A RESUME OF THE CONTROVERSY OVER THE WATERS OF THE NATION

ANNUAL PRECIPITATION 2 TO 30 INCHES • ANNUA1. PRECIPITATION 30 TO 10 INCHES •

U. S. Weather BureGu

DEDICATED TO THE TASK OF PROVIDING ADEQUATE WATER FOR A PROFITABLE AND DIVERSIFIED IRRIGAnON ACiRICULTURE IN WESTERN AMERICA-AN EXPAN- SION OF WAR FOOD PRODUCTION THROUGH MORE IRRIGATION-THE CREATION OF NEW FARM OPPORTUNITIES AND THE STABILIZATION OF DROUGHT AREAS.

1119 NATIONAL PRESS BUILDING, WASHINGTON 4, D. C.

A RESUME OF THE CONTROVERSY OVER THE WATERS OF THE NATION

In spite of the "short-shift" which the National Rivers and Harbors Congress gave those of uS who were present at the New Orleans meeting July 26, 27 and 28 and insist- ed upon Amendments to the River-Harbor a.nd Flood Control Bills, we do not believe that the Congress of the United states, regardless of its political make-up, or the Presi- dent, regardless of his political affiliation, or the people, will permit the Army Enginoers and the water navigntion interests of this country to Federnlize nIl tho streams of the Nation under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution and in the abso- lute control of the Chief of Army Engineers. If anyone has any misgivings on this subject let him review the history of the Rivers and Harbors and Flood Control Bills now before the Senate, which, if passed in their present form, would accomplish that and more.

Here are some of the signs that he who runs nay read if he is not totally blind.

Excerpts from President Roosevelt's Letter of February 7, 1944 to Cha.irman Mlnsfield of the Rivers and Harbors Committee of the House.

"I am convinced that the bill in certain particulars overlooks the fact that the full development of the country's natural rosources calls for the evaluation of navigation projects in the light of their effect upon related uses of water, including irrigation, powor production. flood control, and fisheries. In addition, such full development calls for author5.zations which will ir ... sure the utilization of water for these re ..

lated purpOSBS in accordance with the over-all policies and administra- TIVe70coQures appropr:l.a.te to eaoh part:l.cular use!. Here I have in mind

the poliCIes and procedures established by the Congress through such ba.sic enactments a.s the Reclamation Act of 1902***

'.

Unless tho pending bill is amonded in certain respects I am fea.rful that some of its pro- V1S1ons might tend to retard rather than to faoilitato tho aocomplish- ment of its great purpose. *** (underscoring added)

"It can hardly be questioned that the best way of accomplishing this objeotive is under the tested procedure of the Federal Reclamation Laws.

Accordingly, I recommend that suitable provisions also be made in tho Bill for the undertaking by the Bureau of Reulamation, in the form and manner prescribed

by

these laws, of reclamation works connected with or depondent upon projects covered by the bill."

Here Are Excerpts from Budget Director Smith's Letter to the Secretary of War Dated Feb-r-:-al

y

16

^J

1944.

"The proposed report of

O. S. WARDEN. PRESIDENT ORA BUNDY. FIRST VICE· PRESIDENT ROBERT W. SAWYER. SECOND VICE·PRESIDENT

J. A FORD. TREASURER

F. O. HAGlE. SECRETARY·MANAGER

HUGO B. FARMER. YUMA. ARllONA J. R, FAUVER. EXETER. CALIFORNIA CLIFFORD H. STONE. DENVER. COLORADO N. V. SHARP. FILER. IDAHO

E. PORTER AHRENS. SCANDIA. KANSAS O. S. WARDEN. GREAT FALLS. MONTANA

H. D. STRUNK. Me COOK. NEBRASKA A. M SMITH. CARSON CITY, NEVADA E. W. BOWEN. TUCUMCARI. NEW MEXICO HARRY E. POLK. WILLISTON. NORTH DAKOTA FRANK RAAB. CANTON. OKLAHOMA

ROBERT W. SAWYER. BEND. OREGON MILLARD G. SCOTT. PIERRE. SOUTH DAKOTA' MILTON E. DANIEL. BRECKENRIDGE. TEXAS • ORA BUNDY. OGDEN. UTAH

J. A. FORD. SPOKANE. WASHINGTON W. F. WILKERSON. CASPER. WYOMING

VOL. VIII,NO. 16, PAGE 2

the plan proposed in this report, the proposed ni.ne-foot ohannel project for the !1issouri River between Sioux

City and

the mouth ••• and up-strean uses of the water resouroes of

"the

basin.

