. ' ~ ·- . . ' .
Mrs. P/Qst's New Stand ·
·, Congresswomah Gracie Ffost of the First
district has now . done what ahe ahould
have done at the beginning in• regard to
the material, favoring 'the proposed power
and communications :Commission initiative
in Idaho, which was inserted In the Congressional
Record last February for the
purpose of making possible the reprod1,1ction
of the material by the Government Printing;
Office and the postage-free mailing ·of it
to Idaho citizens under the congressional
franking privilege. Mrs. Pfost has now
usumed partial . responsibility for the
project by .declaring· that ahe will use her
own frank to mail it to Idaho.
'. The material was put into the Record
by Rep. Harold A. Patten o! Arizona, who
oaid after the contmversy about it erupted
that· he did so at Mrs. Pfost's request and
that the material was given to him by her.
Mrs. Pfost, who previously had said she had
no connection with· the project, for obvious
reasons has had nothing to say abe>ut Patten's
statement. At the time Representative
Patten obtained· permission to have the
material printed in the Record he mentioned
lleither its nature. nor its source; we do
not attempt to judge the truth as to this
point. If it were established as a fact that
Mrs. Pfost supplied the material and requested
its 'insertion, then we would want
to know why she did not insert it into the
Record under he-r own name.
* • •
In her speech on the House floor Tuesday
Mrs. Pfost repeated her accusation that the
controversY over the mailing .project ...,.as
brought on by "private utilities" for the
purpose C>f preventing the material in question
from being distributed in Idaho. We
ilhould ,like to set the record. straight as
far as The Statesman's role in the matter
is concerned.
The ·Statesman published In its news columns
the stories disclosing the project and
describing 'the' controversy which followed.
~n this 'o/C merely presented to oitr readers
:the news as it was provided by the press
RssociatiOns and the special Washington
l'eporting service to which The Statesman
Subscribes. We tried to present it as ·we
'-ttempt to present all news, without· any
~istinction as to which side of a question·
ith,~ news may seem to favor.
;1 We also commented editorially on the
)!fair, expressing with some vigor the
pvinion that material intended to influence
an affair of the people of Idaho ought not
tD be sent into Idaho at the expense of
lhe federal taxpayers, &1,ld above all not
'i!nder the frank of the representative of
another state. We still hold that opinion.
r Wr; have not at any time, however, been
Interested in preventing the material In.
~uestion from being placed in the hands
i)f Idaho people. That would be silly, Mcause
:j;he material has already been published in
idaho. The material in question· consists
~ntirely ·of a news article which was published
by the Twin Falls TimeS'News on
:ran. 15, being a report of a statement by
)\.sher B. Wilson; head of the committee
1,'POnsoring the initiative proposal, and two
;articles bf interpretive comment published
~y the Idaho Farm Journal on Dec., 31.
~ ·We can see ·ho- reBSGn why. Copies of. these
artlcli•fs'hould"iiot lie given to evecyofui"ln·
the state if someone wants to foot the 'bill
for doing it.
But we do object to using federal tax
money for the purpose. And we don't think
that a congrf:ssma.n from Arizona ought
to use his congressional printing and mall·
lng. privileges to distribute such material in
Idaho. We are happy to be able to report
that at this point Mr. Patten doesn't think
so either.
• • •
If Mrs. Pfost sends the material j:o Idaho
residents we think she will be wrong if she
permits ilie federal taxpayers to pay the'
postage bill through the use of her congressional
frank. But if she believes this
is what should be done, we think she is
right in personally assuming the responsi·
bility for it.
The people in the end, will be the judges
of whether this propaganda project represents
a proper use of federal funds.
JdQno Smt-.esmo..n p-4
4)1<Pj54'
'Ne:vJ ~,~~--:, 1 :-(\;~, .pC
~-1 :ft., I Jf1
PiUL 16, 1954. p ' ~
•
I '' IQ. The Nation
A Dark "Plot" as Charged
and Frustrated
By ARTHUR KROCK
W ASHINGo:rON, April 15-There
are' "numerous evidences that the
script writerS and producers of Hollywood
do not read the <Congressional
Record. Any movie about political
life in the United States is enough to
demonstrate this fact. Bun almost
every day in the pages o:f the periodical
are to be found the makings of
a: thriiling political drama, and 1n the
CUrrent issue there is a splel'ldid
sample.
It is a Western; it has a woman's
angle; it concerns a reputed plot by
selfish interests against a. member of
Congress "battling for the common
,people; and· it ;ends With tlu! triumphant
trustration Of a cruel con.;
spiracy' that was charged to soulless
corporations. Though the scrip~, ina
valves no gun-play, no attacks on a
·stagecoach and no horse . races,
through the mesquite and over the
mesa,. it has the ingrediehts of .something
unique in Western and pol(ti9I
movies to vary the monotony. of thos~.
the cameras of Hollywood invariably
grind out.
Under the sensational headline "Get
G-ratte· Pfost," tla! gelltleWoman 'from
Idaho who answers to that name informa
her colleagues of what she
vieWs as a dastardly attempt to assassinate
her (politica1ly} and how,
by a simple maneuver on 'her part,
she set plotting scoundrels Of the
private Utilities back on their heels.
The denouemelJ.t is anti-cUmatic and
rather· confusing because this maneu-
1
ver seems to be something she could
have- done in the first .place. But confusion
lind anti-c.limax are not 'Un·
known· in Westerns.
"Mr. Speaker," the· gentlewoman
froni Idaho said, •i:t have just· been·
made the target for a ptivate utility'
hydrogen bomb.· ·Those who exploded ..
it thought it would not only stU:n but
destroy me. • • • If I am demolished
in this fight "it matters little. "' . • •
[but] I do not intend to be bluffed,
bullied or frightened byr the private
monopolies • • "' [and] the people of
Idaho afe not easily fooled."
Whodwtit and What? [
What happened? Wen, according to' The Old Hiss I
Representative Gracie Pfost, she ".has If the frustrated minions of the in-'
dared for some time to be a. vigorous· terests {who,_as:is'well-known, shoot
defender of the people's rights" by the poor when ~ey become ,an incon-;
advocating federal Instead of private venience) did not 'hiss '"curse5" when'
industrial. construction· of the high they beheld -the Congressional Record
dam at Hell's Canyon. Recently "a eoroe :thundering 'to' the- rescu~ of
Congressman from another state" Representative Gracie-Pfost, then viiproposed
to send back into Idaho under lains hav~ spinelessly abandoned ~he :
his frank some Idaho newspap~r arti- highest standard of their dramatic art. 1
cles favorable to an initiative petition The 'Record dis~loses that, when thefor
a .state public ·power law. When ge?tlewoman .fro.J.U Idaho finished her
this .became kno~ i~ Idaho "stories speech, she was congratulated by.
and editorials" followed, '~o shabby Representative Hays of Ohio, .Metcalf
.and Vindictive in tpneJhat they made. of Montana, O;Hara. of Illinois and
~en in Washiii'gton wince Whci thought then by the minority whip himself,
themselves hardened long ago to Representative McCormack of Massa- ,
any sort of political attack." And chusetts. Grieving that "everyone
"running through every story and who fights for' the people must expect
editorhi.I, almost shouting out in its 'to, incur the smears of those wh9: optranspal-
enc)",. was tllis goal- 'Get poSe progress," but predicting ·that
Gracie Pfost.' " thOse' Who '1ufidertook to do this low
It is not clear from her remarks' job on her will nOt get away with it," I
why the "Congressman from another 1 ~cCorrna.ck announced-what is no
1
sta~e" did not carry out his plan, The .news to anyone who has vi~tted his
Post Office Department said today part of Boston-"the people of
that it has 'llO record of any incident·, district love· a fighter."
concerning his frank ~r Represents- \ The movie amusement tax, now
tive Gracie Pfost. But, anyhow- 1 happily reduced, may have been
With vast wealth, power and i chiefly responsible tor the falliilg' off
political aid on their side the · of attendance. But that c~uld be be-
Utilities succeeded in what they cauae Hollywood wrtters are not
set out to do-they blocked the required to read the Congression~l
mailing of the, descriptive .mate- Record and do not yet realize that
, . rial. [Did her collea~e rat on "~s." Smith goes to Washington, too.
her?] In a new book~bi.trning
episode- a Congressioilal book·
Durning episode, if you please-almost
$500 worth of public doCu-ments
paid for by Idaho citizens
.~ent ·up in smoke. ·
Btit Representative Pfost was one
too many for. the plotters. . She put
the material in· the Congressiona'l Record,
and noW she, can send an unlimited·
·number·- of copies back into . Idaho
vQ.tnout buyirtg one postage stamp.
