The Wilmington morning star., 1947-01-09
Text OF Burton J. Bells Address

qulte tangible in that thew car he
calculated in dollars and cents and
nus compared with the annua,
carrying charges. In order for a
project to be economically iusti-
lied, the resulting BENEFITS mus+
exceed the corresponding carrv.
ing charges; in other words. the
ratio OF benefits to cost. called
the benefit/cost ratio, must ex.
coed unity.
Benefit Programs
During the more recent wears. the
Federal Government has. through
existing wel-quaiified Federal
agencies, launched extensive gen.
eral public-benefit programs. manv
OF whose benefits cannot be estab.
llshed On this dollar and cents
oasis. l refer to such matters as
lelorestatlon, preservation of wild
lie, Soil conservation, recreation,
n the preservation of public
nealth by mosquito control or other
means. We therefore find that prior
10 WI our waterway improve
ihents were very much unrelated
and uncoordinated, but that since
then the four uses; namely, naviga.
tlon, power, flood contro.,, and ir-
rlgatlon, producing tangible dollars
and cents benefits, have been in
tegrated in the basic plans. Those
projects having intangible benefits
nave been provided for by other
agencies, largely n cooperation
with local interests. Outstanding
examples of multiple-purpose pro-
jects are the Boulder and Bonnie
vile Dams.
We also have an example in
which a basin has been developed
by a single agency largely indie
pendent Of the regularly establish
ed agencies; I refer to the Ten
nessee Valley Authority. The T. V.
A. has not only carried out projects
having tangible and humanitarian
benefits, but has also engaged in
the distribution and sale of power,
a function which hitherto has been
performed largely by private com
mercial enterprise. None of the
large revenues which the I. V. A..
derives from the sale of power have
been returned to the Treasury to
date; they are used instead to de-
fray the operating expenses of the
entire undertaking, including ex-
perimentation in agriculture, social
welfare, and other everyday activ-
tiles. However, they did reduce
their request for funds in 1916
which amounted to some $43 mil
lion for work contemplated and
underway by about $12 million. T.
V. A. to date is not self-supporting
and nothing has been done toward
the authorization of the initial con-
struction cost, which totaled about
5000, 000, 900 at the end of 1915.
We thus see that the conception
of the development of water re-
has undergone a marked
evolution since 1927. To show the
present attitude of Congress-, l
should like to read certain extracts
from the 1914 Flood Control Act.
QUOTE Electric power and
energy generated at reservoir pro-
jects under the control of the War
Department and in the opinion of
the Secretary of War not required
in the operation of such projects
shall be delivered to the Secretary
of the Interior, who shall transmit
and dispose of such power and
energy in such a manner as to en-
courage the most widespread use
thereof at the lowest possible rates
to consumers consistent with sound
business principles, the rate sched-
ules to become effective upon con-
firmation and approval by the Fed
eral Power Commission. Rate
schedules shall be drawn having
regard to the recovery of the
cost of producing and transmitting
such electric energy including the
amortization of the capital invest
ment allocated to power W a
reasonable period of years. Prefer
ence to the sale of such power and
energy shall be given to public
bodies and co%operatives. The Secre-
tary of the Interior is authorized
to construct or acquire
only such transmission lines and
related facilities as may be neces-
sary in order to make the power
available in wholesale quaint
ties, for sale on fair and reasonable
terms and conditions, to facilities
owned by the Federal Government,
public bodies, coopertaives, and
privately owned companies. NOTE
THIS - All moneys received from
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