Of Yardsticks and Birchrods

Roosevelt had proposed the idea of a Government "yardstick" for utility rates in his "Portland Speech," a campaign address delivered in September 1932 outlining his views on the development of hydro-electric power:

the very fact that a community can, by vote of the electorate, create a yardstick of its own, will, in most cases, guarantee good service and low rates to its population. I might call the right of the people to own and operate their own utility something like this: a "birch rod" in the cupboard to be taken out and used only when the "child" gets beyond the point where a mere scolding does no good. [footnote]

The yardstick and the birch rod were powerful images that were often used to describe TVA and it's relationship with privately-owned utilities. However, it was difficult to compare rates between TVA and private utilities. TVA paid no taxes and paid less in interest on loans. On the other hand, TVA's power generators could not always operate at maximum efficiency because the multi-use project was responsible for flood control and river navigation in addition to power generation.