Twenty-Seventh Annual Meeting
NATIONAL RECLAMATION
ASSOCIATION
Houston, Texas November 19, 20, 21, 1958
RECLAMATION — Food and Fibre for Our Rapidly Increasing Population
NATIONAL RECLAMATION ASSOCIATION 897 National Press Building
Washington 4, D. C.
OF THE
Twenty-Seventh Annual Meeting
NATIONAL RECLAMATION
ASSOCIATION
Houston, Texas November 19, 20, 21, 1958
RECLAMATION — Food and Fibre for Our Rapidly Increasing Population
NATIONAL RECLAMATION ASSOCIATION
897 National Press Building27TH ANNUAL CONVENTION
Rice Hotel
Houston Texas
November 19,
20,
21, 1958
GENERAL SESSIONS
RICE HOTEL — CRYSTAL BALLROOM
WEDNESDAY FORENOON, NOVEMBER 18th 10:00 A. M.—State Caucuses
WEDNESDAY NOON 12:00 Noon—LUNCHEON—Crystal Ballroom
Guy C. Jackson, Jr., Presiding, President, National Reclamation Association, Anahuac, Texas
TOASTMASTER—Mason G. Lockwood, former President American Society of Civil Engineers, Houston, Texas
INVOCATION—Rev. Lawrence Lee, Assistant Director of the Cath-olic Charities for the Diocese of Galveston
ADDRESS—Honorable Price Daniel, Governor of Texas, Austin, Texas
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON
GENERAL SESSIONS
RICE HOTEL — CRYSTAL BALLROOM 2:00 P. M.—OPENING SESSIONS
Guy C. Jackson, Jr., Presiding, President, National Reclamation Association, Anahuac, Texas
2:15 P. M.—INTRODUCTION OF PRESIDING OFFICER
Harold H. Christy, 2nd Vice President and State Director, National Reclamation Association, Pueblo, Colorado
2:20 P. M.—PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Guy C. Jackson, Jr., Anahuac, Texas 2:50 P. M.—REPORT OF TREASURER
Lorin Markham, Spokane, Washington 3:00 P. M.—REPORT OF SECRETARY-MANAGER
Honorable Elmer F. Bennett, Under Secretary, Department of the Interior, Washington, D. C.
4:00 P. M.—ANNOUNCEMENTS 4:15 P. M.—ADJOURNMENT
4:20 P. M. MEETING, Secretaries of State Associations Dean H. T. Person, Laramie, Wyoming, In Charge
WEDNESDAY EVENING
8:00 P. M.—ENTERTAINMENT---Crystal Ballroom Johnny Ragsdale's Square Dance Band
THURSDAY FORENOON, NOVEMBER 20th
GENERAL SESSIONS --Crystal Ballroom
9:30 A. M.—Guy C. Jackson, Jr., Presiding
Moving Picture—"TAMING A NEW FRONTIER", by The Inter-national Harvester Company. Narrator: Chet Huntley
10:00 A. M.—"GETTING MORE FROM WATER THROUGH CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT"
Donald A. Williams, Administrator, Soil Conservation Service, Washington, D. C.
10:30 A. M.—"THE CORPS' CONTRIBUTION TO CONSERVATION"
Brigadier General William Whipple, Division Engineer, Corps of Army Engineers, Dallas, Texas
11:00 A. M.—CAUCUS REPORTS—by State Caucus Secretaries 11:45 A. M.—ADJOURNMENT
THURSDAY NOON
12:15 P. M.—LUNCHEON—Continental Room, Shamrock Hotel
TOASTMASTER: William S. Holden, Attorney at Law, Idaho Falls, Idaho
INVOCATION—Dr. E. H. Westmoreland, Pastor, South Main Baptist Church
"RECLAMATION'S DYNAMIC FUTURE"
Honorable Wilbur A. Dexheimer, Commissioner of Reclamation, Washington, D. C.
THURSDAY AFTERNOON GENERAL SESSIONS — Crystal Ballroom 2:00 P. M.—WATER USERS' SESSION
Norman J. Macdonald, Research Assistant, High Altitude Obser-vatory, Boulder, Colorado
2:30 P. M.—"STUDIES OF WESTERN STATE LAW OF WATER RIGHTS" Wells A. Hutchins, Principal Irrigation Economist, Farm Economics Research Division, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, Berkeley, California
3:00 P. M.—"ARTIFICIAL RECHARGE OF GROUND WATER IN THE HIGH PLAINS OF TEXAS"
William L. Broadhurst, Chief Hydrologist, High Plains Water District, Lubbock, Texas
3:30 P. M. "CONSERVATION IN WATER USE"
Floyd E. Dominy, Associate Commissioner of Reclamation, Wash-ington, D. C.
4:00 P. M.—ANNOUNCEMENTS and ADJOURNMENT
THURSDAY EVENING
Rice Hotel — Crystal Ballroom
7:00 P. M.—ALL-STATES BANQUET (ladies and men)
MASTER OF CEREMONIES—Victor W. Bouldin, Eminent Water Lawyer, Houston, Texas
INVOCATION—Rev. Mr. G. Richard Wheatcroft, Rector, St. Fran-cis Episcopal Church
"WATER—A NATIONAL PROBLEM"
Honorable George D. Clyde, Governor of Utah, Salt Lake City FRIDAY MORNING, November 21st
8:00 A. M.—STATE CAUCUSES to consider resolutions
GENERAL SESSIONS — Crystal Ballroom
10:00 A. M.—Earl T. Bower, Presiding, President Wyoming State Senate and NRA Director, Worland, Wyoming
Moving Picture—"BY THEIR DEEDS", Bureau of Reclamation film
11:00 A. M.—"WILDERNESS PRESERVATION SYSTEM LEGISLATION" Glenn G. Saunders, Attorney at Law, Denver, Colorado
11:20 A. M.—REPORT FROM THE "ASSOCIATION OF WESTERN STATE ENGINEERS"
J. W. Grimes, President, Pierre, South Dakota INTRODUCTION OF SPECIAL GUESTS 11:45 A M.—ADJOURNMENT
FRIDAY NOON
12:15 P. M —LUNCHEON--Crystal Ballroom
TOASTMASTER—Marvin C. Nichols, Chairman, Texas Water De-velopment Board, Fort Worth, Texas
byterian Church
"DON'T WRECK RECLAMATION"
Honorable Ralph Yarborough, U. S. Senator, Austin, Texas
FRIDAY AFTERNOON
GENERAL SESSIONS — Crystal Ballroom
2:00 P. M.—Guy C. Jackson, Jr., Presiding BUSINESS SESSION
COMMITTEE REPORTS
AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH COMMITTEE—George L. Hender-son, Chairman, Bakersfield, California
CODIFICATION COMMITTEE—Clifford E. Fix, Chairman, Twin Falls, Idaho
EDUCATION AND PROMOTION—H. H. Christy, Chairman, Pueblo, Colorado
LAND LIMITATION COMMITTEE—Burnham Enersen, Chairman, San Francisco, California
LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE—J H. Moeur, Chairman, Phoenix, Arizona
SMALL PROJECTS COMMITTEE—John H. Bliss, Chairman, Santa Fe, New Mexico
WATER POLICY COMMITTEE—Hugh A. Shomberger, Chairman, Corson City, Nevado
WATER USERS COMMITTEE—LoSelle Coles, Chairman, Prine-ville, Oregon
RESOLUTIONS COMMITTEE—J. D. Mansfield, Chairman, Yuma, Arizona
SELECTION OF CONVENTION CITY FOR 1959
ANY OTHER BUSINESS WHICH MAY PROPERLY COME BEFORE THE CONVENTION
Crystal Ballroom RICE HOTEL November 19, 1958 GUY C. JACKSON, JR., Presiding
Mr. Jackson: Your attention, Ladies and Gentlemen. This is our first assembly of the Twenty-Seventh Annual Meeting of the National Reclamation Association and at this time I wish to pre-sent to you the Toastmaster for this occasion, one of the ablest engineers in the State of Texas and the past president of the American Society of Civil Engineers, Mr. Mason G. Lockwood, our Toastmaster — Mr. Lockwood.
