TENTH ANNIVERSARY PUBLICITY OF TVA
A. Conspira~!I of Half Truths
By J. A. WHITLOW, TULSA, OKLAHOMA
T HE Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and its friends do not pass up many oppor- tunities to influence Congress or the public. Last year TV A celebrated its tenth anni- versary and seemingly circulated to the press and columnists over the country material praising the results of this decade of TVA's operations and some of this appeared in an editorial column in one of the papers of the writer's home town. The editor quoted at considerable length from the Louisville Courz"er-Journal.
An examination of the particular issue of the Courz"er-Journal reveals that the figures quoted are not those of the Courz"er-Journal itself but of a Mr. Sam Adkins who had a feature story such as appears in Sunday supplements with profuse illus- trations in colors. The story quotes at length from David Lilienthal, chairman of the TVA board and from James P. Pop~, a member of the Authority, the whole material being about identical with the tenth anniversary releases of TVA.
The figures mentioned concerning the benefits of TV A, quoted in the Gourz"er- Journal as coming from Mr. Pope purported to show that the states in which TVA operates had outgrown all the rest of the country and the reader was led to believe this was because of TVA. Mr. Pope quotes figures of growth for what he calls the
"four principal TVA states, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee." Then he makes further comparisons using the "seven TVA states" (the four mentioned plus Kentucky, Virginia and North Carolina).
Only one of these states, Tennessee, is materially affected by TVA. The other three of the "principal TV A states," namely, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi, are only slightly affected, as TVA operates in only a few northern counties of each of these, but the industrial sections of these states lie outside this small area. Then the other three states, Kentucky, North Carolina and Virginia may be said to merely border on Tennessee, and TVA has barely touched these states. Its influence on them is no more than the TVA breeze blowing across the state lines.
Now it is well known that for twenty years these southern states have been grow- ing faster industrially than the United States as a whole. This has been true since the cotton mills began to move out of New England and into the Carolipas in the early part of this century. In 1928 a trainload of Tulsa business men made a tour which included the Carolinas, for the purpose of observing the great industrial growth that part of the country was experiencing. That was five years before the TV A bill became a law. This group saw the great steel mills at Birmingham, the cotton mills, furniture factories and tobacco factories of the Carolinas.
TENTH ANNIVERSARY PUBLICITY OF TVA
So when Mr. Pope chooses these states as a group to compare with the rest of the states I was suspicious. Why didn't he select Tennessee alone as it is the state where TVA has almost exclusive control of the electric power business? My job then became one of breaking down Mr. Pope's figures by states to see just whether TVA had any effect and if so how much, so the following tables will show this breakdown by states.
The article in the Courier-Journ:al stated the authorities for the figures were "the Census Bureau and other authoritative sources." In the following tabulations my information is obtained from these several sources:
1. The Blue Book of Southern Progress for 1936.
2. The Blue Book of Southern Progress for 1941.
3. Biennial Census of Manufacturers, 1933 (The Bureau of Census).
4. The World Almanac, 1943.
5. Statistical Abstract of the U. S., 1940 and 1941 (Department of Commerce).
The figures obtained from these sources check closely with Mr. Pope's so he must have obtained his information from the same source or from the same' authorities from which the above drew their information. The comparisons are between 1933, the year the TVA bill was passed by Congress, and 1939.
First, Mr. Pope (TVA director) 5hows that from 1933 to 1939 the manufacturing establishments in the U. S. rose 32 per cent, but for the "four principal TVA states the increase was 52 per cent, and for the seven TVA states the increase was 49 per cent." The inference he would leave is that TVA is responsible for the faster growth in these southern states.
I have explained that of the four principal TVA states (Alabama, Georgia, Mis- sissippi and Tennessee) only Tennessee is materially influenced by TVA. I therefore show what the above authorities reveal for these states separately.