And included yvith them can. be her
speech, with this passage: "The real
:issue ts not Gracie' Pfost.:-the real iS· l
sue·is.cheap electriC energy; Are we
in Ida.hQ to)be denied this great hypo- ·
detmic for our sagg:Ing'ecotfomy • "' "' ,
jobs for the' jobless, the greater
tax revenues fbr our schools and O;Ur
roads, ·the new markets, the new prosperity
that will :follow in itS wake?
Or must we sit on the sidelines while
our neighb?rs; their· rivers' beiqg fully
harnessed and ".developed, .strl:de· for·
ward in giant's boOts tO new- economic
horizons7"
1ne mano uauy ota1esman
. - ' T<'
P oli~ically Speaking
By John Corlett ·
VERY subtly, Arthur Krock,' . What happened? Well, accord-the
famed political writer for mg to Rep. Gracie Pfost she
the New York Times, has rle- "has dared for some time'·ta ber
scribed the re- a vigorous defender of the pe0 •1
cent speech by ple's rights" by advocating fed-
Rep. Gracie eral instead of private industrial
Pfost before the construction of the high dam at
House, as what Hell's Canyon. Recently ~·a Con-it
was. gressman from another s'tate"
.Ml's. Pfost, it proposed to send back into raa-will
be recalled, ho under his frank some Idaho.
was caught in a newspaper articles favorable ·to
deal to distribute an initiative petitiori for a state
to Idaho under public power law. When 1this be-a
n o t h e r con4 came knewn in Idaho "stories ·
g r e s s man's and editorials" followed, "so I
frank, literature John Corlett shabby and vindictive in ·tone
favbrable to the proposed public that they made men in Wash· I
power and communications initi-' ingtori wince who ihought themative.
Later $he got up on the selves hardened long ago to any j
.floor of the HouSe to blame priv- ~art ?f political attack." And
ate utilities and private inter· runm!'Ig _through every story 1
ests for her mishap. ~n~ edttonal, almost shouting out
Krock classi1ied Mrs. Pfost's m Its transparency, was this· goal
outburst a:s pure melodramatic -'Get Gracie P.fost.'"
corn in words not .. quite tha:t It is not clear from her reblunt.
Krock's piece as it ap· marks why the "Congressman
peared in the' New York Times, from another state" did not ca:cry
of April 16 follows: : out his plan. The Post Office
WASHINGTON April 15 -~ Department said today th9-t it
There are numer• ous evidences 1:l ..-h.. ..a --s-. 1n5o'.- =r.e.•c•;o rd of any incide t · R- ~--. _ n con·
thi\t the script writers and pro·IP.fost. But. anyhow-.
ducers of Hollywood do not read 1 With vast wealth, power and
the Congressional RecOrd. Any political aid on their side, the
movie about political life in the utilities succeeded in what they
United States is enough to de- set out to d0::-they bloclted the
monstrate this fact. But almost mailing of the descriptive mate·
every day in the pages of the rial. (Did her colleague rat on
periodical are to be found the her?) In a new book-burning
makings o.f a thrilling political ·episode- a Congressional ·bookdrama,
and in the current issue burning episode, if you please-there
is a splendid sample. almost $500 worth of public' docu-
It is a Western; it has a worn· ments P<~;id for by Idaho citizens
an's angle; it concerns a reputed went up m smoke ..
plot by selfish interests against But Representative. Pfost was
a member of Congress battling one too many tor; t~e plotters.
for common' people; and it ends She ~ut the matenalm the Conwith
the triumphant frustration gresswnal Record.. and now she
of a cruel conspiracy that was can send an ~nlrrmted number of
charged to soulless cqrporatio:p.s. copies back mto Idaho without
Though the script involves no '!buying one postage stamp. And
gunplay no attacks on a stage- included with them can be her
coach a~d no horse races through, speech, wit.h this pass~ge: "The
the mesquite and over the mesa, 1rea~ issue. Is no~ GraCie Pfost-:it
has the ingredients of some- :the real Issue Is. cheap electriC
thing un'ique in Western and I, energy ~re we m Idaho to be
political movies to vary thei'denied t~1s great·hypodei?lic for
monotony of those the cameras 1 our s_aE,:gmg economy ... JObs for
of Hollywood invariably grind I the JObless, the greater tax re-out.
1 venues for our schools and our
U h . I roads t.1e new markets, the new
. ~?er t e _sensatio~al head- prosPerity that will follow in its
llne Get Gracie- Pfost, . the gen- wake? Or must we sit on the
tlewon'l.an from , IdaJ:o who an- sidelines while our neighbors,
swers to that name mfor_ms her ·theii- rivers being fully harnessed
colleagues of what she VIews as and developed, stride forward· in
a. dastardly at.t~mpt to assas- 1 giant's boots to new· economic
smate I"!er (politically) and how, I horizons?"
by a s1mple man_euver on her If the frustrated minions of the :
part, she ~et plot~n;~ scoundrels interest3 (who, as is well~known, 1
of ~he Private utilities back o_n shoot the poor when they be- i
the~ . heels: The denouement IS come an inconvenience) did not
?-nt1climactic ~nd rather confus- hiss ''carses" when they beheld
mg because ~s maneuver seems t~l~ Congressional Record come
to be. somet~ng she could have thundering to the r~scue of Rep.
don;e m the firs~ J?lace. But con- Gracie Pfost, then villains have
f..~.Slon an?- .anticlimax aren ~ot spinelessly abandoned the highunknown
m Westerns. 'est standard of their · dramatic
"Mr. Sp~aker," tile gentlewom- art.
an' fto:rii. Id'aha. :Said,' ~·1 have 'just The Record discloses that,
bee:Q"'inade Jh , 'tar" et or· a riv~ when the gentlewoman from Ida·
a"'t~~: . . · .: .. ho finished her speech, she was
W~·.~Xploded ltithought i~ would congratulated by Representatives
not only stun but destroy me. . . Ha:ys of Oh'.o, Metcalf of MontIf
I am demolished in this fight ana, O'Hara of illinois and then
it matters little .... (but) 1 do by the minority whip himself,
not intend to be bluffed, bullied Representative McCormack of
or frightened by the private Massachusetts. Grieving that
monopolies ... (and) the people ~~·everyone who fights for ~he
of Idaho are not easily :fooled." people must expect to incur tb,e
smears of those who oppose pro·
1 gress," but predicting that those
1 Who "undertook to do this low i Job on her ,pu1 not get away with
l
it/' McCorma~k announced -
what is no ne·iVs to anyone who
.has visited his part of Boston - I "the people of my district love
a fighter."
The movie .musement tax, now
, happily reduced, may have been
chiefly responsible for the falling
off of attendance. But that could
be because Hollywood writers
are not required to read the Con· .
gressional Record and do not yet
realize that "Mrs.". Smith goes
, to Washington, too:
-'-----
<
'
Last Fall the Republicans put on a ca,mpaigi(thei···'out-
/r
razzle-dazzled the old-t~e Western medicine s~d~., Those
sure
were out·o~ offiee, and seeking to get~. had a/cure for
who
everything -- ~or high taxes, ~or high prices, ~or low income
and even for low spirits. The medicine show barker's glittering
claims ~or his remedy ~or snake bite -- or what have you? -were
but nothing when compared with the fancy promises peddled
about this country by Republican candidates in the fall o~
fi~ty-two.