"I have taken the proposed report up with tho President ••• the authori- zation of the improvements reco::runended therein

by

-the Chief of Engineers would not be in accord with the progra.m of the Presidont. at least at the

present."

'

That President Roosevelt was of the same mind on June 1;, 1944 is indicated by the following:

~~cerpts

from the President's Letter of June 13. 1944 tv Senator Overton; Chairman of the Senate sub-Conmu ttee on Commerce which he ld hearings on both the ,River-Harbor and FlOOd Control Bills.

"As you yourself recognize, moreover, the problem of the use of the waters of 'che Missouri River requires further consideration. In

my

judgment the compromise tha.t you propose does not quite offer the solution. It

'

is my understanding

th~t

if navigation facilities were constructed on tho main stem of the river, the water required to make them useful

~rlight

deplete supplies neoded for irrigation.

"I think tha.t when considoring that part of the country in which tho laws of nature inexorably accord to the benoficis.l consuml?ti ve use of

~ater

a priri1.ary role, we must

boVl

to those la.ws in our plans and legislation to the fullest exten.t cO:11patible with the full comprehensive devolopment of our ,streams for the good of the Nation as u whole. Several suggestions have been pu'b forwn.rd in the Congress, s orne as amendments to the river and hnrbor bill, which have merit in firmly establishing the

prirr~ry

importanoe of tho beneficial consumptive use of water without requiring any cession of Federal jurisdiction under the

comn~rce

clause of the Constitution. I fully agree with you, of course, that any moans of solution tha.t may be adopted r:! ust be workable and equitable. I realize the immenso complexity of the problem, but I hope that you nnd your collea.gue!? will find u way to work it out within the genera.l confines of these principles. n

The Democratic Party

Pl~tform.

This letter of President Roosevelt's to Senator Overton was picked up

~nd

refer- red to by the

Pia

tforn Com.1ili ttee of the

ITa

tiona

1

Democra.tic Party in

Chicago

when they wrote and approved as a part of their national Platform this:

"We endorse the President's statement recogn1z1ng the importanco of tho use of water in the o.rid. lr.nd sti1tCS for domostic and irriga.tion purpoDos."

There is no room to question where President Roosevelt and the Democratic Party stand on this issue.

The Republican Party Platform.

Nothing is left to the imagination in this statement from the Republican National

Platform.

"lOL.

VIII, no. ^16, PAGE 3

"We

fa.

vor a c omprehens

i

ve program of ree lamation projects for our (;\.rid and semi-A.rid statcs

1

with reoognition and full protection of the rights and interests of those states in

tfieuae

and control of water for present and future irrigation and other benefioinl

consu~ptive

uses ***fl tunder- scoring iidded)

Thero is no referenoe anywhere in these statemen'bs that;

we

must mAel at tho feet of' the Army Engineers or the navigation interests for permission t() use wa.ter for irrigatton in the arid west. as provided for in the River-Harbor

and

Flo

od Con-

trol Bills now pending.

Do

the Army Engineers purpose to offor themselve. s

as a

third political party in America or do they seek Bureauoratic oontrol? With the examples of Germany and Japan before

us

no American will tolerate militaristic B'lu·oflucrf .. tic control in this country for lcngl

So muoh f0r our two party platforms

which

were adopted in June and July.

