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0011 02 f i~ ( r: \ ;~ ," ~ , ,~ t ;t Page 4 \;Q10raClO t(\UIU ",.een,,;, l'IIews The Presidenfs Report- Unity of Purpose and Action Needed By WIWam A. Byers There has never been II time in the history of this Association when thete was so much to do and so little time in which to do it. The activities of the past year are certainly evidence of this fact. Immediately following our annual meeting in Corte;!; last ye~r, we moved to develop II legislative program, fol. lowing some of the suggested proceed- ures outlined by our guest speaker, Mr. Carl Turner, manager of the New Mexico State Association. These sug- gestions Wel'e endorsed and amplified by our then Administrator, Dave Hamil. While. our efforts were not as satis- factory as we had hoped for, I am aure they were not- in vain, I am con- vinced that if we had not included II reltollc!ive provision in our original bill we would have gotten most of the' things we were asking- for, This should be a lesson for us in the future. 'It has been said, and I believe it to be tn\e, that all we need to do is to stick by our facts, and for what :we know to be right. We do not need to exagger. ate nor to emotionalize, as was true of the Investor utilities in the recent power IIneseontroversy. I believe in our Rural Electrics and the job they are doing. It is a most remarkable accomplishment of people, you sqd I, doing for ourselves that which couldn't be done in any other w~~ch time and effort went Into 'the successful fight to prevent the power companies from putting tnemselves pe. tween us and our source of power. Many of you are due credit for your efforts in this fight. This was truly a team effort, and shows vividly what strength we have when united towards a common goal. The old adage, "if we don't hang together, we will hang separately," was well illustrated. We should recoiniZe the part that our manager played in helping to bring about the favorable action il} congres~, regarding the transmission lines. I pay tribute to Howard Scott, for his ac. quaintance with our'congressional del.e. gation, and tne many others in key ....".UIJ..... .",,~ positions,' along with his knowledge of support a study designed towards the how congress and Its committees oper. eventual control and_ownership of our ate. was of immense value. own source ot finances. This can be The loss of Will Welch from the State done in a variety of ways, but we do Office imposed a double burden on have an excellent pattern to follow in Howard, at a time when the power the Banks for, Cooperatives, which is a controversy was waxing hottest. ~.::~~.~t~h;e~:~~:g~dd~~:e~da~~ From all the reports that I' have ,duct ion Credits, _ Intermedi"te - Cr-edit ~~~:.e~'n~~ 2;}~r~~ri~~:.a,lh~le~~~I~~~;,-1;1ankS._ _ -__'-_' .,-:' ",;' __' ,,"-:, ~ well received, with interest high and There' could" be an R.E.A. .Bank !IS a' increasing. This is good, for the News log leal part of the Farm Credit Sys~ is our most effective tool, in fact our tern, or I suppose it could be an entity only means on a State wide basis, for of its own. I know there are some who keeping our members properly in. oppose this idea, but in my judgment, formed. There are many who speak if we don't act our age, we will likely for and about our Rural Electrics, who be faced with more and more oPPos!, do not know our story and are ignor. tion, and find ourselves without effec- ant of the ,facts involved. tive support. A little knowledge is often II danger. We should take advantage of the fact ous thing. For instance, many people that ours .has been a success story with- consider our cooperatives as public out parallel in the history of, business. power, and don't believe that we shol.\ld We have in our managers group some be in busin\2sS at alL Too many people of the best business men in their re- believe that It is all right for' the in,' spective areas, who are looked to for vestors utilities to have all the output leadership and guidance. not only from of our hydroelectric plants,' and to their own group, but by 'the town control the traDllmission systems. The folks 'as well. Our boards of directors president of the Arizona Public Service are composed of capable, men, who are Company said some time ago, that who. also leaders in their respective com. ever controls the key parts of the trans- munities. We need to take advantage mission lines shall control the electric Of all this talent, and with it develop business. In Cowboy language this a sound and strong program. A,program means, that the guy who controls the designed to make ourselves more self water hole, controls the range. sufficient and more effective. We are We need to continually emphasize the already