11Vote ~or us, 11 they said, 11and then pack up your ailments
in your o'l:C! kit bag.
is a CHANGE. 11
-
We have all the remedies. What you need
• I
Well -- the American people got their change. And more
and more o~ them are discovering each day that they don't like
it. And I don't blame them.
We Democrats have always llrided ourselves on the. fact
that the Demecratic party is a party with a heart. We have
I
held to the concept that one human being has a s'ieep and definite
responsibility towards another. We have operated on the theory
that an individual or a group o~ individuals sh2uld not be cast
adri~t when circumst~ces create problems which are too big fo~
-1-
,fi
~- ""
that--person.,-or persons, to meet alone~ We have taken action
swift, effective action -- when it was needed.
But the party now in power does not seem to hold to that
philosophy -- except when those who want a break are big
businessmen or big bankers. The party now in power seems to
be intent on finding reasons why people shouldn't be helped.
Andmore than that, they seem to be searching for ways to cut
down and undermine some of the assistance programs bequeathed
them by the Democrats.
So while these may be bright days for big business, which
is calling the turns in Washington, they are pretty disillusioning
days for the farmers and ~he housewife, for the working man and
the little business man, and for. the many other "average"
citizens -- the people who are the backbone of the country.
I can think of no better way to i'l lustrate my point than
to analyze the CHANGE the Republicans have made in interest rates.
It was firm policy under the Democrats to keep interest
rates on government bonds at 2~ percent. The Republican::{ raised
this rate to 3t percent. Private interest rates moved up
accordingly.
-2-
•
'·
If the Administration had offered a prize. -- a super,
strike-it-rich jackpot -- for a proposal that would do the
)
greatest amount of injury and devastation to la prosperous
, r l
economy and at the same time unbalance every budget in the
United States, no one could have come up with a better idea
than to raise interest rates.
First of all, the Federal government will have to pay more
for the money it borrows. That comes right out of the pocket
of every taxpayer.
State governmenmthat borrow must also pay increased
interest rates, and so state taxes will increase.
Every city that borrows must pay a higherrate. So will
school districts and other improvement districts.
But that is not the end of the unhappy story. Every
utility, like gas, water, electricity, and telephone, will
have to pay higher rates for any money they may borrow, which
means higher charges to the consumer. In addition, all trans-portation
companies, including tailroads, busses, streetcars,
and other forms of transportation, must pay higher interest
rates, and soon these higher rates will be reflected in higher
charges to the patrons.
-3-
<>
,...
The spiral catches everything. Installment buying rates
are going up. It costs about 9 percent more to ~inance the
purchase o~ a car than it used to under the Democrats.
The ~armer is ~inding credit tighter and more expensive.
To make things even tougher for him, the government has raised
by i percent the interest rates on crop loans.
Home-hungry citizens are paying more for the privilege
of owning that home. FHA rates are up for the non-veteran,
and the Republicans passed special legislation to raise the
interest rates for veterans. Because ·of this raise, a veteran
will lose the equivalent of one bedroom in every house he buys.
It may have seemed like a "mite" to most people when they
read that the Treasury. had increased by 3/~ of one percent the
interest rates on government bonds, but it was a mighty mite,
believe me -- a powerful midget, It started the spiral or
rising interest rates and it added some 7i million dollars
directly to the Federal tax burden of our citizens.
And who is going to get the extra money from the higher
interest rates? The people who hold newly-purchased government
bonds will get some. And who holds the bonds? The banks, the
insurance companies, and the large corporations hold almost as
-4-
.-' many as -all of the rest of the countr:r put together! And the
people Who loan money generally will get the rest,
The banking industry came to Washingt0n not long ago to
hold its 79th annual convention, and set about celebrating
in big style the bright 'days under this Administration.
Washington's hotel men est~ated that the 7,200 delegates
and the 3,000 wives who accompanied them spent some $3 million
dpllars in four days. One Washington paper put it this way:
"Fifteen dollar orchid corsages, costumed bands, the very
best in hotel suites, canapes and buffet spreads are being
served up at the bankers' orders all over town. The Mayflower
Hotel reports it had the biggest day in history. The Shoreham's
Blue Room (their night club) rang up its liveliest wade in years
on Saturday night. 11
And meanwhile, what is happening to the pocketbook of the
average American?
He is paying more for the things he has to buy. The cost
of living is now at an all t~e high.
He is receiving fewer dollars to buy things with. The
last few months personal incomes -- that is, wages, salaries,
income from rents, dividends, have begun to slide downwards.
-5-
;
.-' He is paying higher interest rates for anything he buys
on the installment plan or for any money he must borrow.
In short, it' seems that the Administration's new 11hard11
money policy has simply made money harder to get for the
average man; that the AOm.inistration' s new "sound" dollar is
simply a 11 scarcer11 dollar.·
Now, I 1d like to tell you about another of the CHANGES
made by this Administration ~- a change bitterly fought right
here in Idaho. It hit hardest at the farmer, already dogged
with drought and falling prices and incredible Administration
~umbling and bumbling on the whole farm program, but it also
hit .indirec.tly at the welfare of every person in this country,
because it hit at the fertility of our soil.
I am referring to what Secretary of AgricMlture Benson
calls his "reorganization" of the Soil Conservation Service,
and what I call the 11emasculation11 of that Service.
The Soil Conservation Service was established by the
Democrats as part of the first move by any nation to halt the
rapidly expanding and appalling losses of soil and soil fertility.
It offered a coordinated approach to the soil conservation
problem, replacing the go-it-alone policy of the 48 states
-6-
Which time bad proved ineff~ctive. Re~ional Soil Conservation
offices were established to provide decentralized business
management for the farmers, and attached to them was a corps
of specialists in agronomy, biology., forestry,· and range
management.
·secretary Benson bas now abolished the Regional Offices,
which means abolishment of the ~oordinated approach, and the
dismissal and dissipation of the trained specialists. The
clock is to be turned back, and the job of supplying technical
assistance to the more than 2,500 soil conservation districts
of the cGuntry handed over to the State Extension Service,
which has neither the staff nor the facilities for it.
Mr. Benson gave as one of his reasons for his action that
be wanted to provide 11local control." What could be more 11local11
than a group of farmers deciding among themselves that they
wanted to form a soil conservation district, electing their
own officers, and managing it themselves?
The Secretary says the move will save money. It has yet
to be proved that any money will be saved and .it is possible
the costs will be higher.
When the emasculation of the Soil Conservation Service
was first announced, I vigorously protested the move, both to
-7-
1'
.-
the President and to Secretary Benson, requesting that action
on the plan be delayed until Congress reconvened in January
and had an opportunity to study its f'ull ranifications. Mmy,
many other Congressmen did the same. And soil conservation
patriots all over the country -- including many from Idaho -f'looded
Washington with protests.
Yet Secretary of Agriculture Benson bowed his neck, and
with a f'armers-don 1 t-know-what 1 s-best-f'or-them-anyway attitude,
put the plan into ef'fect on November f'irst.
I have related the soil conservation story, and the
interest rate story, to you in some 'detail because they are
both symbolic of the CHANGE that is taking place in Washington
today -- they are both part of' the disturbing people-be-hariged
pattern that is emerging in our nation's capitol ~der this
new Republican Administration.
Those are two of' the CHANGES the Republicans didn't
promise in last tall's medicine show, but the people got.
Now let's see about some of' the CHANGES the Repu~licans did
promise -- and the people didn't get.
The Republicans promised to cut taxes. So far the only
tax reduction in sight is the one enacted into law by the
Democrats in 1951, ~hich takes ef'fect this coming January.
-8-
They also promised to balance the budget ~d reduce the
national debt. But they ended the fiscal year wtth a deficit
of almost 9t billion dollars -- the biggest in peacetime
history.
Now they're changing their tune. They admit they can't
cut taxes, and, since they must have more revenue, they've been
searching around for some way to increase taxes so the taxpayer
won 1 t know what's happening. First they sent up a trial balloon
labeled 11Retail Sales Tax." The hue and cry that rose with it
caught them co~letely off guard. President Eisenhower himself
had to step in and rule this one out.