Mr. Lockwood: Thank you, Judge Jackson. If the audience will stand for the Invocation, I'd like to call on Father Lawrence Lee, who is Assistant Director of the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Galveston — Father Lee.
Rev. Lee: Hear our prayers, 0 Lord, in order that your light may never fail our minds; that your strength may never be lacking to our wills; that the warmth of your love will always fill these, our hearts. May our deliberations be marked by no other passions than that which is inspired toward the 'holy yearning for Thy truth. May our resolutions be constant with your principles even if the service of your will should impose upon us sufferings and renun-ciations. May we strive even in our lowliness to imitate that recti-tude and holiness which You, Yourself, govern and rule for your greater glory, the true welfare of human society. Amen.
(Lunch was served.)
Mr. Lockwood: While I do welcome all you visiting delegates h.ere it's not my purpose on the program to do that. We're leaving that in better hands. We are glad you're here and I want to apolo-gize to our local Committee for not having been able t-) be with you yesterday afternoon and to attend the function at San Jacinto Inn. I particularly would have liked to have heard Mr. Blanton give his brief story on the Battle of San Jacinto. I know you have learned a great deal of the rich lore of which we're so proud here in Texas.
Now, I know you want to meet some of these folks we have up here at this elevated table as well as the ones on the Board and the life members you are going to meet a little bit later. But it is my privilege to present to you these folks here at the head table.
You've already met Father Lee who gave the Invocation Father Lee.
Next it is a distinct privilege to present the Assistant Secre-tary of the Interior, who is in charge of water and power, Mr. Fred G. Aandahl.
Next, the distinguished Congressman from Colorado, Member of the House Interior and Insular Affairs Committee, the Honor-able J. Edgar Chenoweth.
Next it is my special privilege to present a man who is quite close to the work in which this organization is engaged, the Under Secretary of the Interior, the Honorable Elmer F. Bennett.
And as a sort of a special added attraction today, we have with us a young man from another one of these historic communi-ties down here, Liberty, Texas not far from where you were yesterday, who is an attorney, a rancher and a distinguished Tex-an in his own right, Bill DTex-aniel. Incidentally, I might say to you that the Governor of Texas is his brother.
Next, it is a real privilege to present to you the wife of the President of the National Reclamation Association who has done so much for you ladies, and the men, for that matter, to help us in arranging this program here in Houston Mrs. Guy Jackson. Another particular pleasure is now to present to you the Governor-Elect of Nebraska, the Honorable R. G Brooks, and Mrs. Brooks.
And now it is a very special privilege and honor to present to you an engineer of whom the engineering profession is quite proud, the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, Honorable Wilbur A. Dexheimer.
Next, one of the most brilliant water attorneys we have in the southwest and a very fine citizen of Houston. I present to you the Co-chairman of the local Committee and his wife, Bar-bara, Mr. and Mrs. Victor Bouldin.
You people in this organization, of course, know a great deal about your President. Guy comes from a long line of conserva-tionists and in Texas we think of him as the man who perhaps has done more than any single individual to alert our state to the needs for reclamation — soil reclamation and water conservation. I distinctly remember times when he was going around this state croaking about this matter when it wasn't in the least popular to be doing it, and in fact people look on him as being a little odd. So he truly began this work at a time when he was crying out in the wilderness.
So with that little local background, something that I pre-sume that most of you did not know about this rather amazing
man, I would like to present to you your President who will intro-duce the Board of Directors, I believe, and the life members of the Association — President Guy Jackson.
Mr. Jackson: Thanks very much, Mason.
Ladies and Gentlemen, this being the first formal session of the Twenty-Seventh Annual Meeting of the National Reclamation Association, I take this opportunity to read a communication from the White House, which incidentally has been delivered to us by special messenger, Mr. Elmer Bennett, Under-Secretary of the
Department of Interior. It is addressed to me as President. "It is a pleasure to send greetings to the members of the National Reclamation Association assembled in their Twenty-Seventh Annual Convention. The expanding needs of our people now over 175,000,000 strong, emphasize the importance of con-servation, especially the conservation of water. Americans must be alerted to the fact that their supply of water is being seriously depleted. It will require full participation of each citizen, every state and local agency if optimum use of our available water re-sources is to be realized. Your organization performs a public service in providing civic leadership to this end. And you may be assured that the Federal Government will continue to carry its full share of responsibility. With best wishes for a splendid Con-vention, sincerely, Dwight D. Eisenhower."
Now it falls as my distinct privilege and pleasure to first introduce the Board of Directors of this Association and their wives who are present. And after that I will then introduce the life members of the National Reclamation Association.
(Introduction of Board of Directors and life members.) Mr. Lockwood: Thank you, Guy.
I want to call on our Mayor now and let him say whatever he chooses to say — Honorable Lewis Cutrer.
Mayor Cutrer: Mr. Chairman; Honorable Governor, Price Daniel; President Jackson; other distinguished auests, celebrities, delegates, friends. As I understand it, this meeting is scheduled to end at 2 o'clock or thereabouts, and I have a Council meeting scheduled to meet and convene at 2.
Ladies and Gentlemen, brevity is the soul of wit especially at a time like this. Let me say to you that we are highly honored that you have chosen our city for your Twenty-Seventh Annual Convention, NRA, and I want to compliment your fine President and all of your officers; extend to you a hearty greeting, a real Houston and Texas handclasp and know that when I tell you we are happy to have you that I speak from the bottom of my heart. I had some little joke or so to try to weave into this welcoming folk but time will not permit.
Let me say this, that we extend to you a key to the city and make you Honorary Citizens of Houstcn, so treat yourselves as Honorary Citizens of Houston and with that goes all of the privi-leges of citizenship. I'll only mention one, for instance, parking tickets you may either deliver those to your Chairman or just send the parking ticket in with a note; put "Delegate, NRA" that's all you need.
In conclusion, let me say that we are so delighted to have you with us. And if you will forgive me for cutting it short be-cause of time, make your own welcoming talk to yourself, and you can't make it too good, because that's in my heart. We are happy to have you — come back and meet with us again real soon. We trust that your Convention will be one of joy and happiness and of tremendous success. Thank you so much.
Mr. Lockwood: For the main address today we have the Governor of the state, a man with a great deal of background in the subject matter of this Convention. This man is well known to many of you; his record I only say to you in the interest of conserving his time, that he has served this state well as Attorney General and as United States Senator and now as a Governor of th,e second largest state in the Union — the Honorable Price Daniel.
