coal, would be
sufficient to supply every home,
urban and rural, every commercial
establishment and every industry at
a rate even cheaper than that OF
T. v. A.
Key to Regeneration.
To the extent that the Authority
can make available large amounts
of cheap electricity, it holds the key
to the regeneration of life there. It
is the genesis of hope.
The Federal Power Commission
reports an imminent and impending
shortage Of electricity in the area.
Tho pressing demand of the de-
fense program for electric power
throws into bold relief the hydro
electric projects which A. v. A. will
construct. Many slectrochemical
and electrometallurgical industries
vital to the defense require huge
amounts Of cheap electricity. Alum
mum Is only one.
These industries always locate
near the source Of cheap power, and
that is why more industries have
lately grown up in the Tennessee
Valley than T. v. A. can supply
Practically none Of the new defense
industries have come to the A. v. A.
basins and thus our economy Is
thrown further out of balance.
Barrier No. against these States
obtaining defense industries, and
against their proper industrial, COM
mercial and agricultural growth is
the total lack Of reasonable power
rates.
The latest compilation Of figures
shows that for that year the people
Of Arkansas used half billion kilo-
watt-hours, for which they paid
nearly $12,000,000. Under the r. "
A. rates Just across the river they
would have paid 5000, 600 for the
same amount and they would have
saved nearly 5000, 900. This $e,00o,-
600 is the overcharge paid by the
people Of Arkansas as tribute to the
absentee-owned, Wall Street-con-
trolled power trust monopoly.
In Louisiana during the same year
the people were overcharged $780,
600 by comparison with T. v. A,
rates.
The people of Missouri were over
charged s21,000,0O0.
The people Of Texas, $31 ,0O0, 900
The people Of Oklahoma, $11,-
100000.
And during the same year the peo-