Authority contain a series of letters between Mr. Scott and Arthur Morgan largely of a personal or social nature. Only one letter in the file refers to his possible employment. I have not seen the letter which Arthur Morgan introduced as an exhibit in support of his testimony. The letter which the files of the Authority contain was written 1 week after the first Board meeting and refers to a discussion with Arthur Morgan on the evening of the day of the first Board meeting. The letter also indicates that Mr. Scott was definitely unable to consider a connection with the Authority. I should like to submit a copy of that letter for the record, and I call attention to the fact that Arthur Morgan's testimony on page 79 of the stenographic transcript of July 18, 1938, cannot be accurate. I quote: "I did hunt for a general manager, and before long I found a man, within 3 weeks or thereabouts after our second meeting." Mr. BIDDLE. I am also submitting for the same purpose a copy of a letter dated June 30, 1933, from Albert L. Scott to Arthur Morgan, chairman, which was referred to on page 4 of the last memorandum read by Dr. Harcourt Morgan. There is only one of these. Chairman DONAHEY. Without objection, it is so ordered. (Said document is as follows:) ARTHUR MORGAN, Chairman, Tennessee Valley Authority, Washington, D. C. JUNE 20, 1933. MY DEAR MR. MORGAN: I have thought a great deal about our talk last Friday evening. My heart is with you in the great task to which you and your associates have set yourselves. To build not only dams, transmission lines, and fertilizer plants of such magnitude is of itself intriguing, but to combine with that the development of a new type of coordination between economic success and actual life makes your enterprise unique and fascinating. How I wish I might join with you. I cannot, of that I am certain, but perhaps I may become one of a group who knows what is going on and helps to stand sponsor for it before the country. You may need friends sorely before you go very far. There are certain Important groups who may try to make you fail and would exult if you did. I should like to have you feel that I am completely on your side and would like to help you in any way that I can. Finally, permit me to thank you for thinking of me as one of your associates. I consider that to be a distinguished honor. Very sincerely, (Signed) ALBERT L. SCOTT. Mr. BIDDLE. Were there any other written memorandums of any kind, before we ask you questions? Dr. HARCOURT MORGAN. No. Chairman DONAHEY. Did you wish to proceed at this time with cross-examination? Representative WOLVERTON. I am willing to adapt myself to whatever is the convenience of the committee. Chairman DONAHEY. We have waiting a little group that would like to have a few minutes to be heard. We might resume crossexamination immediately after our recess, at 1:30. Will that be satisfactory? Representative WOLVERTON. Yes. Mr. Chairman, may I make some inquiry as to what, if any, opportunity is given to Dr. A. E. Morgan to know the contents of these documents that are submitted, and in which he is directly referred to, and as to which the witness has not testified, but merely introduced them as a part of the record? Mr. BIDDLE. I think I can answer that, sir. the statement until it was produced, now. being supplied with a complete record of the other member of the committee. None of us have seen Dr. A. E. Morgan is testimony, as is every Representative WOLVERTON. Fine. I think that is right. Chairman DONAHEY. You will come back at 1:30, Dr. Morgan, please. (Witness excused.) Chairman DONAHEY. Is Mr. J. B. Swafford here today, Mr. J. B. Swafford? Mr. SWAFFORD. Yes, sir. Chairman DONAHEY. You may come forward. Mr. SWAFFORD. Mr. Davis is going to talk first. Chairman DONAHEY. Send Mr. Davis forward. Do you wish to make a statement to the committee? Mr. DAVIS. I would like to. Chairman DONAHEY. To the investigating committee of the Tennessee Valley Authority? Mr. DAVIS. Yes; I would like to. Chairman DONAHEY. Will you be sworn? TESTIMONY OF J. W. DAVIS Chairman DONAHEY. Give your name and address to the reporter. Mr. DAVIS. J. W. Davis, Birchwood, Tenn. Chairman DONAHEY. Not having had any conference with you in connection with this matter, you may proceed to tell the committee anything you desire in connection with the grievance that you and your friends have in connection with the matters that you have in mind. CONDITION OF BIRCHWOOD AFTER FLOODING OF DAM Mr. DAVIS. I wish to state to the committee a condition that the Birchwood High School is being left in after the Chickamauga