Now

what has happened since? In the first week of August:

Twenty-six Republican Governors,

molu~in()

GO"lernor Dewey and Governor Brioker, Met

In

St. Louis.

e~nd From An

Assooiated Press Dispatch We Quote:

"In

a

brief'

declara'~ion on

water resources, the Governors stated:

itA

polioy of

co-oper~tion.

oo-ordination and underntanding among the various Federa.l a.gencies

and

the states in connection with the development

of

our water resources should

be

established. Such development should reoognize and fully protect the rights and interests of the people of the several states in tho

us~

and oontrol of water for present

and

future irrigation, waterways. power, flood oontrol and other benefioial uses."

Our guess is that if the

22

Democrntio Governors should meet next woek or in September with President Rooseve

It and

Senator Trurnan f:or

a

purpose similar to that whioh brought the Republioan Governors togother, that the position they would take in so far as our wa.ter resouroes Hre ooncerned would

^0.100

:,e

100

percent in aocord with those who ha.ve been striving to amend

the

Rivers

f~nd

Harbors and Flood Control Bills

^I

to preserve western water for western use. the in- t;egrity of state water la.ws, o.nd some local say-so on what shall bo done with our respective rivers.

In the face of these crystal-clear statements from President Roosevelt. the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, and 26 Republican Governors, we ha- ve a Rivers and Harbors Bill and a Flood Control Bill reported to the Senate for oarly consider- ation by an Army Engineer influenoed Senate sub-Committee that would put the Army Engineers in complete control of every drop of water remaining in the I'rissouri River Basin, that would put the Army Engineers in oontrol of every reservoir in the United states, private "or publio, now built or to be built, that would over-ride state water laws in every state of' the West a.nd whioh would eventually make the

Army

Erlgineers a nationa.l T.V.A.

in

control of every river of the nation.

There Are None So Blind As Those Who Hill net Seel

At the New Orleans l1eeting of the national Rivers and Ha.rbors Congress, ca.lled primarily ttTo discuss and devise ways and means to untangle tho legislntive snarl that threa.tens Senate defea.t of the House-passed flood control and river-harbor

a.uthorization Bills". :Major Genera.l Eugene Reybold, Chief of' the Army Engineers, a.nd

the principa.l speaker at tho

~~eting,

said: ttThe several federal agoncies involved

in the development of oomprehensive plans for our river basins work in cordial and

VOL. VIII, NO. i6, PAGE 4

effective cooporation. While Mislnderstandings and differences of o:r~n~on arise from time -to time, the end result is always the sa:71e -- :'11Utual respect and tr~orough cordin- aticn. Ax~y failure a.long these lines exists only in the minds of solfish pross¹lrc groups 1N'ho seek to gain their own narrow ends by trying to axci te .a. rivalry i'lhich does not exist."

At the Ne,,", Orleans River B.nd Ha.rbor Meeting a. sma.ll gro1lp of' about

40

^{mer:, re-}

pret3cnting four'teen states, offerod the following resolution.

Resolution Offered' By l"rinority Se~ng to Untangle L~gisl!lti~~.

"WHEREAS,

the first objective us snt forth in the official call for this Conference of the NA!IOHAL RIVERS AIm Iflu1BORS CONGRESS here asserYlbled in New Orle~lls is:

and;

'To discuss and devise ways and neans to untangle the leg5.sla- tive snarl that thr0ator.s Senate defeat of the House-passed flood control and river-harbor uuthorization bills',

nWHEREAS, the threatened snarl in no way ccncerns the advisability, or the authorization, of the nuoerous projects contained in tho Omnibus River and Harbor Bill H.R.

3961

and the Or;:nibus Flood Control Bill

H«IR.

