Imperial Valley press., 1942-04-08
CAPITAL TALKS
by
Peter
Edison


Hon. Kenneth McKella". bachelor,
senior senator from Tennessee, has
emerged recently as one of the
greatest advocates of government
economy in the Congress, and may
be there's a reason.
You may recall that last fall there
was a great to-do about building
/ Douglas Dam in western Tennessee.
| Senator Mcclellan was agin it. His
point was that to build Douglas
Dam would flood some of the best
/ farm land of the state, cause a lot
of farmers to be moved off their
acres, and ruin the business OF sew
eral canning factories.
Senator Mckellar proposed
that two or three other dams be
built on other locations to give
the same amount of power for
! about the same amount Of
money and at the same time
avoid the upset of pea canning
as usual" He wrote a bill to
build "hiS" dams and he nearly.
but not quite, slipped it through
lation.
But the case for Douglas Dam was
we'll prepared by smart young David
E. Lilienthal, chairman of the Ten
nessee Valley Authority. Douglas
Dam was presented as necessary
item of national defense. 1t was
shown how the dam could be built
economically and quickly as a dup
licate of another IVA dam to pro-
vide the power needed for increased
aluminium production. IVA wanted
it. The old OPM wanted it. The
President wanted it. Everybody
wanted it except Senator Mcclellan
The senator had to back down and
take his licking. Douglas Dam ap-
preparation went through.
WHETS HIS KNIFE
Ever since then, the Hon Ken
meth McKellar from Memphis has
been a changed man. Never a New
/ Dealer in the narrowest sense, he
was yet q good party man and he
went along with the administration
most of the time-particularly the
powerful southern bloc. After the
] battle for Douglas Dam. however
/ the distinguished senator from Ten
ressee began to look through in
stead of over his spectacles at new
appropriation bills. In the manner
of a southern gentleman at his best,
/ he began to go rebel. Cut some OF
his pet projects from under him,
would they? Well maybe he could
do a little cutting of his own.
He was in an excellent posi-
ton to wage war. He didn't have
to run for office again until
I947. He was chairman of the
Senate PcstOffice, Committee
which passed on postmaster
ships. ANY congressman with a
pet patronage postmaster to get
appointed had to see Kenneth
and a favor granted is favor
gained in the code of lOgrOlling
congressman.
Moreover, McKellar was ranking
member and most active senator on
the Senate Appropriation Commit
/ tee. Carter Glass was chairman, but
/ McKellar did much of the work.
Ard the committee passes on all
bills granting money to federal
agencies. On top of that McKellar
was named a member of the Con-
CresS!onal Joint Committee on Re-
ducticn of Nom Essential Federal
Expenditures. Senator Harry f.
Byrd was chairman of that commit
tee. but again Mcclellan was rank
ing member Armed with this double
barreled shotgun, Kenneth began
| blasting.
WOULD TIE UP
/ GOVERNMENT TRAVELLERS
He took number of pot shots
at the office of Civilian Defense. He
/ began firing at the National Youth
Administration and the Civilian
Conservation Corps and he intro
duced bill which would in effect
abolish them both by transferring
/ their useful functions to other eX-
/ isting government agencies.
He started scrutinizing travel
expenses of all federal 0rganiZa-
ti0ns and he came up with the
amazing revelation that the.
travel expenses of the govern
ment today, while only a small
part cf the grand total of all
present expenditures, are
sixth of what the total cost of
government was when McKellar
came to Congress in 1911.
/ McKelar's cunning apparently has
/ met heg11n His bill to abolish NYA
ard CCC probably won't get any
place, he publiclT admits. But be-
fore the hunting season is over,
the Memphis sharpshooter will
probably blast out of the federal
budget the equal cost of couple
l. i, ln