MUSCLE SHOALS

Hokitika Guardian, 12 April 1930, Page 7

MUSCLE SHOALS

(Otago “Times.”)

The approval by the United State; Senate of a Bill providing for S'ate operation of the huge electric pc wei plant at Muscle Shoals, on. Mie 'Jen nessee River, brings once again intc prominence a question which lias beet recurrent in American politics foi many years. The Government com inenced the construction of the Muse). Shoals plant during the war with tin purpose of obtaining combined nitro gen from the atmosphere for tin manufacture of munitions in wartime and for the production of fertiliser in times of peace. The plant was completed at a cost of approximately 150,000,000 dollars of taxpayers’ money, and the problem of its opera tion has been a subject for debate ever since.

While the importance of combined nitrogen as an ingredient in fertilise" is recognised, two schools of though! exist in the United States as to tin furtue control of the Muscle Shoal' plant. Since the costly work was com pleted new investigation has made oh solete the nitrogen extracting process established at, Muscle Shoals, and it b very doubtful whether fertilisers there produced could compete on the open market with fertiliser procured from other sources. Moreover, the maxi mum production of 40,000 tons of nitro gen at Muscle Shoals, even with tlu largo investment already made, is smal’ in comparison with the actual nitrogen requirement of agriculture in th' United States, 1,547,196 tons bein'needed for the corn crop alone. The»s' facts appear to justify to some extent the opinion held by certain agricn l fural groups that the plant should b operated by private enterprise, whef ’t would return a yearly sum to tlu Government in repayment of capita’ expenditure.

Sensator Norris, on the other hand who is the author of the Ball, whic 1 has now gone to the House of Repre sentatives for debate, is the leader o" the groups which favour the utilisatioi of the plant by the Goverenment, hi: contention being that it could be user’ for experimental purposes. The cos 1 of fertiliser production are still ven "rent, and it is undoubtedly desirable that they should he reduced to the lowest scale, that the agriculturist may make tire best use of scientific aids ir fanning, and he argues that a proper function of the Government therefore is to use public funds with a view U conducting research with the. object, r f making cheaper fertiliser available. Ir this view he now has gained tiie support of the majority of the Senate for the second time, but cabled messages indicate that the fat.) of the Bill in the House of Representatives is uncertain.

It may well appear that the solutior of the problem of Muscle Shoals, which would be of the greatest benefit to agriculture in America, is that suggested by Senator Norris. If experiments were successful in lowering fertiliser cost the whole of the continent would receive some benefit from the huge works, whereas if the plant were leased to private enterprise th r revenue to the Government from that source would, on the calculation < f ex "President Cbolidge, be only 2,00U,0Cr dollars a year, a poor repayment on areas in close proximity to • Muscle would be benefited by the fertiliser produced.