Next, they suggested a Manufacturers' Excise Tax, Which
the National Association of Manufacturers, that mouthpiece of
big business, backs strongly. A Manufacturers' Excise Tax
would be worse than a Retail Sales Tax because it would actually
cost the consumer more.
Simple arithmetic will show you why.
Suppose that the tax on a TV set Which can be manufactured
for $200 is set by the government at $20.
Under the Retail Sales Tax Plan the factory would sell
that set to the wholesaler for the list price of $200.
-9-
~
The: whplesaler would add his business cost and profits,
amounting to about ten percent, and sell the TV set to the
retailer for $220.
The retailer would add his business costs and profit,
about 30 percent, which in this case would be $66, and put
the set in his window priced to sell before sales ta~ at $286.
With the $20 sales tax added, the total cost of the set
to the consumer would be $306.
Under the Manufacturers' Excise Tax Plan, the factory
would pay the $20 tax directly to the government, and sell
the set to the wholesaler for $220, instead of $200.
The wholesaler would add his pusiness costs ·and profit
of 10 percent, or $22, and sell the set to the retail store
for a total of $242.
The retailer would add the same profit percentage as in
the other case -- 30 percent, or $72.60 -- and put the set in
his window priced at $314.60.
This is exactly $8.60 more than the consumer would have
to pay under a Retail Sales Tax Plan.
The Manufacturers' Excise Tax is the type of vicious,
hidden tax that some members of the Eisenhower Administration
are now favoring. Congressman Noah Mason, powerful Republican
-10-
?.~ro ~
member of the tax-writing committee in the House, says he
will introduce a bill to establish this tax in the next
Congress.
But on with Republican campaign promises -- kept and
unkept.
Last year, they pledged to maintain a strong and adequate
national defense. This year they cut $5 billion from the Air
Force budget.
President Eisenhower himself promised the farmers continued
high prices for their products. It now appears the
average farm prices will drop below parity this year for the
first time in twelve years.
The Republicans promised to extend the Social Security
program. In line with its "government by postponement" policy,
- -
the problem has been turned over for 11 study" to a committee
headed by Congressman Curtis, a Republican who once called
Social Security 11unmoral.tt
General Eisenhower himself speaking before the AFL convention
in 1952 promised to CHANGE the Taft-H~rtley Act. The
only thing that's been CHANGED thus far is the Secretary of
Labor.
-11-
-
.'
The list of broken Republican promises seems endless.
~hey haven't even given us back that extra mail delivery
they promised,
And as for cleaning up the 11mess11 in vlashington -- well,
I don't know what President Eisenhower has done ·about it, but
in the light of recent events it begins to look as though he's
passed it on to his ~end, Governor Dewey, in New York.'
There is one campaign pledge, however, the Republicans
have kept. They passed a bill giving to a few states the
great offshore oil reserves that belonged to all of us. By
this one move they paid off a political debt to some oil
millionaires in Texas and California, and brushed aside the
110il for Education11 amendment which would have poured the
vast financial returns from these reserves into America's
schools, and given every American child an opportunity for
a better education.
Yes, there have been some CHANGES made in 1rlashington,
and the average citizen has been short-CHANGED on every one
of them,
One of the most flagrant examples of how Mr. and Mrs.
America is being by-passed on benefits by this Administration
-12-
is in the public- power policy -- and that is what I'd like
to talk to you about now for a few minutes.
You will remember that General Eisenhower put himself'
very definitely on record last fall when he said:
"Promised development in the Northwest must and will
go forward. In this continuing program the Federal government
will play its full part."
That promise was flung to the winds almost before the
inauguration stands were down in Washington. The Great
Republican-Public-Power-Sell-Out got underway fast. It
soon became evident that prof:l.ts were to take priority over
people, and that benefits to business were to be given precedence
over benefits to the general public.
The biggest and most shocking sell-out of all is the
Hell's Canyon sellout. If the sale is consummated and
we of' the Northwest must somehow stop it -- it will be the
crime of the Ce];).tury, a 11give-away11 on the grand scale.
It will mean that a pr:l.vate power company-has the unquestioned
right to develop for power, and power alone, a
great river that is the heritage of all of the people •
•
-13-
. "
It will mean that people of the Northwest .particularly,
and the peop;Le of the nation as a whole, will be sold out,
cheated, ·and, yes, betrayed.
That's a strong statement, but I say it in all sincerity
and earnestness, because I believe it is true.
Contrast the benefits that would flow out to the people
from the construction of a government built, multiple-purpose
high dam at the Hell's Canyon site with those which would
come from the· construction by the Idaho Power Company of the
three low single-purpose dams in the Hell's Canyon stretch
of the river.
At the high dam site itself a power plant could be built
with a capacity of some 600,000 kilowatts. By controlling
the Snake River downstream, the high.dam would make possible
the installation of almost a million and a half kilowatts of
firm, year-round power, guaranteed by the storage capacity
of the giant reservoir back of the dam.
CompaTe this with the estimate of 885,000 kilowatts
of salable power to be produced by the Idaho Power Company's
three run-of-the-river dams.
A -14-
J
By making low-cost poweP irrigation's paying partner, the
high dam would make ft possible to put water on more-than.a
million new acres ~ land in rorty participating projects.
The Idaho Power Company's three-dam plan offers~ expansion
of irrigation.
By regulating the flow of the river, the high dam would
further the development of navigation on the lower river, and
would also help control floods.
The Idaho Power Company's three-dam plan offers no navigation
or flood control.
The 90-mile reservoir backed up by the high dam, together
with the truly spectacular scenery of .the area, would be made
accessible to hunters, fishermen and all outdoor loyers by the
access roads constructed to build the dan.
The Idaho Power Company's cost estimates on its three low
dams include such inadequate estimates for access roads, that
only the most meagre recreation benefits would accrue to the
people.
Within the Hell's Canyon area lie more than 60 percent of
the nation's phosphate rocks. So far as we now know, the only
way to make cheap enough the extraction of these phosphates is
-15-
:~
•
through the electric furnace process powered with -low--co-st high
dam power. It has been estimated that 10,000 tons of fertilizer
could be extracted each day to replenish the nation's phosphatestarved
soils.
Transmission lines presently planned by the Idaho Power
Company to the phosphate regions are inadequate to carry the
power load needed to extract the phosphates, and also the power
would inevitably cost,more, since, as is only right and fair,
private power must return a profit.
I could continue for some time to call the roll of the
mighty tasks the high Hell's Canyon Dam could perform for the
American people and the low dams could not. Only through the
construction of the high dam can the full potentials of the
region be reached.
The first great decision on the fate of the high dam lies
in the hands of the Federal Power Connnission in '\olashington tvhere
hearing.s are now underway on the petition of ·the Idaho Power
Company to build the three low dams. The company's case has
already been seriously shaken. Their cost estimates have been
shown up as millions short of the actual amount required to
build the dams and put them in operation. The estimates omit,
-16-
for example, the costs of transmission lines -- without which
there would be no way to get the power out of the three development
load centers -- and of the essential interconnection with the
Northwest Power Pool. It also appears that costs of equipment
prices, except turbines and generators, have not been checked,
nor have rising price levels been taken into account.
No wonder with such misleading arithmetic in its cost estimates
the Idaho Power Company has steadily ducked the question as
to how much the power produced at the three dams would ultimately
cost the consumer!
Public confidence in the case of the I~aho Power Company was
jarred again when it was brought to light several weeks ago that
the Company has formally applied for tax write-offs on. two of its
dams -- Brownlee and Oxbow. The subsidies would cost the taxpayers
thirty million dollars in the first five years and enable the company
to reap long~range benefits amounting to 60 million dollars
more than the entire cost of the dams.
The accelerated amortization-program under which the Idaho
Power Company applied for the write-offs was adopted by Congress
to safeguard private investment in necessary defense plants. A
Congressional Committee investigating the write-off program not
-17-
,. "'
long ago calM it 11the biggest--bonanza ever. to come down the
government pike • 11 The application for tax WPi te-off on the
Brownlee De.m is the largest on record filed by any private
pm•er company.
