OCR Text |
Show EDITORIAL: "Real Socialism" Raymond Moley, who was one of President Roosevelt's principal princi-pal advisors in the early days of the New Deal, and is now associate as-sociate editor of Newsweek, has characterized the proposed Columbia Col-umbia Valley Administration as "real socialism." Going on, he said, "It's a serious ser-ious menace to the independence of the northwestern states. The CVA would create a super-government by by-passing the appropriations ap-propriations authority of Congress. Con-gress. It would have, in effect, the power to "tax, since the commissioners com-missioners could exact any rates for power without regulation by the states. . . . Wherever electricity elec-tricity is, there is the power of life and death of the area's economy." State and Federal regulation of the utility industry was established es-tablished for certain sound reasons reas-ons to prevent monopoly and discrimination, and to make certain cer-tain that charges for power would be fair, and would permit , the companies only a reasonable return. The proposed Federal monopolies, of which CVA is only one, would be totally beyond be-yond regulation of any kind. They could shape the regions in which they would operate to achieve any purpose their administrators admin-istrators wanted and local people peo-ple and local government could not do a single thing about it. Moreover, they would have dictatorial dic-tatorial powers over land, industry indus-try and water resources and again, their decisions would be final, regardless of local needs and wishes. This is "real socialism" with a vengeance. CVA, if it is approved, ap-proved, is just a sample of what will come to other regions of the nation which possess large rivers riv-ers and fertile valleys. It is the beginning of the British plan to socialize all basic industries. Everyone who believes in our free institutions must fight it and continually fight the alien principle it stands for. Industrial Indus-trial News Review. |