4485

which will serve the interests of the Nation and of the statos and their local regions beneficially, but relates to various provisions inimical to the sovereign rights and interests of tho states and incon- sistent \'dth the full use of the faci.lities of all Federal Agencies for

~eveloping water resources, and relates to the failure to include in the bills provisions to rec0gnize B.nd protect the sovereign rights and interosts of tho states and the failure

to

provido for the preservation of the 1imi'ted water supplies in tl-..B arid and semi-a~id region of the country for beneficia.l clnsumptivo uses, and;

"WHEREAS, an amendmont to tho Ri vcr and Harbor Bi 11 and the Flood Control BilJ. has been offered which will promote the construction of useful projects and also will provide for the cooperation and p&rticip~­

tion of the states during tho course of project planning and ~lso for preservation of the use of water in the arid and semi-arid regions for beneficial consumptive use purposes:

"NOW, TEEREFORE,

nEE IT RESOL'lED ·by the lJat ional Rivers and Harbors Congress that in order to untangle the threatened legislative snarl and thus secure the early passat;e of River and Harbor Bill H.R.

3961

and the Flood Control Bill H.R.

4h85

that the Coneress urgos the adoption of such amendments to the rE)specti ve bills as ".--:il1 renove the provis ions therein which are

inimical to the sovcreien rights and int~rests of the states, and as will include adequa.te provisions in law for the cooperation and pa.rti.:~ · cipation of the States in the formulation of projects for the develop- ment of their water resources. ~nd to mp.ke secure the preservation of the use of water in the arid and semi-arid regions of' the country for beneficial consumptive use purposes.^ft

VOL. VIII, NO. l6~\ PAGE

5

This

R-esolution was rejec-OOd by

a

12 to

8

vote

in

the Resolutions Committee.

It

was offered later

on

the floor of the Convention

as

a

"substitute for the resolution

which follows.

but

was again defeated

by

a voice vote.

The

following resolution

was

approved

by the

National Rivers

and

Harbors Congress.

0' MAHONEY AMENDI-IDrT

"We' oppose

the so-called OfHahoney and l" filliken Amendments that

were

offered in sl'ightly different forms to

the

pending

Ri

vor and Harbor

f:~nd

Flood Control Ei11s since they are of very doubtful constitutiona.lity, they

would

give

rise

to

fruitless

litigation and

consequent serious delay

of important construction work.

a.nd

they

would

give the States

a

power of

veto over legishltion enaoted

by

the Congress and approved by the President.

We cOIn"mend Senator John H. Overton of LouiSiana for the ir.1partial and states- manlike manner

in

which

he

conducted

the

Senate Hearings on the pending River and !Yarbor and

Flood Control

Bills~ which

l!ave

been favorably report- ed by tl e Senate Ccr:J:mrce C0111'71i ttec

and

should bo enacted in the form re-

ported without

fur"ther

delay."

.And so it

remains -

HE THE PEOPLE VF.JtSUS HE THE PEOPLE

He quote

one more paragraph

from

Genera.l

Reyb~ld'S New

Orleans ad1ress.

"Through our Foderal legislati V~ procedures. proposed improver:~ents for navigation and flood control have alwa.ys been ir..vc~tiGated and report- ed uI-;on by direction of the people; they have been autl"!orized

for

construc- tion by a.nd with the advice und consent of. the people. and they hCl~,,~e bee:l prosecuted

to

completion, r.;aintained and opera.ted ni th funds appropri~ited

nnd expended with full kl10wledge

and

lmderstanding by the

p8ople.

It rests with'these sar.le people - .

the

people of the Uation -- to see that this de.ocratic and thoroughly

proven

process is never tampered with

and

that it is kept everla.:3tingly on the beam. Yeu who are here today. to- gether with

your

natior-wide memb8rships.

are

on the lookout b~idgo

of

this snip of j)e?!1ocre.cy and :loU can do tluch to keep it on its charted course."

There is ellC losed herewith a re~lort of the New

Or

leans 11eeting of the Hational Rivers and Harbors Congr"")ss as SClJn and recorded by 9. wcstern0r who was present and participated. We commend

the

report to you for study.

The "question 'now before the American people on water" resource develupment is:

Whether

to

Amend

H.R.

3961 and

lieR.

L+485 or

Not to

Amend'

Those favoring Ar.~end.men"':;s ure:

The President of' the United states.

The Denocra.tic

Party

The Hepublican Party

Twenty-six Republican Governors

Sevonteen arid and semi-arid land states Twelve eastern states.