So it now turns aut that the Idaho Power Company, Which has
been loudly claiming that its project would be privately financed,
has been quietly making application for a tax write-off that would
reach right down into the taxpayers' jeans.
Here is the issue in e. nutshell ------
If the Idaho Power Company is allowed to squander the Hell's
Canyon site on the three low dams, and if its application for tax
write-offs is granted, the taxpayers will pay a good part of the
cost of the dams, and still will have to pay high light bills for
years to come.
Whereas, if the high dam is built, ninety percent af the cost
will be repaid to the Federal Treasury, plus interest, while that
cost will be repaid again and again in the form of taxes upon the
~UD
new wealth created, ~e at the same time the people themselves
will have the advantage of abundant low-cost power.
-18-
The taxpayer wins only if the'high dam is built.
But we have a tough fight ahead. Big business is in the saddle
in Washington, and they've found the GOP elephant a docile and
obedient beast of burden.
Those now in c'ommand seem convinced that if the few at the top
of our economic structure have more material possessions than they
can possibly use, some of the benefits will trickle down to the people
As a f~rmer friend of mine once put it:
11They•re trying to fatten the W.ole herd by feeding the bul1. 11
But we Democrats know that prosperity must be based on the
well-being of all of the people, not just great wealth for a few.
We don't think we have all of the remedies, but we have certainly
found ~ good cures, and I predict here and now that if
the Republican remedies fed to us in the past ten months are a
sample of those to come, it won't be long before Democra'tic remedies
are back on the market again.
-19-
####
.,..
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'
.......
'.
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(Nqt·'{Jrinted at Government expense)"
<rongrrssionat·lttcotd
United States PROCEEl~INGS AND.DEBATES OF .TH~ 83d C~JNGRESS, SECOND SESSION
of Anierica
What's Best for Idaho?·
SPEECH
ot
noN: GRAciE PFost
oF IDAHO
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTA:TIVES
weaneSday, A'J!Ti~ i4, 1954 ...
Department as intervenor in the Hells
Canyon heai-ings before the·· Federal
Power CommiSsion', he literally 'sex;ved
notice on the ~citizens of America in gerleral,
and.Idaho in particular,.that he was
perfectly. willing to give away the peoples'
prjceless multiple-purpose dam sites
to the private power monopolies. As a
Mrs. PFOST. Mr. Speal{er, I pave result .it was only natural that.the citiju~~
been .made the ta:t:get for a pnvate zenS of Idaho who wanted to take ad vanutility
J:.Ydrogen lJ?mb. Those ~ho ex.;. tage ·of the ·development of their own
Plo?-ed It thought 1t would not only stun natuial.resources should set out to do it,
me, but destroy me. ~t has bee~ a very under provision of state Jaw.
ugly and a. most revealmg expenence; The advocates of the initiative petition
Now, why was I, GRAqiE PFosT, ··-a first- insist that there· is nothing new in such a
~erm ~ember of Co]lgres~. ·given the "'proposal, and call attention to' the fact
,works ·_by a ~r.eat, natiOnally con- that manY other -states, sorrie of them
_:trolled private-utility monopoly? It was Idaho's close; neighbots, have similar
for one reason, and one reason only. I .pp.blic power laws.
have dared for some time to be a vigorous
defender of the peoples' rights, to 1 OtJ:er States, however, do not have a
protect and conserve their own natural magmficent . He~ls ~anyon site. . The
resourc.es, and an outspoken proponent fight for thxs ·site,_Is deep and bitter.
for Federal construction of the high Small WO:t;l-d~r, fo_r it is _the ~arge~t and
dam at Hells Canyon. Jast remammg s1te of 1~ kmd. m our
For those of you Who do not immedi- .country,' larger ,and deeper even, ~han
ately know to what I refer, it simply the Grand C~nyono~ ~h.e ~olorado ~wer.
means that you were~not"stibjected to the '!:he backers .of the I!IIti_ative have made
many news stories-· and editorials which It c_lear ~rom the begmnmg th~U·tJ:teY ~re
for days.fllled certain Idaho• newspapers att~~?tmg to _set up power diStributiOn
about the proposal. by a_nother Congress- faCilities, w~1~h .c~mld be o~erated
man to send to Idaho citizens some in- througi: ~umCipahties, coope_rat1ves~ ov ..
formation about a public power initia- other similar nonprofit agencies, to_. the
'tive now being circulateii in Idaho . ..end that.the-full be~efit of ~uch proJects
These stories and editorials were gen- a~ H~lls Canyot;l- will go directly to a~l
erally so shabby ahd vindictive in tone of th~ peo-ple-m the form of cheaper
that they made men in Washington ,electnc e~ergy for th~ farmer, for the
wince who thought 'themselves long ago .rura~ res1den~s. the, CI~Y dw~llers, and
hardened to any sort of political attack. for small as well as large m~ustryRunning
through every story and edi- ra'ther th:an just to the Idaho P<;>w~r
. torial, almost shouting out in· its ·trans- .Co. and_ Its st~ckholders. And _this IS
parency was this goal: "Get GRACIE the fact that tnggered the explosiOn.
PFOST." ' · The private utilities were tipped off
WHY THE INITIATIVE that material describing the ·initiative
' The. public power initiative movement was about to be mailed from Washinghad
been jolted into being last year by ton, D. C., _by a Congressman. ~rom anthe
giv:eaway power policies of the pres- othe~ State. . The larger portion of ~he
ent Republican administration. By give- n:,~Umg consisted of 2 newspaper araway
power policies I mean two simple ticles from the Idaho Farm Journal, and
'things: ' ~1 from the Twin Falls TimeswNews,
'First .. The abandonment of the gener- but th~ priv~te utilities were. afraid that
ation-old congressional policy of grant- a~y. d_Iscussion of the subJect of the
ing prefe:rence to public bodies in the sale imtiative, reaching many people, would
of Public j)ower and be. a real challenge to their present
Second. Fa{~S to fix the resale rates monopoly in the field of electric power.
well as a few of the newspapers and
other power-company-controlled~ me ..
diums, came swiftly· to their aid. They
thundered, they threate-ned, they cajoled,
they even sought the help of the
-Solicitor General of the Post Office Department,
who formerly occupied my
co"ngressional seat, as a part of their
scare tactics.
THE BURNING TRUTH
The ypices of two,Idaho Republicans
in Washington were raised· above all
others. Now I dO not challenge the right
of these two ge:htlemen to do or to say
what they did, if they Wanted to, but- I
believe the record should show that the
-position they;: took.places them squarely
in alinemel}.t with th"e private-utility·monopoli~
s in Idaho;, and s_quarely against
the best interests of the people. With
vast wealth, power, and 'political aid on
their side, the utilities succeeded in what
they set out 'tO' do-they bloclt:ed the
mailing of the deMriPtive material. In
a neW book-burning episode-a congres ...
sional book-burning ePisode, if you
pleaSe-almost $500 worth of public doc.
uments paid for by Idaho citizens went
.UP in smoke.
This.action on the part of the~utilities
is contrary to the manner in which pub ..
lie business should be conducted .. It Js
my' c9ntention that the people. should
have the facts, whether private monopo ..
'lies like it or not. I am therefore man ..
ing out the material that the other Rep ..
resentative had planned to send.
