Startsnisn, Salem, Ora., Sunday, . May 1 5, 1 935-Sec. W-3
Hells Canyon Bajh Ruling Comes as Stunning Surprise to Both Sides
.
By A. ROBERT SMITH j summation of the facts in the case
Statesman Correspcideat during the FPC hearing that be
wismwvmv Sn.rian Th &n nearly two years ago, con-
i A ?
Hells Canyon decision of Examiner
tained two fundamental and. dis
tinctive findings:
1. An engineering finding that
have made the controversy over. the high dam offers a superior
William J. Costello came as a stun
ning surprise to both sides that
high federal dam vs. three low
private dams a hot political issue
here and in the Pacific Northwest
Costello's written opinion, 79
pages of fine print based on bis
plan for resource development of
the middle Snake River.
Heavy Opposition - -
2. A political finding that the
high dam can't be built in the fore-
$1,000,000 Inheritance to
Leave Boy's Life'Unchanged?
OAKLAND, Calif., (UP) - Mrs.
Frances C. Brennan, a widowed
office worker, declared Saturday
that a million dollar inheritance
will make no difference in her 10
year old son's way of life.
The son, Frank Brennan, Fri
day was named an heir to the
$5,.)00,000 estate of his aunt, the
late Lucille M. Tyler of Los
Angeles, whodied last months
Young Frank and five other
cousins will share equally in the
estate, coming into more than
$900,000 each. . i
But the whopping bank account
will mean little to Frank right
pie," she said.""I don't want him
away, his mother said.
Money does not necessarily
make for happiness or good peop
ple,w she said. "I don't want him
spoiled by this. Hell continue to go
to school and play with the other
boys just like this didn't happen."
The boy's father, who died sev
eral years. ago, was a brother of
Marion County
Mrs. Tyler. The wealthy aunt was
the widow of John c. tyler,. a
founder of Farmers Insurance
Corp. j -.
Other principal beneficiaries in
clude Curtis Brennan, ft, of Ingle-
wood, Califs and Joseph, IB, Pa
tricia, 22, Elizabeth, 21. and Joan
Brennan 18, all of Seattle.
Heir
Incomes Top
U.S. Average
NEW YORK (Special) A na
tionwide study of earnings in gen
eral, with particular reference to
the distribution f income, shows
mat Marion County has a relative
ly high proportion of families in
the upper brackets.
The study brings out clearly
"""what is normally concealed behind
the term "average income." It
makes possible a more refined
analysis of purchasing power, ac
cording to Sales Management,
which presents it.
In Marion County, 44.3 per cent
of the family units have spendable
incomes, after taxes, of more
than $4,000 a year. In comparison,
throughout the nation, only 43.7
per cent of the families are in that
bracket, . .
This tnarVi an imnrnvAment
since 1951, when only 37.4 per cent
had such , earnings. .,
Of the Tocal "farnffles,"; 1I.S per
.cent have earnings in excess of
17,000 a year and account for 32.0
per cent of the total earnings in
the county.
Luxury Market
It all adds up to a luxury mar
ket. Fewer families have to ask
themselves "Do we need this?" or
"Can we afford this?" than do
those in most counties! For a
larger number of families the
question u "Do we want this?" ,
. The bigger incomes make them
selves felt in greater expendi
tures for cars, clothes, homes and
in overall scale of living.
me plus- 4,ooo ramiues in
Marion County, the copyrighted
survey shows, account for 70.7
twr cent of all inrnme in th
county.
Those having incomes from $2,'
; aoo to $4,000 comprise 26.3 per
cent of the families and garner
20.2 per cent of the total earnings,
Incomes Up
; The changes in the national
economy in recent years, as it af
fects the individual family, is
brought home by the analysis. In
comes rose rapidly since 1947 with
the result that the number of
iamuies living on less than 54,000
has decreased by 20 per cent. The
; total family income in that period
has gone up 50 per cent.
