Toledo union journal. [volume] (Toledo, Ohio) 1942-current, 1948-12-24
Power Shortage
Threatens Nation
This Winter
by Bradford v. Carter
LPA CoIumnist

tr1clty shortages In some parts
of the country which come
close to the war time brown
outs" Utility companies are
asking tn cir consumers to
save.
How this shortage C a m
about is an interesting story.
What's going to be done about
it is even more interesting.
You may be hit by power
lack in your community be-
cause the private electric COM
panies have refused to expand
fearing they'll get caught in a
depression) and have, at the
same time, fought the expan-
sion of public power projects
or cooperatives.
Panic has swept the cleo
trical industry since the cleo
tions. The big-money boys are
afraid that now the people
have spoken, they will get
some of the valley develop
ment pro- e ts, dams, and
transmission lines which they
so urgently need.
You can't accuse the power
lobbyists of being cutters,
tho. They'll fight to the last
ditch. The E d i S o n Institute
has announced that it will
fight against appropriations
for a new IVA steam plant
again in the next Congress. 1t
escri b d the steam plant
(Which will soon be need by
factories and homes in the val
ley) as "a n o t h e decisive
cross sroad d on the march
toward regional socialism on a
large scale.
The National Association of
Electric Companies, VIII / C h
represents the majority of the
industry, has declared war on
all government power projects
of any sort They have boasted
that they will spend at least
$315,000 on the fight during
the coming session of Con-
gress. One thing they hope to
achieve is equal tax require
ments for private and public
power utilities.
Two phamphlets out re-
Gently give the pro and con
of the controversy, which has
been and will be kicked d
around as long as the private
power boys feel as the some
one is infringing upon their
rights to gouge consumers.
One, "An Analysis of the
Real Cost of IVA Power"
written by c. j. Green, for the
US Chamber of Commerce, is
a masterpiece in statistical
gobbledegook. Green reminds
one of the definition of a sta
tistician--someone who comes
to foregone conclusions on the
basis of unWarranted assump-
tions; the conclusions in this
case being that private COM
panies Green takes a hypo-
thetical private company of
his own design for compari-
SOM can produce much more
cheaply than p u blic power
conn n / e S. First laying
emphasis on the fact that the
tax differential between IVA
and his hypothetical company
amounts to $121, 100000 an
nually, Green then proceeds
to state that mo tax compari-
son is ever completely
satisfactory" Because Green
does not take into considera-
ton the other factors involved
in the case for public power,
his picture is obviously one
sided.
In a phamplet put out by
the American Public Power
Association - Public Power
Pays" by Carlton L. Nau -
the ia ctors are forcefully
pointed out. T his pamphlet
comes to the understandable
conclusion that public power
companies actually pay more
taxes than do the priv tie
power ones. Why? Because
private power companies con-
slider taxes as a part of operat-
ing costs and therefore pawn
it off on consumers in higher
rates. More important, how
ever, Is the fact that private
power companies simply are
not able to meet the demands
of the nation. These are the
same boys who l. lie d the
Grand Coulee and IVA
white elephants" when they
were in the proc ceSs of
development.
II turned out the white
elephants could be used after
all. Frank Mclaughlin. presi-
dent of the S140,000,000 Puget
Sound Power e. Light Co., a
typical public power opponent,
now finds that he has to pur-
chase power from f e d e
sites. Mclaughlin recently
held his nose and urged Con-
gress to increase appropria-
tions for generating facilities
D~A,v,I1~ nnea n,1rAx.