In doing so, I want to make it clear
that I have taken no stand on the feasi ...
bility of the initiative. I do believe,
.however,. that the people of my State- , '
.Republicans, Democrats, arid Independ-.
ents alike-sflo.P-ld have an opportunit)"
.to study the question. I believe. in the
good, old-fashioneO. American techni,que
~of fulL and free discussion-and let the
facts prevail. ·
Following are the newspaper ·articles the other Congressman proposed to send
into Idaho:
[From the Twin Fnlls (IdaJ'I'6)'" Times-Ne~
?! January..,Jsfi954]
LEADER OF IN~Tq.Jd0VE Clrl:s MOTIVE of power at thestfl>\IJ?.lic dams so that all They decreed that anyone who dared
·the people will get t'ne...r~al benefits of invade their private monopolistic do- Thfll! ·1n1t:~w.~""im?posed by_Jhe Idaho cltl ...
ch~eap electricity. · . _main was to be chewed up and destroyed z~s J..:egrtllativC. Comml,(~ee, Inc., to put
When Secretary of the Interlo1' ~).lg.. politically. Their mouthpieces in the~ Idlthb 1n the utllities:tobusiness is designed.
las McKay, last spring withdrew tiiC'""'Natisln's Capital artd in the State.,....a\ to prate~~ ·{he"-puflltc ~gatnst the abuses
296269-500I8 '
2
of monopolies, according to the chairman of
the committee.
Ahswering the Idaho State Chamber of
Commet'ce atiaek 6! th'e initiative as· State
socialism of the worst type, Asher B. Wilson,
Twin Falls attorney who heads the eomthittee,
declared recourse should be open to
citizens when fees charged by privately operated
utilities for services become exorbitant.~
The initiative would establish a commission
"empowered~ to ta,Jte QVer the faciliti~s
of priVately owned utilities and develop new
respurces. The committee;, is cl~culati:Q.g petitions
to obtain the 27,000 signatures neces-sary
t1o put the bill on ballots i-n· t·h·e· ~N ovem-ber
general elections.
In the opinion of Wilson, the extent to
which the commission would eXercise powers
to acquire privately Owned systems would
depend ·laigely upon the abtltt'y- of the comPanies
"to m,~et competition from the publiC
power dev~lopments which would come about
as a result of the b111.
Cheap power holds the key to the growth
of 'the State, he declared. The State o~
Washington, where he says residents can buy
el~tric power for 40 percent less than Idahoans
pay, has had a 60-percent increase in
population in the.past decade. The savings
and the growth have been largely the re.sult
of comP1'!tition between publlc and private
power, Wilson claims.
.. The thing we• propose is not revolutionary,"
he said. "It is nothing more than
New York has had for 30 years. The sarit-a
•thing exists. 1n California, Arizona, and
Washington.'' ·
If the issue reaches ballots in November,
the vote wlll go a long way toward solving
the, debate over 'Hells Canyon, he opined.
If the initiative were to carry, it would
-place Idaho in a position to enter a compact
with Washington and .Oregon for ·the ·development
of Hells Canyon--piov1ded Federal
heafings on tlie question were to rule
that neithCr the Government nor Idaho
PoWer:co., bui t~e States lnv~lved should
undertake the project, he said.
Cheap power, whatever its source, would
,pave the way for refining phosphates from
deposits in eastern Idaho, he said. At present
power rates the project is not feasible,
he claimed.·
The blll takes in communications systems
to give the people recourse against the telephone
monopoly 'as ·well as the power monopoly,
he sa,id. The term "communications
iystems~' is not illtended to cove,r
radios, newspapers, 11nd transportation utllities,
he said.
[From the Idaho Farm Journal of December
31, 1953]
FARM J'?URNAL'S 8TA"'rE: LETTER
GOVERNOR GOT EXCITED
When Gov. Len Jordan read~the suggested
initiative which would make it possible for
~Idaho to govern its water, its communications,
aild its' electric power, if such were
the wish of the people, he squealed like a
stuCk' plg.' Immediately he declared he viis
296269--50018
CONGRESSIONAL REQQ;R,p,
opposed to the Government going into busi~
ness atld declared tha't•s just what the initia~
tive would do. That the Governor wni fight
even having Idaho's citizens sign the~petition
to put the in.atter before the voters seems
sure. And yet; in the opinion of most observers,
Governor Jordan hiinsel! is more to
blame for the·matter coming up than anyone
else.
TALK ALONE WON'T CHANGE lT
Ever since he took o!fice, Governor Jordan
has been an open and vicious foe of the Federal
Government building multiple-purpose
dams which would generate power, even
when irrigation would be benefited. He has
been particularly adamant qn Hells Canyon
Dam and has fought against a high Federal
project all the way, declaring that Idaho
Power Co. alone ~hould hav~ the 100 n{nes of
the deepest' gorge in·the United States. But
.the Governor has gone even farther and has:
tJ.OW brought, out a partnership plan for
building future dams, and that is perhaps
One of the biggest reasons for the proposal
to give the people ihemselves a chance io
vote on public power. Talk~ alone, evefi .by
a governor, does not change people's minds.
WHAT KIND OF PARTNERSHIP?
What made the public-power advocates of
Idaho, as well as of all other Northwestern
States, so~ furious. at Len Jordan's partnership
plan \s that it Isn't they maintain, a
partnership at all.· PUbUc-utUity districts,
REA's, municipalities, and others are not included.
As tliey see it, the plan would provide
f_or the power companies to divide up
the rl~ers of the NorthWest, each one taking
whatever power sites it wanted. Then the
Stli)-tes woulct cooperate 'by giving the power
company the sites. The Federal Government
would cooperate by granting each power cOmpany
as many licenses as it wanted. :B~t' the
final bit of partnership by the Federal Government
would be to dig up money 'tor the
nonreimbursable features of these partnership
dams. In other words, a power company
could build a dam priiDainy foi- power,
but it could claim that such a dam, even
though a small one, alded)n flOod control..
The United States Government would fork
over the money for that. Then it would ~
found that there were recreational advantages,
anc;I Uncle Sam would dig up for that.
The taxpayers wOuld probably shell out for
·navigation benefits too, and there would, no
doubt, be other claims on Partner Uncle
Sam.
RECLAMATION KICKED IN PANTS
There Is no provisiop. in Governor Jordan's
plan for further irrigation, except by pump!:;
lng from wells. Public utility districts,
Bonneville Power Administr'ation, REA co:
ops and others would be frozen out. ·The
Bureau of Reclamation. would no longer be
needed, !or the Army engineers, who are
,.deft pollbtelans, >WOUld be the logical ones
to make surveys for the States, the power
coinpanles and the Federal Government.
Supporters of Hells Canyon, many 1rriga~
tionists, dozens of #munitipalltle.S alld pUblic
utility districts b'"eCame gemiinely alarmecl
•,
at the Governqr·~ plan. Bu~ they heard
rumors that disturbed them more. .One
such rumor Is that Len Jordan, who has only
a little more than a year to serve in office,
Is pushing his partnership plan as hard
as he can to complete it if possible so that
when he steps out of the statehouse in
Boise, be can walk right i~to a Federal job
as coordinator of the partnership plan.
"That ~is when publip power advocates got
down to serious business in Idaho and
_bro~ght .out the petition for an initiative.
They want to make Governor Jordan an
issue, his partnership plan an issue, and air
the whole matter before the people.
> WHO IS BACK I"F INITIATIVE?
Asher B. Wilson, Of Twin Falls, a lawyer
and farmer; Elmer F. Mcintyre, Boise, labor
uilion; J. G. Bo;.,er;; Or Nampa; Carl A.
Harder, of Buhl; and Frank Atkins, Buhl,
all farmers, incorporated the ·IdahQ Citizens
Legislative Committee, Inc. Their avowed
purpose is ·to bring government back to the
people, especially where natural resources
development and utilities are concerned.
They point out that Idaho people under
Idaho .Power CO. and Utah Pow~r Co. pay
approximately 40 percent more than is
charged in Washington and Oregon where
there is ~Federal power. Because of telephone
rates, 60 percent of Idaho's. peoPle
have no telephones. when 'charges become
oppressive; or~beiter methods can...tJe-- foundj
the tn~tiatlve-----if it ever gets on the ballot
·would allow the people of Idaho to tako
over utilities. Such a proposal Is bound to
be termed socialistic.
WHO oWNS THE WATERWOI\KS?