Although part of this Increase
was lost because of higher prices,
there has been a net gain in the
direction of better living, it is
shown.
OAKLAND, Calif Frank Bren
Ban, II, of Oakland, Calif, is
suddenly just a fraction short
f being a millionaire. He has
just been notified he will share
the 15,500,000 estate.! his late
aunt, Mrs. Lucille M. Tyler,
with five other cousins. Frank's
mother, Mrs. Frances Brennan,
a widow of limited means, says'
the money isn't going to make
any change in her young son's
life. (AP Wirephoto.)
Parents Urged to
Help Halt Series
Of Bomb Threats
PORTLAND (UP) Multnomah
County Sheriff Terry Schrunk has
asked parents to aid in halting a
6eries of bomb threatrwhich have
closed several Portland area
schools in recent weeks.
The sheriff said such closures,
even though temporary, had cost
a considerable sum of money. He
asked parents to sit down and
discuss the seriousness of such
pranks with the children. '
Sheriff Schrunk said such phony
bomb threats would not be con
sidered as practical jokes by his
office, and promised to use all
facilities at hand to apprehend
such offenders.
He said the juvenile court treats
such acts as serious offenses.
VaiJMtl:i
W ' T-y.-;W.. ..a..........l nun inn j
: i
I ..... -
i Jfn . -
- ( 1 ' -7-
; 5 A! .
seeable future due to heavy politi
cal opposition within Congress and
the Eisenhower administration.
. Costello concluded 'from these
findings that Idaho i; Power Co.
should be granted a license for one
dam without prejudice, to later ap
proval of the other to dams,
This surprised Idaho! Power offi
cials who were confident of win
ning but expected to get licenses
for. all three dams instead of just
the Brownlee project. l .was
equally surprising to ' National
Hells Canyon Association attorneys
who assumed that if Costello
agreed with their contention that
the high dam was superior,! he
would reject the private utility
plan and recommend lithe federal
dam to Congress. .
Schemes Analysed
Costello reached his engineer
ing finding after 55 pages devoted
mostly to analyzing both schemes
as to cost of power, power bene
fits, affect on irrigation, flood con
trol and navigation in short, all
the technical aspects! of the , two
plans that have been ! so bewilder
ing to the layman, if not to the
politician. I . -
In the process, Costello demol
ished favorite arguments of Idaho
Power backers about the high fed
eral dam. These arguments and
Costello's findings were: I
Argument No. 1: There isn't
enough water in the Snake to fill
the high dam reservoir! and allow
for future irrigation needs in south
ern Idaho..' II- ' '' '
Costello's - finding: . 'With ample
allowance for . all foreseeable ; up
stream irrigation water uses, a
dependable water supply cajL rea
sonably be expected for the ef
ficient and economic ; operation of
the high dam project during its
(50 year) payout period." I
Argument No. 2: The! high dam
would .be so expensive that Bonne
ville power rates would be forced
up or the federal investment in
Hells Canyon could never be repaid.-'
. ;
Costello's finding: "For the high
dam project, the unit cost per kilo
watt of salable firm power would
be approximately $23.80 . . . this
cost would not result in affecting
the current Bonneville rate of $17.
50, since all revenue and costs of
the project would be pooled with
the revenues and costs of the ex
isting BP A system.
Get Power Faster
' Arugment No. 3: Because Idaho
Power's dams could be built fast
er, i they would supply a large
block of - surplus power to the
power-starved states of Oregon
and Washington.
Costello's finding: "The pros
pects, as reflected in this record,
for the .sale in -the Northwest of
the large amounts of excess power
that would be available from the
three projects at rates which
would equal the cost of the power
(6.S mills) are so feeble as to be
worthy - of no consideration." It
was for this reason that Costello
ordered only one dam built at a
time as its power output could
be consumed in Idaho where power
rates are higher than in the Bonne-ville-served
area.)'
High Dam Supported'
-Arugment No. "4: The high dam
would be a "monument to govern
ment stupidity," as Washington
Gov. Arthur B. Langhe once put
it, conceived by an empire-minded
bureaucracy.