efficient In most instances, and fact that we are private business, that ~~~~iding good service at a reasonable we do pay taxes (for instance, Grand Valley Rural Power Lines is tlie eighth The original reason for organizing the largest taxpayer in Mesa County, in state Association was primarlly for the fact Grand Valley is the largest lo!:ally purpose of effecting legislation, repeal owned and CQntroled taxpaying busi. of 36K specifically, and secondly to ness in the county. develop our public relations. I believe Our critics have used the interest that both purposes are still major rea. rate thing, as a wedge between our- sons for its existence, and remain as selves and the public; they will con~ key_ parts of a desirable overall pro. tinue in their efforts to ,discredit and gram, along with our highly successful hamper our program. Consequently, in Safety and Job Training program. my opinion, it will be more necessary Any success that we have' had in the than ever to get our story not only to past, or will have in the future, is the our own people but to the public as result of everyone working together as well. Also, and this is of primary con. a team. It is my sincere,hope that we cern for the eventual success of Olll' can go home from this meeting with businesses, that it become the policy of that feeling of unity that is so neces. the Colorado ,Rural Electric Ass'n. to saTY for our continued success. Clapp Spells Out Challenge Ahead Administrator Norman M. Clapp of the Rural Electrification Administra- tion has been- cODllistently firming fI program for rural electrics of the na. tion in talkS before regional meetings of the National Rural Electric Coopera. tlve Assn. Here are seven points he has em- phasized, of Interest to all officers and members of l'\lral electric associations: 1. Mr. Clapp tells direclon and maDal1en of rurat eleddc coopora- Uves thai the ~UCC8$S of their ell. lerpmell halcteatad actisis inru- :ral eleclrillcatlon. "The rural tar. rUoriel whiC:h the power companies paued up in dl5daln have now ba- c:ome aUrac:IJve to them," he says. "As a result the cooperalive sys- tems which developed the rural areas Jhey now serve are threalen- ed by mounlipg aUacks from lhe outside. And on the inside they suffer from a growing complacency of many officers, directors. mana. gers. and members who somehow seem l:o Ihink all the battles have been won and the work is done. They seem 10 aclas though all :thai needs doing now is routine main- lenance. regular billing. and full enjoyment of each new financial slalement." Your Colorado Rural Electric News begins its tenth year with this issue. This is not a long period compared with more than a quar~ ter century of rural electric hi!!" tory. Noting the anniversary does give us opportunity, however, to point up the purpose of the NEWS and its role in helping to accelerate the rural electric power program- an essential key to rural life in . Colorado. Your paper is now attempting, within its financial limitations, to be a coordinating link between of- ficials, the associations, the mem~ bers, and the citizens of the stl;lte. No Industry today operates with- out keeping its customers and the general public informed of its ac. tivities It is recognized that this work, known as public relations, is a!;,essentlal for success in today's complex society as actual delivery of the basic service. Without it, both creeping and sudden problems are impossible of solution because people are not well Informed suf- ficie'ntly to' Understand and thus help provide the' answers. Colorado Rural Electric News has not quite "come of age" as have the rural electric associations them~ sel:ves, but it must 'and will catch up to carry its share of the load and assist in pushing forward the programs that the coming years will force rural electrics to under~ take. Towards this end, Colorado Ru- ral Electric News asks for full co. operation 1n attaining the goal all of us desire. . . keeping pace with needs of rural Colorado, helping to build our rural communities, and informing people everywhere about ourselves to assure rural electrics equal status on all fronts. Ours is now a major Colorado industry We can no longer afford to think small This is our plea.. . let's work hand in hand . . . let's consider only the over-aU good, not the minor differences. . . let's re- solve that cooperation is the only word for successful cooperatives. . 2. The REA Administrator says thH if the cooperatives lmd REA "are ~o continue to do the jOb with which we are charged, we must look now to the future security and effectiveness of these systems. We must move now to assUre these systems a growing source of power, at the lowest possible cost aud ou terms consistent with their se- curlty and effectiveness." 