Governor Daniel: Thank you ADDRESS BY
PRICE DANIEL, Governor of Texas
Mr. Toastmaster, Mayor Cutrer, Distinguished Guests, Of-ficials of the Department of the Interior, Governor Brooks, all of you distinguished ladies and gentlemen: I'm happy to add my word of welcome. We are happy to have you with us on this occasion.
The first thing I want to do, I want to thank Mr. Mason Lockwood, Master of Ceremonies, for dividing his time between Mayor Cutrer and me on this program. I tell you, Lewis, I didn't know these engineers could talk like we lawyers. They accuse us of overdoing the talking, but he put us in the shade.
I would like to have heard more from this fine Mayor of Houston. I think that it's wonderful that you have honored Hous-ton, one of the greatest cities in the nation, and honored Texas by coming here to be with us for this, your 27th Annual Con-vention.
There are three very special reasons why I'm happy as Gov-ernor to welcome the National Reclamation Association here for
this meeting. In the first place I appreciate what your organization has done for more than a quarter of a century in trying to stress the importance of reclaiming our land, saving our soil and con-serving our water. As a member of the United States Senate and especially as a member of the Interior and Insular Affairs Com-mittee, I had occasion to work with many of you and I have ob-served the manner in which you have worked for cooperation between our state, local and federal agencies and especially the manner in which you have defended the rights of our state insofar as our waters are concerned.
I had the privilege of working with you in the famous Sub-merged Lands fight the so-called Tidelands fight in which we were successful in 1953 in recognizing state ownership of the lands between our navigable waters, whether coastal or inland. I had the honor of being one of the co-authors of the amendment which your Association sponsored to try to amend or make certain exceptions to the 160 limitation rule. In all of your work I feel that you have had the best interests of our people, of our state and our nation at heart. And so I am happy to welcome you here because of what you stand for in the great work this organization has done.
It's always a pleasure to welcome smart people, intelligent people to our state because you know that's how our state really got its beginning. Some people have wondered why it was that in the early days when these so-called squatters Mason Lockwood talked about came over into the Southwest Territory, why did so many of the intelligent ones come to Texas and others drifted off into the Arkansas and Oklahoma Territories. Well, if you'll pick up most any history book you'll find that the reason there, they say that along the wilderness road which our forefathers traveled from the East Coast to the Southwest Territory in the early days, that at the fork of the road there was one fork leading UD to the
Oklahoma-Arkansas Territory and another to the Texas Territory. On the fork of the road leading to Texas was a sign that read, "This way to Texas". Those who read come to Texas and those who couldn't went to the Oklahoma Territory.
I'm glad that all of you could read and that you're here with us on this occasion. I 'hope you have an enjoyable meeting and that you will come to see us often.
I want to straighten out just a little bit of Texas history here since Mason Lockwood has talked about some of my forefathers and some of yours who came here to Texas in those early days — who could read the sign. I want to defend Guy Jackson because the second reason I'm so happy to be able to welcome you here for this meeting because you have honored our state in naming Guy C. Jackson, Jr. as the President of this fine organizaticn. I know we were all worried about his illness and hoped him a
corn-plete recovery and that he will be able to serve with us, work with us in the future as he has in the past. He is not just a Texas water conservationist but he is one of our country's outstanding author-ities on reclamation and water development.
I want to defend him now, though, just a little bit, and my ancestors. Those early Texans who came here were not exactly squatters, Mason. They came here from the various states of the Union and from about eight foreign countries — at least those who fought at San Jacinto. When we talk about Texans fighting there, we just as well tell the truth. We're a modest people, after all, and we just as well tell the truth about who these Texans were at San Jacinto. As you probably noticed on the Monument, there were men there from every state of the Union at that time and from six to eight foreign countries.
And that's the way it was with all of this area then. Most of the Texans came from different states and so you have a share in what was accomplished at San Jacinto, regardless of What state you might have originated from. There were Mexicans there, too, who were opposed to the tyranny of Santa Ana.
When we speak about Mexicans and Texans fighting each other there I do want to make it clear that at the Alamo and the Battle of San Jacinto there were those of Mexican descent who fought with the Angelo-Saxons on the same side against the Tyranny of Mexico. And these so-called squatters who were worry-ing about gettworry-ing titles to their land were people mostly from the United States who had been promised 4,400 acres of land if they would come here and settle in this country.
I must defend them because not only were Guy Jackson's ancestors among those who came when this was part of Mexico but three of the great-great-grandfathers of my brother, Bill, and myself were there and probably some of Mason Lockwood's an-cestors, too. Anyway, they did get their titles properly and they did fight to preserve their lands and they fought to preserve the prin-ciples of government that you and I hold dear in this land.
Mason has told you by reason of their victory that's the way all of you came into the Union finally — all of your states, at least — and I do want to say a word of appreciation for all of the states which furnished patriots here to help us win that victory and to help us build in this great western area represented here today of the 17 reclamation states. I want to say a word of appre-ciation for all who helped in those early days, for all of the states represented, and tell you that Texans realize that we alone did not do the job.
In the third place I'm happy to welcome you here because we are still the largest state in the Union. I'm glad you came while we could still brag about that. Alaska is not quite in the Union
and I'm glad you'll let us have a few more days of talking about being the biggest state.
A lot of people are worried about what effect it's going to have on Texas. I sent my brother, Bill, up to Alaska. He does all the traveling and all of the things that are enjoyable in this job as Governor, except getting to speak to folks like you. I do the work. I sent him up there as an emissary to Alaska to let them know that Texans had a good feeling and that we welcomed them into the Union after Congress had acted on this and they treated him nice and I'm sure he made them realize that we had no jealousy, that we certainly do welcome them to the brotherhood and the fellowship. But he came back with a new definition of claustrophobia. He said they told him LAID there that
claustropho-bia is the feeling that an Alaskan has when he's in Texas. I don't know if you've read it or not but you'll see a sign on some of these cars around in our state now — you see on some of the cars around here a little sign that I saw the other day said, "I still love little old rich Texas." And we do love our state. We realize that it is not the size of Texas that made it possible for us to have all the progress and development and the fine principles that we have tried to keep here and tried to have here in our state, but we realize that other things are important. We realize that it is important above all else for us to properly develop the natural resources which Gad has given us.
I know that you're going to hear many things on this pro-gram about what we should do in the field of reclamation, water development and soil conservation, because you have some experts who are here. The Chairman of our Railroad Commission once said that the definition of an expert is just an ordinary witness away from home. But you have more than that. You do have some experts on this program and I know they'll make a great contri-bution.
I'm especially glad that Governor Clyde of Utah will be with you. It was my pleasure to share a place on a program with him at a recent Water for Texas Conference at A. & M. College. I'm glad that Governor-Elect Ralph E. Brooks of Nebraska is with us; Mr. Elmer Bennett, the Under-Secretary of the Department of In-terior; the Assistant Secretary, Governor Aandahl, and Commis-sioner Dexheimer — and all of you who have come here to take part on this program. I hope that you have received and will con-tinue to receive real Texas hospitality while you're here.
