The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1945-03-30


had never been advised about the
Shipsaw project. Had we been con.
suited, it would have been possible to
arrange for completion of enough of
the power installations in Bonneville
and Coulee dams to provide nearly
douvle the prime power capacity OF
Shipsaw."
Based largely on Shipsaw, the Cana
dian company now has an aluminium
capacity of one billion pounds, and
that makes it larger than Alcoa. The
favorable financial terms given the
Canadian company, in the opinion OF
DR.. Raver, should help it produce at
lower cost than American plants. The
Canadian company's investment cost
has been paid for by the United States
government In this circumstance, DR..
Daver declared the Canadian COM
pany should be able to undersell
American ingot aluminium and fabri-
Gated aluminium in all world markets,
unless our government adopts policy
of putting its own production plants
on an equally favorable basis. AS
things stand today, he was unable to
see how either Alcoa or an indepen-
dent producer or government plant
could hope to get into foreign mark
cts in competition with the Canadian
company.
In the end, as the Bonneville adj
ministrator sized up the situation, the
question for determination by con-
gress is one of whether the law-mak-
ing body wished to utilize the govern
ments investment in the aluminium
industry, including its investment in
power supply, as means of strength
ening the national defense and the
national economy by promoting new
competition.
He pointed out that in the so years
of American aluminium history, as re-
viewed in the antitrust case, only
few groups have considered seriously
going into the primary aluminium in
dustry. None has succeeded. 1t has
taken a war to create remarkable
opportunity. "The government owns
plants in all categories of the alum
mum industry except bauxite, and it
has the power to remedy that def
cheney. These were conclusions adj
vanced by DR.. Raver.
He recommended that the govern
ment encourage new private operat
ors to come into the aluminium bust
ness. But these newcomers must be
able to look abroad with confidence
for their permanent high grade baux-
tie reserves, and they must undertake
mining explorations and negotiations
with foreign governments. This will
require time and a considerable out
lay of money. He thought that only
the government itself can give the
assistance necessary to help prospec |
tive operators, some of whom would |
take over large government plants |
which are improperly located, and try |
to operate them economically on a
fraction of their capacity They would
have to bear the cost of reopening
some shutdown plants or portions of
plants, and of altering and adding
some facilities. They would have to
advance and risk millions of dollars |
of their own working capital. Despite |
these obstacles, success is not out of |
question DIR. Raver indicated that the |
government can help the new operat- |
ors in three ways, as follows: (a) |
Give them engineering guidance in ap-
praising possible production costs I'M
der conditions of partial operation;
(b) Grant them flexible terms of lease !
with rental conditioned upon profita-
BILE operations; (c1 Assume the costs
of altering plant facilities in order to
prepare them for economical opera
ton, and where necessary, finance the
relocation of improperly located plants
or equipment.
Mr. Moment, following Dr. Raver,
advised the committee that consumers
OF aluminium ingot have told the Bon
neville administration they would well
come alternative sources of supply
To provide these sources should be
the objective of disposal policy under
the surplus property act, and such an
objective, he thought, would require
that the surplus property board look {
at the government plants as whole !
not as units to be sold piecemeal"
Discussing this point, he said BE {
cause of the nature of the industry,
new primary producers must become
integrated producers. In order to sur
vive in competition with Alcoa and
Reynolds they must produce bauxite,
alumina, ingot, and fabricate a por-
ton of their ingot output. 1t would
also reduce costs if the Independents
had their own ocean vessels to carry
bau1ite in the same way as Alcoa.
Consequently, the surplus property
board ought to facilitate the disposal |
OF plants in integrated groups. That g
means granting to prospective oper- c
ators of alumina and reduction plants
a preferential position in securing fab n
ricating facilities. If certain key fabri- Il
eating plants were sold to non-inte- s
grated producers, or their machinery |,
removed and sold, the government Q
might defeat its own interest in dis A
posing of the basic plants. Disposal "
should therefore be planned-not han n
lied haphazardly or in piecemeal e
way" lie
1t was argued by Vice President l. in