AREA REDEVELOPMENT U.S. 4. S. Congress. Senate. HEARINGS BEFORE A SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE 'COMMITTEE ON BANKING AND CURRENCY. UNITED STATES SENATE EIGHTY-FIFTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION ON S. 104, S. 964, S. 1433, and S. 1854 BILLS TO ASSIST AREAS TO DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN PART 2 FEBRUARY 24, 1958 Printed for the use of the Committee on Banking and Currency -7-618 91201 UNITED STATES WASHINGTON: 1958 Bishop, Charles E., professor, North Carolina State College, Raleigh, Parsons, Kenneth, professor, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis Ruttan, Vernon, professor, Purdue University, Lafayette, Ind.. Ill Letters, statements, etc., submitted for the record by- 967 974 957 Ellis, Lippert S., dean and director, University of Arkansas College 981 Letter to Senator Clark 980 Letter to Governor Leader_ 980 Mendenhall, Howard, manager, Rend Lake Conservancy District, 983 Murray, C. C., dean and coordinator, University of Georgia, College 981 Parsons, Kenneth, professor, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis.: Age-sex distribution of open-country population in Price County, Letter to committee on recreation as an industry. Pasarew, I. Alvin, director, Maryland State Planning Commission: 982 Proxmire, William, a United States Senator from the State of Wis- consin: Study from Milwaukee Journal, Four Out of Ten Farmers Raymond, Julia, Monrovia, Calif.: Letter to Senator Fulbright- 982 983 Wills, Walter J., professor, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, III AREA REDEVELOPMENT MONDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1958 UNITED STATES SENATE, COMMITTEE ON BANKING AND CURRENCY, SUBCOMMITTEE ON PRODUCTION AND STABILIZATION, Washington, D. C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, in room 301, Senate Office Building, at 2:05 p. m., Senator Paul H. Douglas, chairman of the subcommittee, presiding. Present: Senators Douglas, Frear, and Proxmire. Senator DOUGLAS. The subcommittee will come to order. The Production and Stabilization Subcommittee is resuming hearings on legislation dealing with area redevelopment. A number of bills have been introduced on this subject-S. 104, S. 964, S. 1433, and S. 1854. All were considered at length, and were printed in part 1 of these hearings held during the last session. The problems of the areas involved are made far worse by present business conditions. Areas which suffered from a high rate of unemployment in 1956 and 1957 are now far worse off. Many areas which were just on the borderline of being in the surplus unemployment category in 1956 and 1957 are in real trouble now. Last year the Labor Department's statistics classified 19 of these areas as being in distress. Today there are 45 so classified. We have been assured that these difficult times too will pass way, by March, or June, or anyway by November. But, even if full prosperity resumes by one or more of these selected dates, the areas which needed redevolpment in 1957 will still need redevolpment in 1958 and 1959, and a number of the areas which were marginal in 1957 may have fallen permanently into the class which needs redevelopment. Also, the normally hard-hit areas are the first to feel the full impact of an economic dip or slump and really contribute to the spread of the problem across the Nation. The present time is, I think, desirable for many of the public projects which would be authorized by my bill, namely, industrial water, sewers, power, and other similar projects on which further industrial or commercial development of a city or a town may depend. I may say in this connection that the provision of industrial water is essential for the attraction of industry in the hard-pressed areas. Yet this cannot be counted in the benefit-cost ratio. The Army engineers primarily concentrate on navigation and flood control. Similarly, in the Small Watersheds Act generally the industrial lakes thus provided will be too small for the attraction of large industry. So this provision of industrial water tends to fall between two stools. It cannot come under the Flood Control and Navigation Acts and it cannot come adequately under the Small Watersheds Act. 929 |