Probably Mr. Blanton told you yesterday that the word "Tex-as" comes from an Indian name, the name of an Indian tribe, the Tejas Tribe which means "Friends" — and that our state motto is "Friendship". We do hope that you'll observe that and that you will have the kind of hospitality and friendship in this state which will make you want to come back to see us often
Now Texas, even after we become the second largest state in the Union, will still be large enough to have many, many prob-lems. And there is no problem within the borders of our state which is more important to us right now in a material way than the proper development of our water resources, conservation, pro-tection from floods, and the building of our soil. There is no time in the history of our state when your meeting could be more ap-propriate for us and more helpful to us. Because it is only during the past year that Texas established a statewide water planning program.
If you think that some of you in your states have had trouble getting conflicting interests together you just ought to see some of the duels that we've had here in Texas. Our people have gotten together enough to finally set up and authorize a statewide re-search and planning program placed in our Board of Water Engineers. This was accomplished by calling together on a Gov-ernor's Water Development Commission about 200 of our out-standing citizens, those who are interested in water development. Many of them are here today and I want to express my apprecia-tion to them.
To our visitors I want to say that these public-spirited citi-zens, many of whom you know, met in our State Capitol in the State Senate and worked all day long in trying to reconcile some conflicts and to get people together so that we could at least establish a statewide water research and planning program. We were able to reconcile enough differences to get a bill worked out and at Special Sessions of the Legislature that was submitted and the Texas Legislature appropriated one million dollars to get us started on the program. We have Colonel McDonal Weinert who many of you know as the Planning Engineer working up our plan to be submitted to the next session of the Legislature.
We're proud of the progress our state has made during the past two years in attacking and solving or beginning to solve our water problems. This first part of the program I've already out-lined to you which I think will be very important and I'm sure that it will surprise many of you that our state did not have such a program in effect long before last year.
Now the second phase of our state program is the Water Development Bond Fund by which we submitted to the people for their approval the issuance of 200 million dollars worth of bonds by which the states can assist local districts in building conserva-tion projects. Mr. Marvin Nichols of Fort Worth, whom many of you know, is the Chairman of this Commission and Joe Carter is the Executive Secretary. Other members of the Commission are present today. We feel that with these two state programs we're going to be able to better care for the responsibility of our state insofar as water planning and development is concerned.
There is another important thing, though, that has taken place in Texas, and perhaps the greatest achievement of the last year, and that is the fact that we have for the first time been able to get our state officials, local officials, to sit down with all fed-eral agencies, representatives of all fedfed-eral agencies, and work together on this statewide water plan. It was brought about by reason of our Water Planning Bill which I've mentioned to you and the fact that Senator Lyndon Johnson called on the Corps of Engineers and the Department of Interior to come up with a mock-up plan for future water development in Texas.
Those two things brought together the representatives of our federal agencies and our state agencies and our river authorities — all of the local interested parties. And we have had now for a little over a year the kind of exchange of thought and coopera-tion that our state had never seen before. As you know there are many reasons why we were not able to have proper relationships between our stat2 agencies, local agencies and our federal agencies.
There have been claims made in the past by the Department of the Interior as to ownership of our submerged lands. There have been certain resistances to the 160 acre limitation without excep-tions and have been other things in which we've had to have some real battles. In Texas for a while when Mr. Ickes was claiming ownership of our submerged lands you couldn't get a state of-ficial to sit down in the same room with a representative of the Bureau of Reclamation. There was just that much feeling.
Now I'm glad to say that because of some things that have happened in the meantime that today we have it so that we can entertain Department of Interior officials and Bureau of Recla-mation officials in the Governor's Mansion. We sit down and break bread together and we have never received any finer help than we have from these federal agencies, some of which is a lot of material which has never even been made available to state agen-cies because state agenagen-cies simply kept them at arm's length. We did not have the cooperation that we should have had between these various agencies which have jurisdiction and proper respon-sibilities insofar as development of water resources are concerned. There is one thing certain — the future progress of this state and of your states and of our entire nation depends entirely upon the speed and manner upon which we conserve and develop our soil and water resources. We have finally come to realize that water is our most precious natural resource, essential not only to human life but to the expansion of agriculture, commerce and industry. There was a time here in Texas we thought oil and gas and sulphur was everything. We finally came to realize you cannot produce either of the three without water, though we've been tak-ing for granted for so many years and thinktak-ing it was free, is
actually the most precious natural resource with which we have been blessed. When allowed to waste in destructive floods water can be one of mankind's most vicious enemies. When properly conserved it can be man's most helpful friend.
Proper development and conservation of our soil and water resources calls for complete cooperation of all the interested local, state and federal agencies. This cooperation must be a two-way street. It requires proper recognition and preservation of state water rinhts and the proper exercise on the other hand of state and local responsibilities which go along with those rights.
Cooperation is especially important between these govern-mental agencies in water development because it involves federal responsibilities in several fields, including flood control, navigation, soil conservation, and so forth, but with ultimate state control of water and its uses.
Now, the states could choose a course of wniting, waiting for the federal government to do all of this job for us. If we did choose that course we might as well abdicate in favor of an all-powerful central government and abandon any controls that we may now have over our water supply. Our forefathers who had lived under tyranny of kings did not want to see all powers of government or all rights of property ever centered in one place. They'd had enough of government at the top they thought that no country was worth its salt which was built from the too down. They felt we should have decentralization. They reserved certain rights and powers to the states, and one of those rights was the owner-ship of our submerged lands, our riverbeds in most of the states — and our water.
That is something that I think is good. Had it not been done in the first instance by our forefathers I think it is something that we should have tried to do after they were none. I think it is a good Principle for the protection of liberty and freedom of democracy in the building of free enterprise for us to have as many of those things as possible as close as possible to the people. It's the kind of system, in my opinion, which has made it possible for us to grow to be such a great nation and I think it is something that we should defend and work for in the future as this organization has in the Past.
Now at the same time our forefathers and those who suc-ceeded them t, 'red certain matters over to the federal agencies Prorerly to be handled by the central government. The trouble is that in some instances the central government or its representa-tives tried to go too far.
I think that since the passage of the Submerged Lands Act We have reached a new day in the history of water conservation in this nation at least let me speak for Texas. I do not know
what applies in your respective states. But here I do know that some of, most of our differences have been resolved, that tension Has been relieved if we now have this cooperation between our local, state and federal agencies which is absolutely essential for us to go forward in reclamation, soil conservation, water develop-ment and flood control in this state.
I want to express my appreciation to the officials of the De-partment of Interior, U. S. Corps of Engineers, and others who Have sat down with us and have worked with us on this statewide mock-up, this statewide plan that is to be submitted to our Legis-lature, and who will work together in the future on the United States Study Commission of our Texas river basins. I am glad that the day has come when at least in our state we can have that cooperation which is 'essential to success in meeting these very vital problems.
I hope that in your states you have the same kind of coop-eration and that for the good of our nation and all of the people we will be able to work together with the federal agencies, that they will respect the rights of the states and that we will be able to accomplish things in the manner that was intended by our Con-stitution and with the speed that is necessary for us to take care of the terrific growth in population that we have in his country.
I regret that some of our courts have not quite caught up with th.e federal agencies and with the states in this business of having an understanding exactly as to what our respective rights are concerning water and water development. But even there, there might be some chance for us to have better understanding if we continue to fight for what we think is right as this Association has always done in the past.
