Evening star., 1954-08-08
IVA Takes Over

The power issue was subordin-
ate to other aspects of the Valley
project as outlined in the original
IVA message sent to Congress
by Mr.. Roosevelt on April 10,
1888. Setting up a blueprint for
what he later described as
regional planning on a scale
never before attempted in his
tory" the President said:
"It is clear that the Muscle
Shoals development is but
small part of the potential public
usefulness of the entire Ten
nessee River. Such use, if en-
visioned in its entirety, tram
scends mere power development;
it enters the wide field of flood
control, soil erosion, afforeSta-
ton, elimination from agricul-
tural use of marginal lands and
distribution and diversification
of industry"
Most of Mr.. Roosevelt's vision
was to come true. Through the
regional planning concept, IVA
made possible flood control and
reforestation for over 10 million
acres in the rich Tennessee and
Mississippi valleys. 1t contributed
a nine-foot channel in the Ten
nessee River, opening a water
born commerce route through
the heart of the country, from
the Gulf Coast to the Great
Lakes. 1t meant farms prosper
ing through the use of fertilizers
developed at the revamped Mus
Gle Shoals chemical plant. It
provided the site for the cradle
! of the nations atomic energy
program.
iva Becomes Fighting Word.
Back of all this, however, was
the production of electric power.
And that is where TVA-popular
beyond controversy in these
other respects-becomes a fight
ing word.
When Congress translated the
original New Deal blueprint into
legislation, the IVA was directed
to sell it's power so as to benefit
the people of the section as a
whole and particularly the do
mestic and rural consumers. "It
was to seek the application of
electric power to the fuller and
better balanced development of
the resources of the region"
Quickly the program took
shape as an about drive for
public ownership.
TvA does not, itself, distribute
electricity to the consumer. It
produces power. which it sells
to- distributors. The law pro-
vided that in selling it's power.
TVA was to give preference as
customers to non-profit organi-
cations.
The Roosevelt administration
took this admonition. very seri-
ously. The Public Works Admin
istration, the big depression
pump -priming" agency. was
authorized to lend money to mu-
inequalities to build duplicate dis
tribution systems if private con-
Germs refused to sell out. PWA
never had to invoke this author
/ ity.
Private Power Capitulates.
The mere threat that it might
| do so was enough to turn the
| trick. Farm co-operatives and
municipal power authorities were
set up for distributing power. the
former operating on loans by
the Rural Electrification Ad-
ministration.
| And the New Deal had other
ways of making it tough for the
private power interests. Chief
among these was the war it
waged on utilities holding COM
panieS
The Holding Company Act
the so-called death sentence"
legislation, broke up vast COR
porate structures by forcing the
end of multi-system controls.
I Supreme Court decisions up
held the right of the Govern
ment to peddle power.
And so it went. August Is
1899. might be called V-Day in
the great battle. On that day
the Tennessee Electric Power
Co., long a dominant figure in
southern industrial life. sold out
| to the IVA for $78,425 900.
Wendell Willkie. president OF