NUMBER OF MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS
State 1933
Alabama ... ...... 1358
Georgia ... ... 2223
Mississippi ..... 746
Total for above three ... 4327
TENNESSEE ... 1561
1939 2050 3150 1294 6494 2289 Gain 692 927 548 2167 728 Per Cent Gain 51 41.6 73.5 50.0 46.9 The increase for Tennessee was lower than any of the other states except Georgia, and lower than the average of these states. Remember Tennessee is the TVA state, hecause TVA operates in only a few northern counties of the other three. The other three states to make up the "seven TVA states" show the following: State 1933 Kentucky ... 1274
North Carolina ...... 2084
Virginia ... 1864
1939 1640 3225 2579 Gain 366 1141 715 Per Cent Gain 28.7 54.7 38.4 The long time growth of North Carolina has already been discussed. None of these states are really affected by TVA. TENTH ANNIVERSARY PUBLICITY OF TVA Just to prove that some southern states are expanding rapidly without any TV A I insert the state of Texas. Texas ... 3648 5376 1728 47.2 Mr. Pope next discusses wage earnen and he states that for the U. S. as a whole their number increased 36 per cent from 1933 to 1939, but that for the four TV A states the increase was 40 per cent. My breakdown is as follows:, NUMBER OF WAGE EARNERS State 1933 Alabama ... 84,966 ~~~~f:s~ppi ... :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 1~~:~~
Total... ... ... 241,525 TENNESSEE ... 94,909
1939 116,800 157,800 46,355 320,955 131,874
Gain Per Cent Gain
31,834 37.5
29,064 22.6
18,532 66.5
79,430 32.9
36,965 38.9
The growth in Goorgia was slow, but you may remember that during this period a governor of Misaissippi persuaded the legislature to pass certain laws granting tax exemptions and other advantages to new indu.tries. This was succeesful and new industries were added rapidly.
That was entirely independent of TVA.
The other three states are as follows
State 1933
Kentucky... 56,085 North Carolina ... 200,202 Virginia ... 100,673
(also Texas):
1939 62,791 270,210 133,896 These states were not ahead of the national average.
Gain 6,706 70,008 33,223
Per Cent Gain 12 35 33
Texas ... 91,374 126,996 35,022 39 Mr. Pope next says that the value of all manufactured products increased 76 per cent in the United States, but increased 95 per cent in the four TVA states. How- ever, the figures he quotes do not apply to "value of products" but to "value added by manufacture," which I conclude is the increase in value between raw materials used and manufactured products.
VALUE ADDED BY MANUFACTURE
State 1933
Alabama ... $113,470,000
~~~~r:~p.pi ... :: ... : .. :... l~g:~~:ggg
Totals ... 318,190,000 TENNESSEE ... 172,939,000
1939
$247,384,000 283,616,000 73,462,000 604,462,000 320,342,000
Gain
$133,914,000 114,282,000 38,076,000 286,272,000 147,402,000
~ain Tennessee is lower than the average of the other three in that group.
of the seven states are as follows (also Texas) :
State 1933
Kentucky...... $123,240,000 North Carolina ... 319,139,000 Virginia ... 206,556,000 Texas ... 237,307,000
1939
$187,400,000 545,952,000 379,488,000 453,105,000
Gain
$ 64,160,000 226,813,000 172,932,000 215,798,000
Per Cent Gain 118
67.5 107.5 90 85.3 The other three
Per Cent Gain 52 71 83.7 91
TENTH ANNIVERSARY PUBLICITY OF TV A
The next is per capita income which Mr. Pope says increased for the whole United States 56 per cent from 1933 to 1940, while in the four principal TVA states the increase was 75 per cent. So I give you t!he results by states again.
