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THE MUSCLE SHOALS PROJECT 'Frtawb i THE MUSCLE SHOALS PROJECT 'frtAWb .. ii A&RltmLTUHAL &-A}.JtAt ttttJI LIBRAltY NOV lJ 1938 THE MUSCLE SHOALS· PROJECT By VALICE BRYAN Bachelor or Science Southwestern State Teachers College Weatherford, Oklahoma 1930 ~·.... .. : .. : ~ ~ : .. : ...... : .. ~ .. : ,.. .. .. ... .. .. ..... :"'•"'=~ .. ~ .. - .. .. .. ."'..,. , ,. -... ... - .... .. ... ................ .. .... .... ............ Submitted to the Depart.J.ent of Eistory Oklahoma. Agricultural and hlechanical College In partial fulf'ilLi.1ent of the requireruents for the Degree of 193i WlRl iii JlllfflL1IiBAL &llb!NJCAL OOU1JI LIBRARY MDV lJ 1938 APPROVED BY: · In Charge of Thesis Dean of Graduate School 109669 iv PREFACE The purpose of this thesis is to show the importanoe of the Muscle Shoals development. In order to understand the part it has played and is to play in the development of agrioulture, industry and national defense, it is necessary to gj.ve the reader something of its early history, its construction, its legislation, and its operation. Musole Shoals was selected as an emergenoy war measure. The United States Government, realizing its dependence upon Chile for nitrates, built the nitrate plant~, and began the construction o.f the Wilson Dam, to furnish power for the nitrate plants. The plants were not completed until after the Armistice was signed. A test was ma.de to determine their efficiency, after which they remained in a "stand-by condition" for future warfare. Soon after the Armistice was signed, long before Wilson Dam was oompleted, the United States Government pursued the policy of disposing of its excess war equipment. During the years following the war, and until the close of the Seventy­ second Congress, various offers were submitted for the disposi­ tion • .Among these was the Henry Ford offer for the purchase of the properties. Later other proposals were submitted for the lease, purchase, or for Govermnent operation, but no success was attained until the Tenn.es.see Valley Authority was created in the spring of 1933; then Muscle Shoals became the corner­ stone of th.a; project. Muscle Shoals, operating under the Tennessee Valley Author­ ity, constitutes one of the major problems of agriculture in the United States at the present time. V The author wishes to take. this opportunity of expressing her appreoiati.on to Doctor T. H. Reynolds. Head of the Department of History, Oklahoma Agrioultural and Meohanical College, and to other members of the Department for their many helpful suggestions. She is especially gra..tef'ul to Miss Grace Campbell, document librarian, and to others of the staff of Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College who have done so :muoh to make possible the investigation of this subject. V. B. vi CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE Prefaoe •••••..•••••••••••••••••••••••• iv I Early History and Construotion of Musole Shoals ••••••••••••••••••••••••• 1 a. Formal Op.ening. of Musole Shoals..... 4. b. Proposals of Power Companies....... 4 c. Reasons for building Nitrate Plants••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 9 d. Reasons for Location of Plants ••••• 10 e. Plans for Construction of Dam •••••• 13 II Musole Shoals in Congress ••••••••••••• 16 a. Secretary Weeks' Invitation for Bids••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 18 b. Ford's Final Offer ••••••••••••••••• 21 c. Sale of Gorgas Steam Plant ••••••••• 23 d. Other Proposals in Sixty-Bighth Congress ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• 26 e. Comparison of Ford's Offer With That of Associate Power Company's •• 28 r. Ford Withdraws Offer ••••••••••••••• 31 g. President Coolidge's Commission •••• 32 h. President Hoover's Veto •••••••••••• 36 i. Report Muscle Shoals Commission •••• 38 j. President Roosevelt's visit to Musole Shoals •••••••••••••••••••••• 39 k. Tennessee Valley Created ••••••••••• 41 vii CONTENTS (6ont 1 d) CHAPTER PAGE III Muscle Sheals at Work Under the Tennessee Valley Authority•••••••••• 42 a. Nitrate Plants Turned Over to T. V .A • ................ - ,. ., " 'I! ~ f' • & • • • • 43 b. T.V.A. Deoides to Produoe Phosphate........................ 44 o. Demonstration Farms.............. 47 d. Wilson Dam Turned Over to T.V.A.. 50 e. Purpose of Power Generated....... 51 Construotion of Transmission Lines••••••••••••••••••·······~· 51 f. Tennessee Valley Authority Am.ended... • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •.• • • • • • • • 52 g. The Supreme Court Decision....... 54 h. The Complaint of Power Companies. 