I have witnessed you in your activities before the Congress and in your Nation:I Association meetings. I think that you have brought before the public, and especially the members of Congress and the officials of our 'executive agencies, an awareness of the great problem which faces the country which by 1960 we'll have 177 million people and by 1975 they predict 221 million. You have realized and have made the public officials realize that we have a great need to take core of this our most precious resource and your program has been one which has looked toward the pro-tection of the rights of our state in our water and at the same time you have advocated the proper exercise of the responsibili-ties that our states have in this matter. The two must be ke-)t in mind.
The trouble in the past has been that we have been forced to spend so much time in fighting to protect our rights that we have neglected in some of our states to exercise our responsibili-ties. We have hardly had the time. I do sincerely hope that in your states as in Texas you face a new day, a new day when we can
eliminate the waste of time in fighting over rights and in which W e can join hands and work together, spending that energy on exercising the responsibilities that our states have in this matter of water conservation.
It's high time that we do so and I hope the few words that I have brought to you about what we are trying to do in Texas and about what we have accomplished and what the reactions are here in Texas will be at least worth something to you in realizing that at least in this state we are all trying to do our best. We are trying to serve our people in this important field along lines advocated by your National Reclamation Association, and we are indebted to you for all the wonderful help you have oiven us and pledge to you our continued cooperation.
Thank you.
Mr. Lockwood: Governor Daniel, in behalf of us all we genu-inely thank you for what appears to me to be a very appropriate address before this Convention on this subject.
Now this meeting is adjourned.
FIRST SESSION WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON
November 19, 1958 Crystal Ballroom — Rice Hotel GUY C. JACKSON, JR., President National Reclamation Association, Presiding
INTRODUCTION OF PRESIDING OFFICER HAROLD H. CHRISTY, Second Vice President
and NRA Colorado Director
Mr. Harold H. Christy: Ladies and Gentlemen of the Conven-tion. I don't think it's necessary for me to eulogize our President too much. However, I feel it fitting to add a few more things to What you've heard from the Governor and from the capable mas-ter of ceremonies at the luncheon.
Our President is a farmer, rancher, lawyer, businessman, and O civic leader. I know that — I've been in his home and I've seen some of his properties — and he knows your problem. He's been
mixed up in politics to some degree, being a County Commissioner when he was a youngster, then was elected County Judge, the youngest one in the state of Texas as a result of that election. He served then in that capacity for 16 years, at which time he resign-ed the Judgeship and was electresign-ed President of the Texas Water Conservation Association, which he helped organize in 1944. He served on that Association for, I believe, some 11 years. When you look at the list of the conservation and civic accomplishments of our leader, you'll notice he's Chairman of the Executive Commit-tee, Intercoastal Canal Association. He's a member of the Board of the Mississippi Valley Association, a member of Governor Price Daniel's Statewide Planning Committee. And you heard the good Governor's address.
He is a friendly cuss, courteous at all times, severe in his action if we don't stay in line, but willing to help us at all times. It is a distinct honor for me to present to you a distinguished Texan and our President of the National Reclamation Association Judge Guy C. Jackson.
Mr. Jackson: Thank you very much, Harold. I tell you though, that with all of the eulogy that I have received thus far today it would indicate that perhaps some of those who are eulogizing might consider my recent Physical incapacity as being probably fatal. I didn't think I would receive such remarks as that so long as I were able to retaliate.
We have some distinguished visitors from the state of Neb-raska and we ace honored to have them in our midst. The Gover-nor-Elect of Nebraska finds it necessary to catch a plane a little later this afternoon so we will deviate from the scheduled program so that we may hear a few words of wisdom from this man who will soon command the Ship of State of the great state of Nebraska.
Our good friend and conservationist and former Governor of the state of Nebraska whom we all know as Bob Crosby will introduce the Governor-Elect. I give you Bob Crosby, citizen of Nebraska.
Mr. Crosby: This introduction has an unusual twist that I won't conceal from you. By the way, Guy didn't mention that I am a former Republican Governor of Ne.braska. In Nebraska, we have been shaken to the foundations; after 18 years of unanimous Re-publican administration in the State House, almost unanimous in Congress — that unanimity of Republican administration is some-thing that we Republicans have smugly bragged about we come to the day that we have a Democratic Governor-Elect, and I never really thought I'd be making this particular introduction. But let me tell you something if it has to be, and it just has to be we couldn't have a better Democratic Governor-Elect. My home town was only 60 miles from what has been his home town for a
long time. He is a brilliant speaker from his school days. He was National Oratorical Champion while he was in college. He has been a school and college administrator in Nebraska. He has been a staunch supporter of reclamation, of soil and water conserva-tion. He is progreesive and forward-looking in his thinking. He is a brilliant, capable man. Grudgingly and reluctantly I admit that he probably is going to be an outstanding Governor of the great state of Nebraska. I emphasize 'great' because l'rn in Texas. We're still a great state.
I proudly present the Governor-Elect, Ralph G. Brooks. Governor-Elect Brooks: Governor Bob, President Jackson and members of the National Reclamation Association: I come to you today from the land of William Jennings Bryant, Buffalo Bill and Gorgeous George. Western Nebraska produces potatoes and sugar, the finest potatoes that can be found anywhere in the world and the second greatest amount of sugar that is produced in the United States and in some years the second greatest amount of sugar that is produced in the world. Incidentally on that subject of potatoes, I noticed that a fellow by the name of Sharp is going to see that you all eat Idaho potatoes tonight. I'm getting tired — I'm get-ting exceedingly tired of eaget-ting Nebraska potatoes all over the United States and the hotels and restaurants have them on the bill of fare as Idaho baked potatoes. When I take over the gov-ernorship of the state of Nebraska, I am going to enjoin these people for serving a superior product under an inferior name.
We raise more hay than any other state in the Union. The greatest shipping point for wild hay in the United States or in the world is Newport, Nebraska. They're the greatest shipper of alfalfa in the United States. Nebraska is second in the production of broom grass. Some lady from Texas who took an excerpt of this speech said she had never heard of broom grass before and I had to spell it for her. There may be some things in Nebraska that even Texas doesn't know about or claim. Northeast Nebraska is the second largest blue grass producing region in the world.
At various times Nebraska has ranked second, third and fourth in the production of corn and of the production of the four great foodstuff commodities — corn, beef, pork and wheat Nebraska ranks among the first four. Alliance, Nebraska, is the greatest market in the world for registered Hereford bulls. Within a radius of 50 miles of Shelton, Nebraska, can be found more registered Hereford cattle than in any like area anywhere in the World. Eighty percent of the blood lines of all the registered Here-ford cattle in the world can be traced to one county in Nebraska Red Willow County. Omaha fluctuates between being the first and the second largest livestock market in the world and is the greatest packing center in the world. Omaha manufactures more butter than any other city in the world. If all the beef that are
raised in Nebraska in one year could be put into one cow, she could stand with her hind feet in the Dominion of Canada and her front feet in Texas, drink water out of the Gulf of Mexico and with her tail flip the frost off the North Pole. Do you know what the Denver Post said about that statement? They said that was an awful lot of — cow.