VOL~

VIII, NO. 16.

PAGE

6

Those favoring no amendments are:

The

Army

Engineers

The National Rivers and Harbors Congress The fussissippi Valley Association

Certain membE.rs of the River-Harbor and Flood Control Co~:uni tteos of Congress.

The decision rests with the United states Sen4te a.nd the House. Rumor ha.s it that Senat.or Overton is ma.king a desperate effort to call the Bills up immedic .. tely in .spi to of the gent 1 em{} 11 , s f!.greement to wa.it until after Labor Day. Failing in this, the contost may como soon after Sei)teDber

4.,

Of course there a.re possi'oilitl(;~1

that the.

Bills

~~y not come up for vote until after the November election.

FOR:EH

Respectfully submitted,

F.

O. Hagie

Secret8.~y-~nager

ANNUAL PRECIPITATION 2 TO 30 INCHES • ANNUAL PRECIPITATION 30 TO 80 INCHES •

U. S. Weather Bureau

DEDICATED TO THE TASK OF PROVIDING ADEQUATE WATER FOR A PROFITABLE AND DIVERSIFIED IRRIGATION AGRICULTURE IN WESTERN AMERICA-AN EXPAN·

SION OF WAR FOOD PRODUCTION THROUGH MORE IRRIGATION-THE CREATION OF NEW FARM OPPORTUNlTlES AND THE STABIL!ZATION OF DROUGHT AREAS.

VOL. VIII, NO ^g

14

1119 NATIONAL PRESS BUILDING. WASHINGTON 4. D.

c.

July 8, 1944

SPECIAL TO ALL .ASSOCIATION !IEI'1BERS:

HATER I:tlTE.RESTS POSTPONE JULY CHICAGO CONFFJ{ENCE TO SEPTEI1BER SEVENTH fUID EIGHTH In our June 29th Bulletin "'Ie carried a story to the effect that Clifford Stone and his Committee were inviting the wa.ter ~I.nterests of the seventeen western sta.tos and the tVJel ve eastern states to convene in Chica~o July 23, 24, and 25 to corapleto pl9.llS to press for the O'!1ahoney Amendments to the Rivers-Harbors and Flood Control Bills.

In the meuntime it has been revealod thut f.l. gentlomen's D.t;reement procludes ei thor the RivGrs cmd Harbors or the Flood Control Bills from coming on the floor of the Senate for nction before Labor Day, September 4th. It hus therefore been decided that the Chicago C::mference will be postponed and will ho hold under the joint spons orship of nm:tcrous stream b~sil1 orgrll izutions en Septo!rlbcr 7th and 8th in Chic9.so L1.t the stev(3ns Hotel.

The purposes of the Conference are outlined a.s follows:

1. To assure local and state p~rticipation in plans for stream basin development.

2. To pres erve thf) in~. egri t.y of state water lo.ws.

3.

To perfect n.menclments to the Oii1.'I1ibus Rivers and Ho.rbors Bill (H. R. 3961) and the 6mnibus Flood Control Bill

(H. R. 4485)

now.pending before the United States Sen~t~~ '

4.

^To insure adcption. of such amendmGnts b;y the Congres s.

~. '110 consider such other !'1atters as may properly COr:le before the ConfBre!lce.

'1'hOS6 planning to attend the Conference should write tho Stoyens Hotel well in

udvu~cc for roonlli. Rail transportation ·should also be arranged sov8ral weeks in advance.