55 l · Chapter I Early History and Construction of Muscle Shoals Muscle Shoals is situated between what is now Lauderdale and Colbert oounties in Alabama., more than 200 miles below the head of navigation and more than 200 miles above the mouth of the Tennessee River. What is known as Muscle Shoals is a stretch of river approxi- mately J;7 miles in length between the head of Brown's Island_ and the site of the present Florence Bridge. It is said that the Shoals derived its name from the musoala.r efforts required to push the water craft upstream in early days.I The original condition of the Muscle Shoals section consisted of a series of rock shoals with steep slopes, swift currents, and slight low water depths, separated by pools with greater depths and slight slopes. The fall in the ~7 miles is 134 feet. The shoals as early as 1779 was recognized as a barrier to upstream tra.ffio at all times and to down stream traffic except at high­ water stages.2 In the early col.onial days the river was considered of sli:f'- fie ient importance by the Government for engineering study, but very little was accomplished. On February 14, 1814, the state of Tennessee requested its senators and representatives to use their influence in Congress 1 :Muscle Shoals Conunission, Muscle Shoals 1931, (Washington, 1931), p. 96. 2 War Department, Annual Report of Chief Engineers, (Washing­ ton,1919),II, pp. 1351 and 13G3':" See also House Document No. 1463, 64 cong., l sass., (Wash­ ington 1916), XIV, P• 1. 2 1n urging a.n appropriation to remove obstruotions whioh prevented safe navigation at Musole Shoals.3 Musole Shoals had its off'ioial beginning under the Federal Govermnent on September. 7, 1824, when President Monroe in his annual. llles.sage. to Congress. presented the annual report of' the Seoretary of' War., John C. Calhoun, reoommending a survey of' the Muscle Shoals as one of the three great works which.he regarded as most .. important for the improvement of' transpor.tation oonditions in the United States.4 As a result or these recammendati.ons a preliminary examination was ordered. on March 12, 1827; and the report of May, 1828,. reoOJ111D.ended. the. oonstruo.tion. of' a lateral canal with 16 locks around the Shoals.. The.se looks were eaoh to be 32 feet wide, 120 feet long, and. have a 5-foot lift. In 1831 the state of' Alabama did this work with funds re- ceived from the sale of 400,000 acres of landlooated in northern Alabama and .donated by the United States Govermnent for the pur- pose of improving navigation around Muscle Shoals and Colbert Shoals. Before the Canal was completed, however, it was dis- covered that . these 16 looks were only the middle link required in the canal. system, and a.f'ter $644.,000 had been spent, and the work was practically.. oomple.ted.,. the boats still. had to wait for a rise in the river in order to get through. 3 .Amerioan State .Papers, Miscellaneous, ~Washington, 1834J, p. 234. 4 .American State ¥apers, Military Affairs, (Washington, November 19, IS28), tv, p. 13. J. D. Riohardson, Messages and Papers·:_!f.. President, \Washington., 1909)., lI., p. 265. 3 Recommendations were then made in 1838, for $750,303 more in o.rder to complete the requisite canal system including Elk River Shoals, Big Muscle Shoals, and Little Muscle Shoals. Congress promptly declined to award this amount but appropriated $56,769.33 to complete the original canal with 16 looks covering only the middle section of the Shoals. 5 This left an unimproved length' of the river both above and below the canal wherein navigation was difficult, dangerous, and often unpraotioable. Therefore, the canal was not used for commercial purposes. Only a few boats, and they under the stress of great necessity,6 ever passed through it. Because no provisions were made for maintainance, and the authorized tolls proved insuffioient to take care of the canal, it fell into decay and soon became unservicable.7 Under Aot of March 3, 1871, the United States engineers, directed by Major McFarland, and Lieutenants Greene and Gregory made another survey of this section of the river; they submitted a plan in 1872 for the entire.reconstruction of the old state canal at a cost of something over $4,000,000. Canals containing 27 looks eaoh 60 feet wide, 300 feet long, and 5 feet deep were required to surround Elk R~ver Shoals, Big Muscle Shoals, and Little Muscle Shoals reppectively. In 1875 this second canal was begun, and later as a result of examina­ tion by a board of engineering officers, the project was modified 5 Bouse Documed., No. 781, 60 cong., 1 sess., (Washington, 1908), XVIII, P• 5. 6 -=--Ibid., p. 15 7 Bouse Misoellaneous Document, No. 43, 30 cong., 1 sess., (Wash­ !ngton, 1849), I, p. I. 4 reducing the number of locl!sto 11 and substituting open ohannel work for the canal around Little Muse.le Shoals. 8 The canal consisted_ of two sections, the Elk River division and the Musole Shoals. div.is.ion. The forme.r i.s 1.5 miles long and has two. lo.cks each. 60 by 300 fee.t with a total lift of 23 feet. The Muscle Shoa.l.s.division., beginning about eight miles below the Elk River Shoals, is 14.5 miles long and has been constructed by enlarging the old oanal; this.division contains 9 looks each 60 by 300 feet with a total lift of 85 feet. The canal had its formal opening to publiotraf'fio on November 10, 1890. Since then the looks machinery, and. surroundings have been oared for and kept in a good condition.
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