You know, just a half century ago this country was referred to as the great American desert and that was because of the ab-sence of men of vision; that was because there were no prophets, no dreamers. And because there were no dreamers and no pro-phets and no men of vision, there were no builders. But today we have the prophets and the dreamers and we have the builders and many of them are seated in this room today. We even have some of them in Nebraska — George E. Johnson, Harold Sutton, both from my town; and C. Petrus Peterson, the hoary-headed Senator from the state of Nebraska, who was only a state legislator — and that's all he wanted to be, I guess; the former President of this organization and one of the greatest statesmen of our state. And of all of them, I think, with perhaps one exception, and he is probably neuter, all of them are reactionary Republicans.
You know, Nebraska has not only these material resources that I have mentioned; you know what, Nebraska has the most beautiful sunsets in the world. That can be scientifically demon-strated. It has something to do with the distance that Nebraska is from the Rocky Mountains and the amount of dust that is pre-cipitated in the atmosphere which gives to the Nebraska sunsets the unusual tints and hues that cannot be found in any other sun-sets anywhere in the world. You know, I made that statement once in a town on the border of the state of Colorado and there were some poor benighted people in that audience that lived in Colo-rado and I said to those people that night, I said, "When you people want to see a beautiful sunset just walk over into Nebras-ka." You know what the Governor of Kansas said to me? He said, "Mr. Brooks, I am glad that Kansas is so close to Nebraska."
A few years aga o man who was a candidate for president of the United States was asked on the eve of election as all presidents of the United States are asked on the eves of all elections, as to what particular event or occurrence was outstanding in his mem-ory of the campaign. This president was a world traveler. He had viewed the majestic grandeur of the Alps; he had basked in the lazy blue of the Mediteranian. This man said and it is a matter of history — he said, "I will never forget a sunset which I saw at McCook, Nebraska."
Do you know that a great insurance company in its actuarial department has figured that the state of Nebraska has the longest life expectancy of any other of the 49 states. Do you know that in the pages of 'Who's Who in America' in proportion to popula-tion that Nebraska ranks third among the 49 states.
One of my detractors spoke to me one day and he said, "To me, Nebraska is just one sentence." So I'm going to give it to you I'm going to leave it with you and I'm going to leave you and am going back to the great state of Nebraska.
"To those who live and think and feel, Nebraska is no mere political entity circumscribed by geographical bounds. Nebraska is a state of mind a state of mind superimposed of vast ex-panses of birch hills, on winding rivers and glassy lakes, on flat and endless plains, on shimmering oceans of golden wheat, and rippling miles of corn. A state of mind that admits the presence of opportunity and precludes the possibility of disaster. A state of mind that acknowledges only the best there is in life in this province of the plant, this empire of the golden rod -- this Neb-raska." Thank you.
Mr. Jackson: Thank you very much, Governor Brooks. Thank you for being with us and I want to say that you handled your description of Nebraska as we in Texas have been accused of handling the description of Texas. I also noted your remarks about the state of Nebraska, that it was I believe you said that it was the biggest bull shipping state in the Union, and on behalf of Texas, since we have to relinquish our size to Alaska, we will now relinquish that title to Nebraska.
Governor Brooks, I hope it will be our privilege to have you back in this great state in the near future. Thank you so much. Pleasant trip home.
I would like to say that the remarks which I have prepared as the President's Message particularly relate to the situation which we now find ourselves in, that our reclamation projects are falling far behind our increase in population. I think beyond any question and doubt that it is going to be necessary for our Federal Government to not only provide the $259,000,000 that they so graciously provided in the last session of the Congress, but in the next Congress I anticipate that if we continue our growth, that that figure will exceed $300,000,000 and within the next two years it will have to jump to $400,000,000 or more.
These basic statements are backed up in my message to you by statistical figures which are uncontroverted and I hope that each and every one of you will take the opportunity of picking up a copy of this talk of mine because I believe that you will, as you go home, want some of these statistical figures to help you in in-forming those people in your respective states which have not had the opportunity of visiting the great State of Texas — which in-cidentally does not have beautiful sunsets to my knowledge, and I cannot say beautiful sunrises — and I do observe a few of those even though Governor Brooks says he does not know about the sunrises in the state of Nebraska.
aggressive-ness which we have shown in the past must be increased and the unity which has developed in our Association must be maintained and increased. Certainly within the past few years the National Reclamation Association has shown one of the most effective united fronts in seeking that which we know is necessary to our continued existence. And by the year of 1962 or 1963 when we approach that point to where that supply and demand will balance, then we as farseeing reclamationists, if we have not provided and have in operation, or at least under construction, many additional projects to produce this necessary food and fiber for our nation, then of course we are negligent.
I am not in the least concerned or worried about the tempo-rary surpluses that so many speak of today because a surplus is a wonderful thing to have unfortunately ours will be too temp-orary. And this explosion of population that's going on all over the world, and particularly in this nation of ours, must be taken care of by this necessary increase in food and fiber. Our brother states in the eastern part of this union can produce quite a bit but it is up to us in the west to see that those 17,000,000 acres in the 17 western states are brought into fruit bowl production and act at as early a date as is possible. That is our goal; that is what we are an organization for; that is what we strive for. And I ad-monish each and every one of you to exert every effort in your state to keep your people versed, well informed, unified within your own state and then continue to maintain that beautiful unity which we are enjoying in the 17 western states.
TOO BIG FOR OUR DITCHES GUY C. JACKSON, JR.
President, National Reclamation Association
You've all heard the expression about a man's being "too big for his britches". It's used to describe someone who takes on more of a job than he's prepered or equipped to carry out. Today I'm going to discuss the possibility that our country may be grow-ing too big for its ditches — that it may be incurring responsibili-ties and needs faster than it is providing the resource develop-ments, and particularly the Reclamation developdevelop-ments, needed to sustain them.
This is not an especially new theme. But every year brings forth new evidence. Our country is growing so fast that the best the statisticians can do is tell us, not where we are now, but where we were when they last looked.
It is an astounding but literally true fact that today there is no such thing as an up-to-date statistic on national growth, for the figures are outmoded before they can be compiled and pub-lished.
Can we say the same for Reclamation? I doubt it. The status of the Fryingpan-Arkansas Project today is exactly what it was a year ago, and the year before that. The same is true of other projects. Some projects are moving along at a rate that does credit to the people who are working on them — considering what they have to work with -- but in my opinion totally inadequate when compared with other aspects of national growth.
Let's look at some of the evidence to back up those state-ments:
Our country is growing in population. The population was 175 million in the middle of last month. If it keeps growing at the present rate, it will double in about 40 years. But it won't keep growing at the present rate; instead, it will grow faster and faster, for the growth rate has been speeding up for decades. The Census Bureau estimates that we may add another 100 million people to our population within the next 22 years and the Bureau is gen-erally conservative. Authoritative sources estimate that the sev-enteen Western states can expect an 85 million gain in population in the next 20 years.
Our country is growing tremendously in production. The gross national product has quadrupled since 1940. And it is growing in wealth. The number of business firms in operation has increased by 25 percent since 1940, their assets have increased by 200 Percent, and their sales and profits by 300 percent. Bank assets Have gone UP by 300 percent since 1929. Personal incomes have
risen five-fold in seventeen years.
The progress of agriculture also has been impressive. The total number of farms has decreased by about a third since 1940, but the total output of farms has increased by 25 percent, and the total value of farms, and total farm income, have both increased 300 percent.
Since 1940 the value of private and public construction has increased about five times, and of mineral production about three tin-ies. Automobile registrations have doubled and highway mileage has tripled. In just the past 7 years, the volume of highway con-struction has gone up from less than $2 billion per year to almost S4 billion, and the highway debt has risen by 225 percent.