Dam is flooded. There was a creek on the north, backing up from that dam, that backs south. I mean the one on the south backs north. That leaves us with something like 4 or 5 miles, it lacks about that of making an island of this community. Birchwood is a high-school community. Our children will have to be transported, if they should discontinue this school, which it may be possible that they will, from the fact that the Tennessee laws cut off State aid from high schools that have a percentage, a daily attendance percentage of less than 50. Birchwood has something like 55, between 50 and 55 in daily attendance under the present conditions. But the people that are having to move out and sell their property and get away are going to reduce the school attendance, we fear, below 50. Birchwood has about 16 miles of water front. The dam goes around us, we are more in the bend of the river. It leaves, then, a bunch of businessmen sitting there without any customers, because there are so many-I wouldn't say without any customers, but with a reduced trade, anyway, of something like 40 or 50 percent. They are just left there with no customers to buy from them outside of those that live out on the highland lands. We have been shoved back off of the fertile river lands. We are losing our best citizens. The lands that are left us by the T. V. A. are not fertile. We have always worked that river land and paid very little attention to our uplands. But now since TŤ. V. A. is buying that, in some instances they leave us as small an acreage as 25 acres, just hills and hollows, ridge land, and we don't feel like after working those lands that we can live on the standard of living that we have been in the habit of living on, and we are asking this committee to either send someone or come and visit us, and get an eyeful of it yourselves, get first-hand information from our community as it is. We have understood the Tennessee Valley Authority couldn't do anything for us because they could just take so much back out, and then they had to stop. We have instances where the land was owned by six or eight, and maybe they would leave-in one instance there was 192 acres of those hills and hollows left to be divided into seven equal parts. No man could make a living, of course, on that. We feel that we are being done a wrong, and I wanted to lay before this committee our position. We feel that this is too much to bear, and we can't take it. Mr. BIDDLE. How big is your island? Mr. DAVIS. I couldn't give you the figures. Mr. BIDDLE. There is water all around you? Mr. DAVIS. No; we can get out about 3 or 4 miles out there, that is just a narrow strip there to go out. Chairman DONAHEY. What proportion of your population now has been connected with the P. W. A.? Mr. DAVIS. Well, I couldn't give you the figures on that, but there is a good majority of them. Chairman DONAHEY. A large proportion of them now are being supported by P. W. A.? Mr. DAVIS. Those outlands, lying up from the basin, that is all they have left, and those people have been depending to a large extent, either directly or indirectly, on these river lands to make a living. Mr. BIDDLE. How many people are there in this community? Mr. DAVIS. I would judge there is 300. Mr. BIDDLE. Three or four hundred? Mr. BIDDLE. Have you any suggestions to the committee as to a way in which we should help you in any way? Mr. DAVIS. Recommendations to Congress, to take this country over and use it for some other purpose; it is not used; it is not suited for agriculture. We haven't any factories; we haven't anything else. We have always depended on this river land to make a living, and the uplands-it might be possible to build it up in 2 or 3 years, but we have to live while we are building it up. Chairman DONAHEY. You feel you ought to have some rehabilitation in that community? in? Mr. DAVIS. Yes, sir. Chairman DONAHEY. Because of the condition you find yourselves Mr. DAVIS. Yes, sir. Chairman DONAHEY. Has Congressman McReynolds been active in your behalf, and does he understand your situation? Mr. DAVIS. He certainly has, he certainly has. We thank you. Chairman DONAHEY. Just a minute. Is there any further question any member of the committee desires to ask at this time? that Representative WOLVERTON. Are you speaking on behalf of all of the people that will be affected in a similar way? Mr. DAVIS. Yes, sir. Representative WOLVERTON. How many people does that include? Mr. DAVIS. At a rough guess, I judge three or four hundred, something like that. It is just a rough guess, that is all. Representative WOLVERTON. Do you see any