The midland journal., 1946-03-22

T~M
Re'osds"
hin WASHINGTON
BY WoIter Sheod
% WNU Correspondent
Powerful Lobby Fighting
Missouri Valley Project
WNU Washington Bureau,
1916 Eye ST., ". w.

and AFL unions, former grange
master and All club leader, and
himself a construction engineer,
touched the match which may set
off congressional investigation into
the lobbying activities of power and
other interests seeking to defeat the
regional authority measures for
public control of the Missouri,
Columbia and other river basins.
The young Washington congress-
man minced no words when he
called upon the congress to insti-
tute an investigation 'of the ex-
penditures and of the corrupt prac-
tees" of the organizations lobbying
against passage of these measures
seeking to harness the rivers under
congressional grants of regional au-
thorities.
Last fall this writer told you Of
the formation of one of the most
powerful lobbies in Washington
legislative history to defeat the Muir
ray Missouri Valley authority bill
and companion bills, which include
the Columbia River Valley authority
measure.
Now the lobby has been dragged
onto the floor of congress and un-
clOaked for all to see as "the
largest lobby of its kind in all pow
er history spending hundreds
Of thousands of dollars year in
fluencing legislation. -"
Coprroc1,oooA IoC1aroc tho
lobby consists of a ''sman group of
men, led by former insult COM
pany official, spearheading the or
ganization, financing the operation
of these three high-sounding organ
izations: the Reclamation associa-
tion, the National Association of
Electric companies, and the natural
resources committee of the U. s.
chamber of commerce.
Out to Rook People
'They are tied together as tight
ly as peas in a pod in their plan
to rook the American people," Con-
gresham Savage said.
He charged these organizations
are seeking to prevent the construc-
ton of power dams by government
in the nations rivers. Failing in
that, they are seeking to buy the
power at the bus bar "to repeat
their Muscle Shoals steal by pay
ing the government a fifth of a
cent kilowatt and force the peo-
pie to pay 10 cents so times as
y,oIIoh nc IL Cocf fhopo -
The gentleman from Washington
state charged that the lobbies have
entered into "a definite conspiracy
to break the Holding Company act";
that they are seeking to cripple the
Rural Electric administration, to
discredit IVA, to block the Colum-
bia River Valley authority bill and
to thwart other public power pro-
grams.
He declared that the lobby was
headed by Purcell L. Smith and
Kinsey w. Robinson. Smith, he
said, is former treasurer of Illinois
Power & Light, jointly owned by
the late Sam insult and North
American company. Also he was
former president of the insult hold
ing company, the Midwest corpora
ton, and then an officer of the
Commonwealth Edison company Of
Chicago.
"He (Smith) is now receiving $685.
000 year for his lobbying efforts"
MIR. Savage said. MIR. Robinson, the
congressman charged, is leader of
the resource committee OF the u. S.
cha inber Of commerce and preSi-
dent of Washington Water Power
company and "has been lobbying
against Columbia river legislation
since 1887"
He charged that the lobby through
referendum 81 of the U. S. C. of c.,
attempted to get support for legis-
lation placing Columbia river pow
er into their hands at the bus bar
in the recent Rivers and Harbors
bill, but failed.
Gift to Slick Promoters
''If that provision had gone into
the bill, we would have decided over
all of our great streams, lock, stock
eAAASA SSAAS@p w q 6AOAR ~ SAASAA SSSST
en- and midwestern promoters"
Savage said.
He charged that power COM
panies were supporting the Wash
ington office of the Reclamation as
s0ciati0n, ga lobby much larger
than the lobby which was created
to defeat the Walsh resolution COW
ering an investigation into power
trust financing and propaganda in
1926"
He cited evidence intending to
show that the efforts of the lobby
had postponed indefinitely further
hearings on the Missouri valley
authority bill and the same attempt
was being made before the house
rivers and harbors committee on
the Columbia river authority bill.
Referring to the activities of Pur-
cell Smith, Savage said: .'This for
mer insult associate recently stated
that 95 power companies are sup