Since 1940 the expenditures of the Federal government have risen from $9 billion to $69 billion per year. Most of the increase W05 for military purposes the non-military expenditures rcse bY only about 300 percent. At the same time, the national debt went up six-fold.
But in the United States there are now more than 100,000 State and local units of Government, and in 1956 these units spent °bout $43 billion, or twice as much as the Federal government sPent for all non-military purposes. The State and local
govern-ments had a combined debt of more than $50 billion, and they hired about 51/2 million employees — more than twice as many as Uncle Sam. One out of every 35 people in the country was an employee of some State or local governmental agency.
Now, my purpose in raining these statistics down on your unprotected heads is simply to show you that this country is abso-lutely bursting with growth. Virtually every important line of ac-tivity is pushing ahead with feverish explosive force and drive.
By contrast, what has been the situation of Reclamation during the period since 19407 It, too, has been growing, and its returns have been increasing. The area served by Reclamation projects has increased by about 3 million acres in the past 17 years, or an average of approximately 175,000 acres per year. This is less than one-fifth of the acreage taken away each year for highways, airports, suburbs, and the like. The amount of water stored in Reclamation reservoirs has risen by about 35 million acre-feet, or an average of 2 million per year. the yearly appropri-ation for Reclamappropri-ation in 1940 was $84 million, and in 1957 it was $201 million. For the current fiscal year 1959, partly to provide recession relief in an election year, it reached the figure of almost $260 million.
When the second session of the 85th Congress convened last January it looked as though the Reclamation Program would be seriously curtailed, but the Lebanon-Middle East crisis and the recession last spring caused the Administration and Congress to take another look at our resource development rrograms and as a result the West was treated very well; although, we were sadly disappointed in the failure of Congress to act on some projects and measures which this Association has supported for many years. Congress appropriated funds for ten new starts in reclamaticn projects and funds for continuing construction on all going proj-ects. Seven measures were enacted authorizina new reclamation projects or modifications of presently authorized projects. Four measures were enacted relating to interstate compacts on western rivers. Funds were appropriated for four projects under the Small Projects Act.
Congress authorized the construction of not less than five experimental demonstration plants for the conversion of sea water and brackish water suitable for municipal, industrial, agriculture, and other beneficial uses. Three of the five reauiied demonstration plants will be designed for the conversion of sea water and two for the treatment of brackish water. The sea water ccnversion plants will be located on the west, east and gulf coasts. One of the brack-ish water treatment plants will be located in the Northern Great Plains area and one in the Southwest.
son establishing a United States Study Commission to formulate a comprehensive and coordinated plan for flood control, soil and water conservation, and other beneficial purposes in the seven major intra-state river basins and intervening areas in Texas. Said Commission is to be composed of fourteen members appointed by the President as follows: one member, who shall serve as chairman and who snail be a resident from the area comprising the seven river basins. Seven members, nominated by the Governor of Texas, each of whom shall be a resident of one of the seven river basins, and six members composed of one representative from each of the following Federal agencies: Department of the Army, Department of Commerce, Department of Health, Education and Welfare, Department of Agriculture, Department of the Interior, and the Federal Power Commission.
Said Study Commission is designed to aid present State and local agencies concerned with development of land and water resources and does not supplant or infringe on the State Board of Water Engineers or the river authorities and districts concerned. We were further disappointed over the failure of Conaress to act favorably on the Land Limitation Bill, S-2541, by Senator Frank Barrett. However, the 85th Congress did pass bills modify-ing the excess land provisions of the Federal Reclamation Laws With respect to the following projects - Casper-Alcona Irrigation District, Wyoming; Columbia Basin Project, Washington; East Bench Unit of the Missouri River Basin Project; and Seedskadee Reclamation Project, Wyoming. The Association must continue its efforts toward getting Congress to adopt a realistic common-sense approach to the excess land problem. The Land Limitations Com-mittee will undoubtedly have some recommendations to make to this convention.
We were also disappointed over the continued failure of Con-gress to enact a State Water Rights Settlement Act and I urge the Association's continued effort toward this goal.
Yes, Reclamation has been growing. But has it been growing at a rate proportionate to its share of responsibility for the needs of a nation that is consuming natural resources at a pace beyond any ever known or dreamed of on this planet? Let us see:
Reclamation appropriations in 1957 amounted to only 1/228 of the military expenditure, and only 1 347 of the government's total ,expenditures. They amounted to less thanl,'2,000 of the gross national income. I say that is not enough. I say we are not Plowing enough of our national income back into Reclamation resource development. Not in view of what we are facing in the future.
The growth of the past has been only a warming-up exercise or the growth that is about to take place. Automation, vacuum
tubes, giant calculators, electronics, synthetics and plastics, and an accelerated rate of invention, all mean that we are entering into a veritable second Inudstrial Revolution. Closed-circuit tele-vision, intercontinental communications, jet travel, and new tech-niques for influencing the public mind, all mean that demands can be created, and wants and aspirations stimulated, on a scale never known before. The dawn of the atomic era promises new sources of power with which to make immensely greater drains upon natural resources.
The stirring among the peoples of Asia and Africa constitute the beginning of another revolution — peaceful we 'hope, but a revolution nevertheless. Those peoples are striving to break their ties with our previously dominant economic and political power in a struggle for self-determination with the aim of eventually becoming strong productive communities themselves all this with short-range and long-range effects that no one can venture to predict. Moving across and through this revolution is the com-munist revolution with its manifold impact — a revolution which is now avowedly taking on the aspects of economic conflict, as well as political and military conflict, throughout the world.
Populations are skyrocketing not only in our country but all over the globe. In Latin America the rate of increase is almost double that of the United States. Population growth in under-de-veloped areas threatens to undermine economic gains, by increas-ing the demand for the essentials of life at a faster rate than those essentials can be provided. Again, the consequences of this mighty population trend cannot be foreseen, but they will be far-reaching and tremendous.
Man is now poised on the threshold of outer space. What ad-ventures, what conflicts, this may lead to, nobody knows. But we do know that it will lead to enormous expenditures — and probab-ly, for some time at least, expenditures without return, which must be borne by the productive elements of our society.
In short, it is quite likely that the next 20 years will see changes greater than those of the past thousand years. To get a notion of what the future may be like, try imagining that within a single generation all these things had happened at once the collapse of Rome: the invention of gunpowder, the surge of Islam; the industrial revolution and the renaissance; the discovery of America; the invention of airplanes, electricity, and radio: and World Wars I and II. Each of these enormous events has its count-erpart under way at this moment.
How foolish it is to enter into such an era without doino everything within our power to prepare ourselves for unheard-of drains upon our natural resource base! It is like launchinr a v7st military campaign with no preparations for logistics or supply.
Reclamation is a major form of basic resource development. Since it simultaneously improves not one but both fundamental resources, water and and, Reclamation may well be the most con-centrated and productive of all forms of resource development.
What other kind of development could do what Reclamation has done in Scotts Bluff County, Nebraska? Because of the North Platte Reclamation Project, that county supports more people, grows morecrops, produces more wealth, provides more income, creates more trade, and yields more tax revenues — and not just a little more, but twenty to forty times more — than do adjacent non-irrigated areas.