3. He says that REA cODlliders it bad business for REA-financed coon. eratives "to depend upon any power company which invades a borrower's ,territory or pirates away customers. Neither do we think it wise," he con. tinues, "to do business with a supplier which joins in the campaign of vicious misrepresentation designed to Undel', mine the position and acceptance of OUl' cooperative systems in the _ eyes of the public. Electric power is the life blood of a distribution system. We cannot af~ ford to depend upon a borrower's a. vowed enemies to provide it." 4. Stating that he wishes to ma]le REA's position clear. the Administrator says that the agency "proposes to make loans for generation and transmission as an alternative for borrowers thataro unable to buy power on fair or reason. able tenns or that find themselves forced to rely on a hostile sOurce for their future power supply." 5. Mr. Clapp says that more recently a .new threat has developed. He de. clares that "pirating of the choice loads in rural territory long served by co.op systems is reaching serious proportions. 6. He declares that "co-ops must figllt to hold the territory they pioneered. Continued area coverage and low ratc~ depend upon serving the richer POI" tions along with the thinner areas of their territory." 7. Mr. Clapp says that "this growing encroachment on co-op servicEl areas is noi confined fa isolated lnstanc:es. You may fhink your puiicular co.op is safe now, but. . ; your iurn will come. and you bad better be sure thai when fhal fimEl comes. there are ground, rules to proled.you," He Ihen urges stale- legislaHon for lerritor. ial proledion. By Nalional Rural Electric Cooperative Association IN AN ELEVENTH hour decision, Congress resolved tlte issue of who is to build the transmission lines to take power from Colorado River Storage Project dams. Gongress decided in fsvor of an all-Federal transmission -system and directed the Inte.ior Department to proceed with construction. The ac. tion meant defeat for the private power companies which have waged one <If the most e~tensive lobbying campaigns ever witnessed on Capitol Hill to per- suade Congress to let them build the key links in the transmisSion grid. Had they been successful, the power l!om~ panies would have exercised virtual control over the power output of the Project's three major dams, and would have been able to reap a windfaU a~ mounting to millions of dollars In wheeling charges. The power is to go to 10 consumer-owned, distribution com. panies including 75 rural electric co. operatives in a five.state area. REA ADMINISTRATOR NORMAN M. Clapp had some blunt advice for tlie Inter-Industry Fann Electric Utiliz3- tion Council. Speaking at the Council's annual conference in Minneapolis Minn., last week, he said that if th~ Council wants to serve a useful pur. pose, it should devote more of its ef- forts to promoting mutual understand_ ing between rural electrIc co,ops' and private power companies. He empha. sized that the co~ops "are not trying to run the private power companies out of business-or buUm on ~ejr territory. We do, however, ask .the same con- sideration in return.." The Council or~ ganized seven years ago, is mad~: up of co-op and power company repre. sentatives. The Conference adopted a resolution implementing Clapp's 'sug. gestions. IN A LETTER TO NRECA General Manager Clyde T. Ellis this ,veeK Presid'mt Kennedy praised the national service organization of rural electric systems for its contributioDll to the national welfare. He noted that "co. operatives can be an important instru~ ment in raising the standards of living of our friends abroad as they have been at home." The President added that the Administration is " firmly com. mitted to the continued advancement of the rural electrification program and to the natural resources development that is so closely related to it," IT WAS LEARNED this week that the, American Farm Bureau Federation urged members of CongrellS to vote -3- g~inst funds for the all~Federal trans. mission lines for Upper Colorado River Storage Project dams. 'The Farm 'Bur- eau sent a telegram to Congressmen on Sept. 5, asking that they oppose the appropriations for the Federal trans- mission system. It was signed by John C. Lynn, AFBF legislative director.' COLORADO RURAL ELECtRIC NEWS Vol 10, No.1 October, 1961 Editor .............:..Howord E. Scott MCrlO!lIl1!1Editor........lylel.Mor;l1er Assodote Editor ..........Terry Morl!ier Eoitorlol ond Busloess Office 802 Formers Union Del1ver 3. Colorado Telephone KE 4.0]39 PUBLISHED MONTHLY by the Cotorodo Slate Rurol Electric A$sedCltion At/vl.oty, StoleP,esJd.ntW.A. 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