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Congressman Smith continued; It is particularly illuminating in that it completely dispels the contention thatthe friends of rural electrification seek to supplant and destroy the private udlities and embark upon a socialistic public-power program.”
In his address asking that Mr. Pitts' entire speech be inserted in the Congressional Record, and k was printed in full, Congressman Smith added: “It is most encouraging to those of us who have believed in REA‘from the inception of the program that the cooperatives are on a sound financial basis and meeting their payments promptly, and at the same time setting aside ample depreciation allowances.”
In Mr. Pitts’ speech, he said: “In appropriating funds for rural electric lines, Congress has said that service and not profit shall be the driving force behind the program. I can assure you that we have not veered one, iota from this cardinal principle. The going has not been easy, but tonight we can say that the accomplishment of our original mission is now in sight.
“Over 90 per cent of the rural homes, farms, and business establishments are now using central station electric service, and only one-fifth of one per cent of the loans made to REA cooperatives are delinquent. That record excells that of any lending agency I have ever heard of— either governmental or private. '
As we review the past and take a look ahead, there is one factor which stands out above everything else and which causes us much concern—dependable, low-cost wholesale power.
“The Congress has wisely provided that under certain conditions REA funds might be expanded for the construction of generating and transmission facilities. I, along with an overwhelming majority of rural elec
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