advantages that will come to offset the disadvantages that you have referred to? The Mr. DAVIS. Really, I don't know what the advantages will be, more than we already have lights, we have modern conveniences. question is with us to make a living. Representative WOLVERTON. Have you presented this viewpoint to the directors of the Tennessee Valley Authority? Mr. DAVIS. No, sir; we have never been able to get any connection with them. Representative WOLVERTON. Are you familiar with what has been done under similar circumstances elsewhere? Mr. DAVIS. No, sir; I am not. Representative WOLVERTON. You don't know then whether T. V. A. has assisted people who are like situated as yourselves? Mr. DAVIS. No, sir; I don't know. In some instances they have furnished us some phosphate. Representative WOLVERTON. Some phosphate? Mr. DAVIS. Some phosphate, we have received some phosphate from the T. V. A. Representative WOLVERTON. Where would you put it, after your lands had disappeared? Mr. DAVIS. We put it on the land that we are farming now. Representative WOLVERTON. You mean they would give you phosphate to compensate you for the loss that you have had otherwise? Mr. DAVIS. No, sir; they didn't give us phosphate for that. They gave us phosphate to put under the land; understand, it was for soilconservation work that we were doing, and it was counted out of our soil-conservation checks, at so much. Representative WOLVERTON. Well, did they give it to you, or was the amount that you received deducted from your soil-conservation checks? Mr. DAVIS. It was deducted from our soil-conservation checks. Representative WOLVERTON. You say it was deducted. Mr. DAVIS. Yes, sir; it was deducted. Representative WOLVERTON. Well, then they didn't give it to you? Mr. DAVIS. Well, we didn't have to pay out any money for it. It was deducted from the check. Representative WOLVERTON. But you would have had more money if you had not taken the phosphate? Mr. DAVIS. Possibly so. Representative WOLVERTON. Is that the idea? Mr. DAVIS. We wanted to try the phosphate, to see what the result would be. Mr. SWAFFORD. Will you let me ask Mr. Davis a question? Chairman DONAHEY. Certainly. Mr. SWAFFORD. Didn't you pay the freight charges on it, about $5.85, or somewhere around there? Mr. DAVIS. We paid the freight charges on it. Mr. SWAFFORD. Besides taking out the cost? Senator FRAZIER. Are you a member of the school board, Mr. Davis? Senator FRAZIER. You are a farmer then, are you? Mr. DAVIS. Yes, sir. Senator FRAZIER. Well, do you know how many families are affected there? Mr. DAVIS. No, sir; I don't know the exact number of families affected. Senator FRAZIER. You have not really organized to get any relief on this proposition then? Mr. DAVIS. No, sir. We have a community organization, but we have not taken any survey. Senator FRAZIER. Have you or any of the rest of your group tried to get in touch with the Board of Directors here of the T. V. A. organization? Mr. DAVIS. I asked Dr. Morgan to come and see me. He sent Mr. McAmis and Mr. Landers down to talk to me. They told me that they could furnish us fertilizer, and we could get by. Senator FRAZIER. So you could farm the hills? Mr. DAVIS. But we don't feel that we can get by on that kind of land. That is not my practical experience. Senator FRAZIER. What is the land that is left, what kind of land have you got left; that is, after the water has flooded there? Mr. DAVIS. Well, hills and gravels, ridges. Of course, there is some sprinkling of possibly a little clay land, but most of it is hills and gravels. Senator SCHWARTZ. What did you use those hills and gravels for before your lowlands were flooded? Mr. ĎAVIS. Principally pasture and for timber, raising timber. Senator FRAZIER. If you put on a little fertilizer it would make you a better pasture probably. Mr. DAVIS. Yes, sir; but we have to feed to them in the wintertime. Senator SCHWARTZ. Could you furnish us with a list or a statement showing the number of people in your community that are now on W. P. A. programs? Mr. DAVIS. How is that? Senator SCHWARTZ. Could you furnish us the number of people in your community connected with W. P. A. programs at this time? Mr. DAVIS. Yes, sir; I could send you that later. Senator SCHWARTZ. I would be glad if you would. Senator FRAZIER. And the number of families affected in your community? Mr. DAVIS. Yes, sir. Representative WOLVERTON. I think maybe that I did not make my question as clear as it should be. I asked you how many persons would be affected by the flooding of that area, and I understood you to say three or four hundred persons. |