FOH:EH

OFFICERS O. s. WARDEN. PRESIDENT ORA BUNDY. FIRST VICE·PRESIDENT ROBERT W. SAWYER. SECOND VICE· PRESIDENT J. A. FORD. TREASURER

F.O HAGlE. SECRETARY·MANAGER

HUGO B. FARMER. YUMA. ARIZONA J. R. FAUVER. EXETER. CALIFORNIA CLIFFORD H. STONE. DENVER. COLORADO N. V. SHARP. FILER. IDAHO

E. PORTER AHRENS. SCANDIA. KANSAS 0.5. WARDEN. GREAT FALLS. MONTANA

Respectfully submitted, F. 0 ... Hagie

Se c retury-T1anag Gr

DIRECTORS H. D. STRUNK. Me COOK. NEBRASKA A. M. SMITH. CARSON CITY. NEVADA E. W. BOWEN. TUCUMCARI. NEW MEXICO HARRY E. POLK. WILLISTON. NORTH DAKOTA FRANK RAAB. CANTON. OKLAHOMA

ROBERT W. SAWYER. BEND. OREGON MILLARD G. SCOTT. PIERRE. SOUTH DAKOTA MILTON E. DANIEL. BRECKENRIDGE. TEXAS ORA BUNDY. OGDEN. UTAH

J. A. FORD. SPOKANE. WASHINGTON W. F. WILKERSON. CASPER. WYOMING

VOL. VIII, No. 13, puge 2 June 29, 1944

meetings of his colleagues. During Senate Hearings on the Flood eontrol Bill Senator Eugene Millikin of Colorado carried our case alone, while other Senutors doubled up on other work in order to cleur decks for recess. Senntor Millikin built an outstanding record for the use of himself and colleagues when the item comes to the floor of the Senate for consideration. Clifford Stone

,

has endoared himself to the water interests of the Nation by his purt

in

this fight_

STRAWS

IN rHE

WIND CONCERNING At1ENDI1ENTS TO RIVERS-HARBORS

AND

"FLOOD CONTROL BILLS 1. CliffDrd H. Stone, Director of the Colorado Water Conservation

Boar~

of Denver, special representntive of western Governors at hearings on above Bills, and Chairman of this Association's specia.l Conunittee on "Preservation

of

Integrity of State Wuter Laws" has announced that his Committee is inviting the water interests of the seventeen western and twelve eastern states, their Governors, Senators, Con- gressmen, and othor officials, to convene in Chicago, truly 2.3rd, 24th and 25th to complete plLns to press for favorable action on the so-called O'Mnhoney Amendments.

The

meeting

will

be

ut the Stovens Hotel and train rescrvutions should be made well in advance. We urge everyon<1 who can to attend as this will be one of the most im- portunt meetings of tho year.

2. The National Rivors and Harbors

Congr~ss

has issued

a

call for a special meet- ing at New Orleans July 27th and 28th for seven purposes. The first of these pur- poses is: "To discuss and devise ways

m d

means to untangle the legislative snarl that threatens Senate defeat of the House-passed flood control and river-harbor authorization bills."

3.

On

May 29. 1944 the Chamber of

Co~nerce

of the United states mailed its Refer- endum No. 81

on

Nutionul Wuter Resource Policies to its more thnn 1800 voting

org~n­

ization members. The principles of the

Ot~~honey

Amendments were incorporated in referendum proposals 3, 5, 7, 8, 9 and 10. We are advised that a preliminary canvass of the returns

⁰¹¹

tho Referendum indicates overwhelming support

of

all of the prin- ciples upon which the O'Muhoney Amendments were drafted.

4.

On

tTtme 13, 1944 Pres ident Roosevelt wrote Senator

Ov~rton,

Chairman of the Commerce SUb-COlTIJJ.ittee which held hearings on both the River-Harbor and Flood Con- trol Bills. Woe co.ll y

our attontion particularly to the last two paragraphs of the

President's letter in which

he

strongly insists upon proper amendments. This is of great significance and

me.y

ec)'sily modify the attitude of administration members of the Commerce Cummittee

and admi~istration

leaders on the Senute floor. If ignored it could lead to a veto of the two measuros until so amended.

5. There were evidently some very

good

western r eclrunationists

in

attendance at the Republicun

National

Convention in Chicago, for Harry E. Polk, our North Dakota Director, sent us the fcllowing telegram on June 27th:

"RECLAMATION PLA1'K AS FINALLY APPROVED

BY

COl'1MITTEE TODAY.