PER CAPITA INCOME
State 1933 1939 Gain Per Cent G«in
Alabama ...... $142 8268 $126 88.9 Georgia ... 181 313 132 7~.9
Mississippi ... 117 220 103 88.0
Totals ... 440 80f 361 82.0 TENNESSEE ... 183 j 320 137 74.1 Still nothing striking about Tennessee. Its gain was less than two of the other states and les8 than their average. The other three are as follows:
State 1933 1939
Kentucky ... $190 $316 North Carolina ... 192 318 Virginia ...... ... ... ... .... ... 257 455 Texas ... 253 423
Gain
$126 126 198 170
Per Cent Gain 66.8 65.7 77.0 67.2 Another feature discussed by Mr. Pope is bank deposits which he says increased in the whole United States 49 per cent from 1933 to 1939, while in the four prin- cipal TV A states the increase was 82 per cent. I cannot find any figures on bank deposits that exactly match Mr. Pope's as he gives only totals. The nearest thing I can find is "individual" bank deposits. The figures are as follows:
BANK DEPOSITS (INDIVIDUAL)
State 1933 1939 GlIin Per Cent Gain
United States ... $40,137,805,000 $64,576,694,000 $25,438,889,000 63.5 Alabama ... 160,357,000 298,371,000 138,014,000 81 Georgia ... 235,547,000 451,340,000 215,793,000 91.2 Mi98issippi ... 117,571,000 191,825,000 74,254,000 63.1 Total above three... 513,475,000 941,536,000 428,061,000 82.5 TENNESSEE ... 267,362,000 520,288,000 252,926,000 94.7 In this classification Tennessee leads the other three but not all the following:
State 1933 1939 Gain Per Cent Gain
Kentucky ... $280,037,000 $ 463,806,000 $ 183,769,000 61.6 North Carolina ... 197,350,000 431,626,000 234,276,000 118.8 Virginia ... 371,391,000 596,115,000 224,724,000 60.6 Texas ...... 750,666,000 1,471,897,000 721,231,000 96.2
The last topic on which the Louisvil e Courier-Journal quotes Mr. Pope is that of retail sales. He says these increased for the whole United States 71 per cent from 1933 to 1939, but that in the four TVA states the increase was 84 per cent. Again in fairness, sales by states should be shown.
RET AIU SALES
State 1933 1939 Gain Per Cent Glfin
Alabama ... , ...... $250,834,000 $ 435,973,000 $ 185,589,000 74.1 Georgia ...... 352,916,000 624,765,000 271,848,000 77.0 Mississippi •... 140,855,000 282,440,000 141,585,000 100.3 Totals ... _ .. __ ... 744,155,000 1,343,178,000 599,023,000 80.6 TENNESSEE --_.-... ---. 330,079,000 606,489,000 276,410,000 83.7
TENTH ANNIVERSARY PUBLICITY OF TVA
And for the other states I have listed the figures as follows:
State 1933
Kentucky ... ... ... $304,605,000
1939
$ 520,135,000 633,240,000 628,172,000
Gain
$ 215,530,000 270,129,000 270,070,000
Per Cent Gain 70.8 North Carolina ... 363,111,OOO
Virginia ... .... ... ... 358,102,000
Texas ... 965,561,000 1,803,716,000 838,155,000
74.5 75.4 86.7 On this item Tennessee has a good rank, being exceeded in growth by only Mississippi and Texas.
Now what is the conclusion of all this discussion and why did I go to so much trouble to get this data by states? I know this group of southern states has enjoyed a good comparative growth. Mr. Pope, a TVA director, would have us believe TVA is responsible for this growth. Tennessee is the real TVA state. If he had mentioned only the growth of Tennessee alone, most any reader would have wondered how its growth compared with that of those states about it. His method is subject to the strong suspicion that he anticipated this by claiming the whole group as TV A states.
But TVA penetrates only a few northern counties of Alabama, Georgia, and Mis- sissippi, and up to this point· about all I can say' for Kentucky, North Carolina and Virginia is that they border on Tennessee.
If TVA is responsible for the growth of industry and commerce in these states then Tennessee should have improved a lot more than any of the other states. But this is not the case. In every instance some other states have exceeded Tennessee and in most cases it is just about average. This is not a new discovery as many other investigations of various sorts have revealed' the same thing.
I did not put Texas in the tables simply because I knew it had realized a fine expansion, but just to show that there is a southern state far removed from TVA that has had a more rapid growth than Tennessee in almost every division.