Costello's . finding: "The high
dam project would stimulte
throughout the Pacific Northwest
(a) power-load development, (b)
greater utilization of power in in
dustry, agriculture, commerce and
community and service activities.
(c) new business and employment
opportunities, (d) expansion of pro
duction and productivity, (e) de
velopment of minerals and other
materials important to the region
al and national economy and to
national security, (f) strengthening
of the- regional, and ' national econ
omy.
Having weighed the schemes to
reach his engineering finding, Cos
tello reached the vital point of
decision whether to recommend
the high dam to Congress and re
ject the Idaho Power application,
or to grant a license to the com
pany -and thereby rule out the
possibility of federal construction
of the high dam. He declared: -.
."I do- not feel that this is a
proper instance . . . (for recom
mending federal development to
Congress) even though the facts
seem to point .to the inescapable
conclusion that with the marked
and substantial advantage of the
government's credit, the high dam
would - be dollar for dollar the
better investment and the more
nearly , ideal development of the
middle Snake." 4
Why not? , , '
Costello gave as his main rea
son the Roanoke Rapids case, a
federal vs. private power dispute
in Virginia in which - the FPC
granted a license on grounds there
was little or no prospect of fed
eral development of the river. The
Supreme -Court upheld it,
Costello said the ''similarity lies
in the lack of liklihood of any fore
seeable action by Congress on the
high dam proposal within any fore
seeable time, as demonstrated by
the withering or the (Hells Can!
yon dam) proposals in the pre
vious session of Congress, even
when sponsored and rigorously
promoted by the then secretary of
the Interior, in political climate
more favorable to acceptancs of
such proposals." j
Points to Dix.n-Yates j
To support his evaluation of the
current "political climate" which
he implied is unfavorable to fed
eral power development, Costello,
cited the Eisenhower administra-j
tion's insistence on the Dixon-Yates!
contract for private rather than
federal development of additional
power in the TV A area. Other
factors contributing to this climate
are Secretary of Interior Douglas
McKay's expressed opposition to
; .. ..
al Power Commission will decide
whether , to uphold or change its
examiner's opinion. Its final de
cision in the long case is expected
by August Backers of the high
dam say they win take the case
to court if the FPC anDroves a
license for the power company.
mother way, it Tools now like
the Hells Canvon disnute will con.
tinue in Congress, in the federal
courts or on the political stumn
in the Pacific Northwest for many
months to come, au of which would
at, least "freeze the middle Snaks
Rive for hydroelectric devplnrv
ment for an indeterminate period
in the future.
the high dam and the possibility of
a: presidential veto of high dam
legislation if Congress should pass
it . -,:
Costello concluded that it would
be a' "useless action? to recom
mend the high dam, even though
engineering-wise he found it super
ior, for in this "political climate"
the recommendation "would serve
only to freeze the middle Snake
River for hydroelectric develop
ment for an indeterminate period
in the future." ; ..-'--.
Since it would not be in the
public interest to "freeze" the
Snake in view of Idaho Power's
need for more kilowatts, the ex
aminer arrived at his decision to
erant a license to the utili" v. He
adied in what appeared to be an
oblique challenge to Congressional
backers of the high dam that if
Congress wishes to insist on fed
eral development of the Snake, it
has the power to suspend the FPC
authority to issue a license to
Idaho Power. Costello said this
has happen twice before in history,
in 1921 and 1928.
"Climate" Unchanged
Any change in the "political cli
mate" as a result of Costello's en
gineering finding that the high
dam is superior is considered
doubtful, unless the four Pacific
Northwest Democratic senators
are successful in pushing their
high dam authorization bill through
the Senate before Congress ad
journs for the summer.
Meanwhile, the five-man Feder-
TO ATTEND COXrT.HTXCK. i
NEW DELHI, India Iffl India
has announced she accepts Leban
on's invitation, to attend a Middle
East economic conference opening
in Beirut May 25. - . . .,,.
