november 6th street in memphis, TN

The End of Dixon-Yates?

Monday, Jul. 11, 1955

In downtown Memphis, a dingy, narrow street bears a significant (to Memphians) name: November 6th Street. It commemorates the day in 1934 when Memphis, urged on by its utility-baiting political boss, the late Edward H. ("Mister") Crump, voted against private power and for the Tennessee Valley Authority power system (it was the first major city to enter TVA). Most Memphians have remained passionately loyal to TVA; they were outraged when the Eisenhower Administration, under the Dixon-Yates contract (TIME, June 28, 1954 et seq.) decided to bypass TVA in constructing a $107 million power installation in the Memphis area. In the mind of Memphis, the Dixon-Yates deal became a thing to be avoided at all cost.

The Dixon-Yates contract, complex though it was, grew out of a simple set of facts. Memphis urgently needed more power; it had long since outgrown TVA facilities. President Eisenhower was opposed to the continued expansion of TVA, which had already spread far beyond its originally conceived limits. Dixon-Yates was his answer—and it was consistent with his policy of local power development "with the cooperation of the Administration in Washington . . . devoted to the principle of decentralized government and the principle of states' rights."

The President did, however, tell Memphis officials that he would be more than happy if, as an alternative to Dixon-Yates, the city decided to build its own steam plant. He was told that Memphis could not finance such an operation. But as the emotional war against Dixon-Yates wore on, the idea of a Memphis-built plant began to seem more appealing.

Last week, in a brief special session, the Memphis city commission voted to construct a $100 million steam plant. TVA was notified that Memphis would not renew its contract in 1958. If it was a bluff, it was likely to be a costly one: President Eisenhower promptly ordered a review of Dixon-Yates that was seen as a first step toward terminating the contract.