As the Idaho Citizens Legislative Commit.
tee ,points, out .in 1ts l~tter accompanying
the .petittoiis, 40 years ago Idiho's citizenS
were voting to take over domestic .water systems
in the cities·• and towns. That was
branded socialistic. Yet today: only Boise,
Coeur C:'Alene, and Jerome have private companies
owning the water systeins. All the
other tow~ own their own wells, pumps,
water mains, and distributing· systems. Perhaps
,that is' creeping socialism, but few
tOWfi!$ today would gt-ye up their water systems
or the revenue they get .each year from
them. The petition does nothing more thali
let a group of Idaho citizens put the proposed
initiative law on the ballot for next fall,
At- that ·time every citizen- of Idaho can
vote for it, or against it. Even if it' is :Put
on. the books, it does not mean that the
State is going into the utmty business. But
it would give the people of Idaho a pretty
strong weapon for controlling uttutles and
monopolies.
[From the Idaho Farm Journal of December
- 31, 1953]
NOW ADMIT'I'ED THAT TAXPAYERS WrLL ·DIG UP
FOR PRIVATE POWER DAMS
(By Ed Emerine)
Under the new partnership policy outlined
by Secretl;ll'Y of the I_nterior Douglas McKay,
5 Pactfic Nozi.hWest prtvS.te power compa.nles_
lost~no time in ftl(ng ~ jo~nt application
with the Federal Power Commission for a
preliminary permit to investigate 2 huge
hydroelectric sites In Idaho.
The companies are Montana Power Co.,
Washington Water Power Co., Pacific Power
& Light Co., Portt~d General Electric co.,
and Mountain States P~Wer Co. ·
One or 'more other cOmpanies maY join
the group later, J. E. Corette, president of
Montana p'ower, said. ·
The permit application follows the an~·
nouncement on December 7 that the coril.·
panies woUld cooperate to build, new power•
plants in Une wit~ the Government's part~
nership policy.
Th~ sites aXe In north Idaho. Bruces EcJ.dy
Is on the north tork of the Clearwater, about
43 mlles east of Lewiston, Idaho. Penny
Cliffs ts on ·the' Clearwater's middle fork,
about 80 miles from Lewiston.
ESTIMATED AT $305 MU..UON
Army engi~eers have. estiJ:!lated the cost
of the 2 projects at about $305 million.
Kinsey Robinson, president of Wap.hington
Water Power Co., said the exploration would
be on plans worked out. by the Army engi~
neers to xp.eet obJections to earlle.r proposals.
The new plan keeps the south fork of the
Clearwater open for unobstructed fish lni·
gration and also makes it unnecessary to
relocate Koo&kia.. which was 1n the original
Idea, Robinson said.
The proposed dams would provide 3,730,-
000 acre-feet of useful storage for power
• generation, flood control, and other uses, th'e
statement said.
The tentative plans of the five companies
call, for a 576-foot rock-flU dam at Bruces
Eddy with a. power installation of 244,000
kilowatts. The dam 'would provide 1,430,~
000 acre-teet of storage for rrver control.
596-foot dam at Penny CUtis would have
an installed capacity of 292,000 kilowatts and
2,300,000 acre-feet of storage.
HOW PARTNERSHIP WOULD WOR.lt.
Under the partnership, the Federal Gov~
1 ernment would either build the dam or re~
imburse the power companies for bulldlng it.
This Federal portion o! the cost would be
charged to flood control, recreation, naviga-tion,
and other useful purposes for the gen~
eral publlc and the welfare or defense of
the United States. The power companies
would pay only for power installations, gen~
erato~s, lines, etc,
As John Corlett pointed out TUesday in
the Boise Statesman:
''It is presumed that under a partnership
arrangement, for example, Bruces Eddy and
Penny CUffs would be built by private enterprises.
The Federal Government would
contribute to the construction in the
amount of costs assessable to .flood control.
navigation, and recreation.
"The other costs-power, etc.-would be
charged to the private power companies.
''After th6 dam was built, the Federal
Government would still falllng water at the
penstocks to the pri~ate power compani~s.
over a period oi years, even the nonreim·'·
296269-50018
CONGEES~IONAL RECORD' • • - < -
bursable costs, never repaid under the pres-ent
~rangements 0! bulldlng :.red'&¥ daina,
WOUld be paid Off."
AS WE HAVE LONG CONTJPNDED
Just .as this writer and the Journal haVe
beell telllng the faimers, merchan~~,.- and ..
ot~ers in Idlwo for months, the taxpayers
thems'etves will build and pB"y for all of
these partnership dams. This ad.misslon
from the partnership. crowd was long in com·
ing, but we're glad at last that they have
come out and told the truth.
Mr. Speaker, I know that the recent
hue and cry would not have been so louq
had there been no Hells Canyon. In opposing
-expansion of Federal power programs
this administration and the private
power companies.: have recpll!mended
on numerous occas~pns that localities
shouldoassume their ow:p power burdens.
But when the people at the Idaho grassroots
level attempt to handle their own
problem-that o( securing approximately
27,000 silritatures to assure the
initiative amendment a. place on Idaho's
ballot in this fall's election-the entire
utility lobby, with the assistance of Republicans
who oppose my fight for the
people, quickly get into the act. Thus
these apparent spokesmen for the ad_
ministration are talking out of both sides
of their mouth at the same time. First,
they are opposing the continuation of
approved Federal programs or their
reasonabie expansion, and, sec~mdly
they are oppq_sil}g th.e local PC9Ple doing
tl:t.e job themselves.
What hB.s just happened is prOof that
the private utilities are determined to
prevent real public power competition
in the State of Idaho even though what
little competition there has been has
lowered private power rates to the consumer
to the point that Idaho citizens
now only ·pay from 40 percent to 60 percent
more for electricity than our neighboring
States of Washington and
Oregon.
MORE POWER TO YOU
Those Idahoans who know firsthand
what a boon public power can be are
rural electrification borrowers. In 1940,
when 93 percent of REA power was purchased
from private producers, the cost
was 13;.2 mills per kilowatt hour. By
1952. with 66 percent of the power coming
from public suppliers, the cost had
dropped to 4;.2 mills per kilowatt hour.
In other words, REA power now costs-on
a statewide basis-only one-third of
what it cost 12 short years ago.
Now what is the real issue in this mean
and phoney private utility smear campaign?
The real issue is not GRACIE
PFos-r-the real issue is cheap electric
energy. Are we in Idaho to be denied
this great hypodermic for our sagging
economy-are we to be denied the jobs
for the jobless, the greater tax revenues
for our schools and our roads, the new
markets, the new prosperity that will
follow in its wake? Or muSt we sit on
the sidelines while our neighbors, their
rivers being fully harnessed and developed,
stride forward in giant's boots to
new economic horizons?
i:i I am demolished in thiS fight It matters,
little, but it is of major importance
3
and it does matter whether one of the
greatest natural resources of the Northwest,
the waters of the mighty Snak"e
River, are properly developed for the
benefit of us 'all.
I do not intend to be bluffed, bullied or
1~;ightened by the private monopolies.
I shall continue in the future at the
same pace aS,,,.in the past to fight for the
best interests of the people of my district,
for the people of Idaho, for publi'c
power and for the development of our
stat.e. ·
I have every confidence that t:pe citizens
of Idaho will study the issue carefully,
and once they have the facts, they
are perfectly· capable of deciding what
is best for them and what is best "for our
State.
The people of Idaho are not easily
fooled. With keen perception and
sound common sense, they will see
through the hydrogen bomb smokescreen
sent up by the private utilities
and they wllllabel it for what it really is.
Mr. HAYS of Ohio. Mr. Speaker, will
the gentlewoman yield?
Mrs. PFOST. I yield.
Mr. HAYS of Ohio. I would first like
to commend the gentlewoman from
Idaho on the manner in which she has
represented not only her constituency
but all the people' of Idaho since she
has been in the Congress. It has been
a vety refreshing experience to me to
see the impression she has made upon
the Meii].bers of this House. ' I might
go so far as to say. that in my opinion
and the opinion of many other Mem ..
bers she has far overshadowed anyone
who has been down here from her State
recently.