Find The Cause
X-RAY , .
COMPLETE EXAMINATION
. . Includes
Heart Test, Bronchial. Luii.
Sinus, Stomach. Liyer, Female
Organs, Prostate. Celoa. Hem
rrholds. trine Test
N. Obligation
ARDEN CLINIC
'aaropaUiie Phystcbuai
23rd State Ph. 3-8223
Office Supplies and
OFFICE FURNITURE EiuiPment Fi
Tour Needs
From executive's desk to
stenographer's posture
chair . . . you'll find
them all here, planned
to meet the needs of the
most modern office.
COMMERCIAL BOOK STORE
141 North Commercial
IMPORTANT
SPECIAL MEETING
All Paulus Bros. Packing Co.
Members of Cannery Local 670
Mon., Moy 16rh 8 P.M.
Hall No. 1 Labor Temple, Salem
7
WHEN you learn what's been done in the auto
mobile pictured here, you can easily see Why
this beauty is winning rave notices coast to coast.
I j
Buick engineers took the hardtop body design that
has been growing tremendously in popularity over"
the past six years and gave it four doors instead
eftwo.
Simple? Sure to all outward appearance
Hut it took a brand-new kind of body with wholly
new structural principles to do it to bring this
long-awaited hew kind of automobile to the public
in volume numbers and at popular prices.
For this is a true hardtop with the sleek and racy
look of a Convertible, because there are no center posts
in the window areas on either side.
And now it has front doors for the front-seat passen
gers and rear doors for the rear-seat passengers
plus room increased to the size of a full Sedan,
(It took some special kind of engineering magic,
you can be sure, to hinge all four doors at their
forward edges for greater safety, and more ease of
entering and exiting.) ;
HOTTIST NIWS im
w J trie woJd fir
Pn'ncW. of modem" .Wi ,ha ch-p;,ch.
switch the piw, M fl e In cruising.
sudden safety.surae of Jrr , Se,awy. or for Q
Performance thfJl1fSI er- '
Soadmastj,, ept;onQf o;,e;';-. S,0"drd en
xtra cost than earlier Z't" at ." more
er versions of th;, wonder dri
ive.
So it looks like Buick has scooped the industry
again and come up with 'the hottest news in
bardtops since Buick originated the first two-door
hardtop six years ago.
And you can have it now in the low-price SPECIAL
or the supremely-powered CENTURY and either
one at the modest extra cost of a 4-door model
over 2-door.
Drop in on us today this week, for sure and see
how easily and how quickly one can be yours.
Local Dellvred Prce of
the 1955 BulckSPECIAO
?2644
HUM 4 (inlrtaeO is
Opfienol quipwaat. occevsofiej, stafa nd local texes. If any,
odditionol. Prices moy vary slightly in adjoining communities.
Evan the loctory-irutolled axtres yoa moy want are bargains,
such asi KMttr Defroster-SSI .70; Radio k Aneano-$9U0.
'WHO UTTM AUTOMOtRM Alt SUHT BUK HfIX SUHS TRIM
50
I. ' " ' . :f .i- . t t
.CAN VOU SH $TfH ITOf SAFCLV9
CHECK TOUt CAt .CHECK ACGOCNTS
'Drive from factory
t$in0)(0)()()
Save up lo ii(2)C2)
See YOUR BUICK Dealer" ;
ono j. WILSON CO.
388 N. Commercial; , Salem. Oregon
feOo
340 Court Street '
TOMB
mm.
AND
1955 MODELS
e
Regular 249.95 -21" Consolerte
O All Channel Tuning
Dynapower Speaker
Mahogany Cabinet
O One Year Warranty: On Parts
arid Picture Tube
i
TV Downstairs Court Street;
Other General Electric Models Reduced
. : New Prices frorn 149.95 ;
WE GIVE AND REDEEM-SJGREEN SfAiMPS