The Strawberry Valley Project in Utah shows a similar rec-ord. So does Jefferson County Oregon. In 1946 that county had about 2,000 people scraping out their livings by dry-farming. Ten years later, thanks to a Reclamation project, the population had tripled, and incomes in five figures were the regular rule. In Ada and Canyon Counties in Idaho, a formerly wild and raw region now imports more than 20,000 carloads of goods a year from all over America. Or look at the Yakima Project area in Washington. That project so far has cost about $44 million, most of it reim-bursable. And so far it has produced about a billion dollars worth of crops and yielded $200 million in Federal income taxes alone. Arguments in favor of Reclamation encounter hostile count-er-arguments, and explanations and statistics can be distorted or misconstrued; but these projects, and the many others like them, are living proofs that cannot be argued away or shouted down, and must not be ignored.
Each of these Reclamation project areas supports far more people than adjacent unirrigated areas, and this fact furnishes a valuable clue as to how the nation at large can help support its continually growing population in future years. Project production figures tell us how we can help feed that population. Project crop yields and taxation yields show how we can increase the wealth and revenues necessary to support our defense expenditures, our outlay for adventures into space, and all the other burdensome costs of this and future decades.
Today there are in the West some 17 million acres that could feasibly be irrigated under present day laws and concepts. If those laws and concepts should be broadened under the pressure of need, we might find a good many more than 17 million potentially irri-gable acres. Right now that land is providing only a fraction of the production, is supporting only a fraction of the people, is furnishing only a fraction of the market and trade, that it might provide.
Every day that such land remains undeveloped constitutes a huge economic waste to the entire nation. In the face of our needs,
I ask, "How can we afford such waste? How can we afford not to add such a great economic potential to the strength of our over-burdened country? Or in other words, how can we afford not to push ahead with our Reclamation programs just as fast and hard as we do with our armament and missile programs?"
These questions lead us to another kind of question. "In the face of the evident need for Reclamation, why does the Reclama-tion program have to go through such painful struggles, year after year, to obtain even the modest progress that is being made? Why are we being constantly admonished to hold back, to economize, to postpone, as if we were wasting the nation's substance? Why isn't the country pushing project work at us to the limit of our capacity to build?"
I'm not going to harrow your feelings by repeating the trite old list of opposition arguments. Nevertheless, I have been giving them a lot of thought. Because, frankly, I have been bothered by the vitality of those arguments, the way they persist in the face of the overwhelming strength of the Reclamation case.
It seems to me that the country has lost its grip on the very meaning of the conservation concept. Fifty years ago that concept was hammerd out by farsighted and inspired men like Gifford Pinchot, Francis G. Newlands, Theodore Roosevelt, and the other leaders whom we recognize as the fathers of modern conservation. The very basis of their concept was the preservation and develop-ment of our resource base so that the country might grow and the needs of future generations might be adequately met.
Gifford Pinchot said, "The purpose of Conservation is the greatest good for the greatest number for the longest period of time." That definition still holds good. Not long ago the American Association of School Administrators repeated and reinforced it when they recommended, as their definition of the word conserva-tion — "Conservation of natural resources means the wise use of natural resources for the greatest good of the largest number of people for the longest time."
Note that the basic emphasis in both definitions is upon use, wise use, of the potentialities which Nature and Providence have given to mankind.
But today there is prevalent a silly perversion of the conser-vation concept which seems to be based on the sterile proposition that man is vile, his needs are unworthy, and his works are evil; and that we must be kept away from our hills and waters so that America may be preserved for fish and Gila monsters.
Merely to preserve resources while preventing their use, is in itself a form of waste, and contrary to the very spirit of conser-vation.
I believe we Reclamationists have as much love of the out-doors and as much enjoyment of wildlife as anyone. But we do not subscribe to the notion that improvement is ipso facto a desecra-tion. If all useable land and water were put to their fullest use, there would still be plenty of wilderness left over — especially in the West.
Conservation does not mean perpetually dedicating barren cliffs to the age-old waste of erosion. Rather, it means using them when possible, to form reservoirs for the storage of life-giving water. It does not mean the perpetuation of silt and aridity; rather, it means transforming those evils whenever possible into lakes, clean streams, fields, and crops. It does not mean denying resourc-es to the prresourc-esent generation; instead, it means building works to provide continuing access to resources for present and future generations.
Today, to hear some people talk, you would think that con-servation and resource development were two different things, contrary and opposed to each other. The fact is that they are one and the same. Sound and constructive resource development is the very essence of any conservation movement worthy of the name.
And I believe that if we can help the American people regain the sense they once had of the true meaning of conservation, we will have taken a long step toward laying a foundation of under-standing for the aims and purposes of Reclamation.
Now it is time for me to recapitulate. It is my view, and I believe that of this Association, that resource and conservation policies must be based on a straight-line series of unassailable propositions which describe our country's present position with respect to its natural resources. Those propositions are as follows: First, our country is growing in needs and responsibilities. Who can deny it?
Second, its growth is going to continue at an even faster rate Who can deny that?
Third, that growth will need resource support. Surely that is obvious.
Fourth, Reclamation is a major form of resource support, an outstanding supporter and stimulator of growth. Only those who are blind to the record can dispute that.
If you believe those statements and to me they all seem uncha I lengeable then it follows inevitably that this nation needs more Reclamation construction — needs it in every spot where Nature has granted us the opportunity to build needs it as fast
To fail to provide this construction, is to fail in a primary duty to the American people.
This is the truth that we must bring home to our leaders, our Congress, and our fellow citizens. The promotion of this truth must underlie the work of this Convention, and our efforts in the months and years to come. For in advancing the cause of Recla-mation, we are rendering an outstanding and patriotic service to our country.
Mr. Jackson: Now is the Report of the Treasurer of our or-ganization, Mr. Lorin Markham, Director from the state of Wash-ington, of Spokane Washington Mr. Markham.
Mr. Markham: Thank you, Mr. President. Guy, Ladies and Gentlemen, and since my statement is very brief, I will read it.
REPORT OF TREASURER LORIN W. MARKHAM
Spokane, Washington
As most of you know, the National Reclamation Association conducts its financial affairs on the calendar year basis. Conse-quently, we will not know the exact income and cost of operating the Association for the year, until after December 31st. At that time the income and the expenditures for the year will be audited by certified public accountants and reviewed by the Association's Auditing Committee.
It now appears that the total income and expenditures for the year will approximate $46,500. This figure for expenditures seems to be reasonably exact; the income figure, however, is predicated upon all of the States paying their 1958 quotas in full. At this time eleven of our state quotas have been paid in full, and prior to this Convention six of our states had paid not only this year's quotas but had made prepayments on 1959 quotas. Those states I would like to congratulate. They are Montana, Nebraska, Nev-ada, North Dakota, Texas and Wyoming. Of the six states that have not paid their entire 1958 quotas, four of them will be paid up by the end of November, or have every confidence that they will complete their quota payments before the end of the year. There are only two states that are having difficulty in meeting their quotas and their directors have assured the Board of Direc-tors of the Association that they will resolve their financial prob-lems, and not only accept their same quotas for 1959, but will also pick up their 1958 deficits. In these instances, the members from the particular states have discussed the situation in State Cau-cuses, and have pledged their support to the Directors.