I also want to say that the attack
which was made upon her. with which
I am very familiar, is unprecedented in
my three tenns in this House, and I
doubt very seriously if the perpetrators
of this attack would have had the
courage to, do this sort of thing to a.
man because the retribution that they
so justly would have received would have
been more than they would have wanted.
But they thought they could get away
with it because they were attacking a
woman. I want to say further, Mr.
Speaker, that this attack was unjustified,
uncalled for, and most reprehensible, in
my opinion, because the thing that was
attempted for the benefit of Idaho has
been done time and time again since I
have been in this body, and that is to
place or have placed pertinent material,
which is of interest to a district, in the
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD and to frank it
out to the people of that district. And
because this was attempted there was an
inference made that some horrible crime
had been committ~d. I even saw a.
statement that the franking was being
investigated.. I say it was uncalled for,
I say it was unjustified, and I say it was
unprecedented because I have seen not
small amounts of material franked out
of here, but as I have said, and I named
the man a couple of years ago and then
withdrew it from the RECORD, because I
did not want to embarrass him, but I
know one individual of the Republican
Party, the party which sought to smear
th~_ keOtleWOrilan' lrom Td8.h0 lMrS."'
PFOsT] .. W'iio but niS.terial·iii the RJ!:coRD~
Rnd then. fl-anked out 12 boxcar' IOS:ds:
dt it for the real-eStateiobby---lo:.itOw'that;
was_ all,.rigq~that was nOt soCialistic or·
iHeg:il• or' anYthing'" erse: BUt 'wfi~ri. tin
a'ttenipt ·was madeR to frahk Out" a feW'
thousand CoPies~ for the eru1lCatiOn.fo:t
the People of Idal\oA~ Was made"~ .seem
like!.S hori"ltlfe crime, which. Of ·course,
it 'w8.s not. I iJU gla'd th'Et ge'iltlewonfari
from- Idaho- had-' the Courage to' pritr the'
material in the REcoRD under her ~owll'
nam~ S.nd I hoPe she franks out• a copy
of it~t6 ·~ver:v person 'in her ~district a:nct
in,.the state 'of Idalid. -
• Ml's. PFOS'l'. I th.rt~k•tife 'gentlen!an
from Ohi6.><' • ' ·
Mr. METCALF. Mr. Speaker, will thC
gehtiewoman~yield? - t
· Mrs.~PFOST: _ I .y~ld tO:..mY colleague
from~Montanrt. M<.. .'J' ' • ~....- o ' .~cJ.
~ Mr: METCALF. I, to6, want,to:con.o
gratulat6:' the ~gentlewoinan from. Idaho
fo'r.ileJ:.iine statement; a: statement? that
is in ,keep~ng-with the record·that she has
made in carrying<:"'Qn .. this struggle for th~e
Hells Canyon Dam. The1 gentlewoman
Jtnd I, my _neighbor 8.ciosS ~the: divide
from the'" westein "diStrict r-Jjf Montana,
1iave' :(Ought together fbr the _development
of the" Colwnbia River Basin ~nd
for the dey~opillent of vast' viatei' 're':...
~ources. in ythat· area in the NorthWest.
I know yery Ji~tle abou._t the merits of }he
Proposed initiativ;.e material that is being
franked ou~ tO the people· ii\,Id3:ho, .but 1 _:thin~- they. should· be informetr atlout
~he lss]l~s ·.and .thry; ,sb.ou)d :J<:n9w~ tpat
<29~?_269.,.,S0018, •v 1~"" ""'
t. i _.,.,.., "'(.. ... -,: .l ~·.--::
tlieir i,tepreselit~tive: In Congress whO' li'ofng to ·baclf her '!n this lfght and that
represents""'~ th"e' panhahdle- district of those Who undtYtook to·dO·Wha't"I'iD.ight
Idaho is continuing to~ figh'"&-for ""'the, de~ describe as, speaking( niildlY" bUt fii'Ifl.lyvelopmenb>-.
of-swater :resources ~.and of to'Xlo this low job on· her· wilb-not get
power. and,. rflcreational resourc~s and away:with it ... r'":l ·n-' ;:. : ~-.. . •. t---.:
th~: p)-oteCtfoll. o,tr water rigpts .).P. 9\It: •. r ~.t )1_app~np thai!, I haye,rb.ee!l J?elllogreat
· area. ·we have~ w· continue to cratic leader for 10 out. ot .the 1ast._ 15
strugile' akainSt the private Utility mO- years.,. and I aril noVi :oem.ocratfc whip.
nOpolieS in the Northwest in order to I knoW~tliat !·sPeaK.' th'e "sweritiffierlts 'of
devel'op· those great nil.tuta'l··,resources. I !he DenlOCrcitiC ~leadeiship, ·of ·:rorme~
heartily. commend and congratulate~ the Speaker, Mr. RAYBURN,~ .now'-minorit~
gentie:woman•for a fine speech.. leader, and !•"speak the •sentiments .of
Mrs. PFOST. I thank the~gentleman JOHN ~McCoRMAcK,1 of.--.Massachusetts'"' in
~rom Montana. saying that the..gentlewoman-:1-rom Idaho
"Mf.=McGORMACK. Mr .. Speaker,1'f..rill pas the complete1confidence anq. respect
th'e gentlewoman _.yield? ~ '" t " not only of the Democratic .leadership
MrS. PFOST ..... I yfeld! • but of all her Democratic ·Colleagues in
-· Mr: MCcdRM,ACK.· .tMi-. Sp~liket, ~thb th.e~rHitioiial ~HOUse o'"f~ Represeiitati.Yes.
-tvoi'ld )avesta fighter. ''The people: of my Mrs.'tPFOS~ ~i th~nk my• colleague
tlistrict 4dmife a :Qghter. ~Eufuan- nature from. Massachusetts,r t
ls"-=the ;,ame eVerywhere. li khow the 1 Mr ... D'HARA of illinoiS1' Mr.· Speaker,
People-'0f .. thC:gebtleWo1li'an's diStrict"•ad- will the gentJewo¥man:Y.iel.d?~ '• ~.... r.
tnlrettlie'""gentl€woinan D'Ot--bitly~tfel'Soff'!' Mrs. PFOST. I yield.
t:tuY. 'but for her fighting' QualitieS. She Mr. O·HARA ~oi "inin~is. ~ Duri!_lg a.
ha!? niade on·e Of 'the finest sp~~ches· I rh.'f.h~r 'I6ng 'lifetlrfi.El' t hltVe listened~ to
have 1 e~ver"htard•irl this Chamber; and I many speetlies delivered by' wolflen, ·I
haYe·been B..!Meniber of this body.for'26 want tq .say; to the--gentlewoman from
Ye~rf ! She has m.a_de a -fightltfg speech Idaho ~that J...hJwe just I\9W-listened to
aiainSt-powerful odds. I well i-emembel" one of .the most eloquent. addresses I
Rs a young mail Startiifg"loUt in public lif'e haVe ever hear~~delivered by a woman.
When 1. ~oted fdr Otd-age~Peii§iolfstit~ lt ) ~ill ~ay to phe .. g_er;ttlewo,man ph}l.j il).
young member of the MasSa:'chfisetts , Idaho,_ the people of that State have a
LCgisliture. I was· 'caned a Socialist. ~teat fightiD.g champion. I ani so happy
Everyorle wh6~:fights fOr peopl'e~must eX"- 'thaY'r tvas·:here', anti I am· tHrilled.
pCd to'lncuf'the smE!"ars of·thOSe·~whb -6treitgthE!"ned,-rand'inspir~d bY what I
'oppOse- Prbiress iaiid · oPPose legiSlation have· heard coming from ar great· con,..
and tllings thB.t a""re iii tht'f'be"St ilitei'e:§ts ~gresswoman-:from.-Idaho.·~ ,. -....
Of the- people -generallY. I a1tl rur~· th'e -... .. Mrs.-PFOST ..... :f.than.k the gentleman
people.!-?. the, gen~lewc,>mari's d!stHct ir'e froni ~li:q.pis. " ·~
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