Montana labor news., 1950-01-26
eva GROUP ASKS
INVESTIGATION

Leaders OF the Pacific North
vests live largest farm and labor
organizations and Rep. Hugh B.
Mitchell, ID. Wash.), president OF
the League Tor eva. recently pro-
posed a congressional investigation
OF groups opposing passage OF CO.
lumbia Valley Administration leg
islation.
They demanded the probe in letters
10 Sen. Hartley NJ. Kilgore 3D., w.
Na) and Rep. Frank Buchanan Cd.
Pa.), chairmen Of the Senate and
House subcommittee to inyesti-
gate Hobbies.
Besides Mitchell, the request was
signed by Henry p. Christensen and
Morton ToinjkinS. Masters OF the
Washington and Oregon State
Oranges; +. NJ. Weston and James
I. Mari, leaders OF the Washington
Federation OF Labor, and Roy w.
Atkinson. Go Regional Director.
All are officers i'll the League ior
CNA. the farm-labor backed organ
izatlon that is sparkling the drive
ior CNA.
The letter charged the anti-CNA
groups with having spent at least
S250,000' during i949 in the cam
paign against the Truman-backed
program for a Northwest valley
administration.
"On the contrary" they said, "our
organization, the League Tor eva.
operated on S7,l73.sl during 1910"
The statement charged the "pri-
vate power lobby with setting up
front organizations to spearhead the
campaign against the eva.
Between l945-4S, it noted that in
vestigations by the League for eva
had revealed that private utilities
had contributed more than 90 per
cent of the total financial support
received by the anti-CNA groups.
The statements OF the president
OF the National Association Of Elec-
trical Companies, Mr.. Purcell L.
Smith Of Washington, d. C.. as re-
ported III the New York Times.
conclusively reveal that this CAM
paign has been masterminded from
Washington, d. C." they charged.
The private power lobby has used
an old technique in is pernicious
attack on the eva; it has set up
front organizations with innocent
sounding titles. such as the Pacific
Northwest Development Association,
etc, to s%pearhcad its attack
During 1910, these front organ
i~zations have spared no expense in
their campaign to misrepresent the
CNA,' they said. They paid, printed
and distributed at least a million ex-
pensiyely embossed pieces of lit
erature which attack the CVA. They
have circulated numerous paid
speakers throughout the region to
sway public opinion against the
eva"
The statement declared that they
have been aided by the big bus
mess interests Of the region, such
as the Weyerhaeuscr Timber Com
pany and other large, absentee
owned corporations"
But who is contributing the money
to make possible this expensive cam
paign?' they asked. THE Pacific
Northwest Development Association
and other front organizations re-
fuse to say"
The six leaders suggested III their
letter that IAN investigation OF this
powerful lobby wuold be extremely
timely and would serve to generally
enlighten the interested public OF
the Pacific Northwest and the ma
ton as to just who is opposing the
eva"
The pointed out that the farm
labor organizations on record in
favor of the eva had a total mem-
bcrship OF 100000 persons, while
the groups on record against the
eva represent less than 10000 of
the regions 100000 i'll habitants.'