Now there are many fYltures on which comparison can be made. The question occurs to some of us who are justifiably suspicious, why did Mr. Pope choose the above topics for comparison? Could it be that some comparisons on other economic subjects would be more unfavorable to Tennessee, hence to TVA?
Partially answering this question I call your attention to the following table pub- lished in the Blue Book of Southern Progress for 1939, which shows the money invested in new factories, plants, and additions to existing plants, during the year 1938 which was five years after TV A was started on its way.
Alabama ...... $21,628,597 Georgia ... ... ... ... ... ....... ... ... 5,798,564 Kentucky... ... ... . ... .... ....... .. ... ... .. ... ... ... 1,425,000 Mississippi ............ 4,932,000 North Carolina ...... 9,335,000 South Carolina ....... '.. .... .... ... ... ... ... 1,544,011 Virginia ...... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...... 26,939,000 West Virginia ... ... ...... 7,150,000 TENNESSEE (TVA) ........ 548,000
With all the big claims about TVA, it makes a very sorry showing in the above.
Tennessee was the lowest of these southern states in that year from the standpoint
TENTH ANNIVERSARY PUBLICITY OF TVA
of new industries. The next lowest state drew almost three times as much investment in new industries or extension of existing industries.
But TV A's friends may say that it is doing better at this time, in fact they do claim that great industries are being established there now and they make such claims about its importance in the war effort that they almost would lead the country to believe that without TVA we would lose the war. The public should know that all government owned power systems, which includes TVA, Bonneville, Grand Coulee, Boulder Dam and all municipal systems are supplying only 15 per cent of the power generated and delivered to users in the United States. Investor owned and business managed electric companies supply the other 85 per cent. Though the Federal Power Commission tried to promote more political electric systems by prophesying immediate shortages of electric power, such shortages did not develop.
Since the above table gives Tennessee (and TVA) such a low rank in attracting industry prior to the war, we should also see how it stands in that respect since the war started. Certainly if it has the pulling power its Messrs. Pope and Lilienthal and friendly newspapers try to make us believe, it will be while industry is expanding to meet the war demands and while the United States government is allocating billions of dollars to war industries. I found the record in the Manufacturers ReC01·d for May, 1943, page 36. This covers the period from June, 1940, to and including February, 1943, certainly during the period of extreme expansion. This record for the southern states is as follows:
WAR CONTRACTS AND ALLOCATIONS
JUNE 1940, THROUGH FEBRUARY 1943
Alabama ... $1,212,143,000 Arkansas ... 431,111,000 Florida ......... 1,076,934,000 Georgia ... ... 1,187,676,000 Kentucky ...... ... 552,765,000 Louisiana ...... . 995,830,000 Maryland ... ... 3,015,135,000 Mississippi ...... ... 559,319,000 Missouri ...... 1,812,863,000 North Carolina ... 937,495,000 Oklahoma ... 1,080,581,000 South Carolina ... 425,518,000 TENNESSEE ... 941,070,000 Texas ... 4,200,304,000 Virginia ...... ... ... ... .... 2,070,300,000 West Virginia ... 569,131,000
So even on war contracts, TVA's state of Tennessee is "not so hot." Of the 14 states it ranks tenth.
Certainly the advocates of political management of the electric power industry are going far afield in trying to exalt their idea. By long experience I have learned J:hat TVA propagandists are quite skilled in juggling figures in such a way as to make that institution show to advantage. Almost invariably their conclusions will not stand close analysis. This occurs so regtrlarly that it has won the tide, "TVA, A Conspiracy of Half Truths." •
Reproduced and Distributed by the WATER CONSERVATION CONFERENCE
Continuing Committee
to aid in an understanding of the issues involved in the present controversy.
INUODEL
THE INTERSTATE COMMISSION ON THE DELAWARE RIVER BASIN
{:r
ON ITS ACTIVITIES AND ACCOMPLISHMEN1'S
July I, 1943 to June 30, 1944