'WE FAVOR

COMPREHENSIVE PROGRlJ1 RECLAI1ATION PROJECTS

FOR ARID

AND SEIiIA-RID STATES WITH RECOGNITIOn

AND FULL

PROTbCTJ:ON

OF

RIGHTS AND IllTERESTS THOSE STATES IN

USE lUJD

CONTROL 01i'

WATER

FOR PRESENT .AND

FUTURE

IRRIGATION

AND

OTH:&-q BENEFICIAL CONSUI1PI'IVE USES

~ ,It

There

r S

a one-hundred percent rocl:1mo.tion plank in just about forty words. Who

could

ask

for more? Further, it supports our contention in the 0'!1n.honey Amend.-

ments.

VOL. VIII, NO. 13,

'page

3 June 29, 1944

6. The following is taken from a reoent letter written by the Topeka Daily Capital, a Capper Publication, Topeka, Kansas.

ItThe area. in which Capper Publioations, particularly our Farm Press, ciroulates will be vitally affeoted by whatever program finally is adopted and we will. fight for the rights to use water f:)r our herds and crops and greater development of our

agricult,~al

resources.***

It will be quite difficult to stampede Kansas away from irrigation and flood control toward any scheme which has for its purpose the taking away of water when it is needed to grow crops.

tt

THE SLOAN PLAN, PROPOSED BY BUREAU OF RECLAMATION FOR DEVELOPMENT OF MISSOURI BASIN The so-cdled Sloan Plan authored by vi. G. Sloan, Assistant Regional Director of the Bureau of Reclamation, Billings, I"iontana, is the result of more than five years of intonsive investigational study and planning by the entire Bureau of Reclamation throughout the Missouri Rivor Bo.sin, including all of its tributaries. In this plan the Bureau of Reclamation proposes a

compreh~nsive

multiple-purpose development in- Qluding domestic, irrigation, flood control, power

mld

navigation benefits, as well as ground water replenishment, recrontion, wild life and other benefits. The Sloan Plan of the Bureau and the Pick Pla.n of the Army for the same river basin are in conflict in some regards. The Pick Plan is primarily a navigation and flood control plan. The Sloan Plan is primarily an irrigntion and flood control plan, with other.

matters more or less incidental. The Piok Plan is incorporated in the Onmibus Flood Control Bill as reported out· by the Senate. The Sloan Plan is not. The two plans must be co ordinatad before oi ther is approved.

S.19l5 by Senator O'M!ilioney and H.R.4795 by Congressman Lemke would authorize the Sloan Plan, but hearings have not been completed_ Such hearin&s should be expedited here in Washington during the Congressional recess.

Printed copies of the Sloan PILID will be available

~J

the

~econd

week in July in the form of Senate Document No. 191. It should be carefully studied by every man and woman throughout the length and breadth of the Missouri River Basin. It should be compared cri tically with the Pick Plan. Public sentiment would dictate the

answer, but time

m~y

not permit that because the Pick Plan alone will be before the Senate in Septenber for action.

It is the belief of this office that a careful study of the Sloan Plru may result in a public demand for the Bureau's Plan to be inserted into the Flood Control Bill on the floor of the Sonate and authorized along with the Pick Plan, subject to the

ArTIlY

and Bureau coordination of the two pl&ns into one. This would be in the great- est interest of the region and tho Nation.

PLANS OF BUREAU FOR POST-WAR RECLAMATION DEVELOPMENT

Recently, Senator Carl Hayden, sub-Committee Chairman of the Senate's Special Committee on Post-War Economic Policy and Planning, held hearings on the plans of the Bureau of Reclamation for post-war projects. tIore than a dozen top-ranking Senators were present. Among the witnesses heard were: Commissioner Harry W.

Bashore, G. W. Lineweaver, Assistant to the Commissioner; Dr. John Lee Coulter,

independent research consultant; Carl H.

Wilken,

representing the Raw Materials

National Council and the National Association of State Secretaries and Commissioners

of l~tioulture;

and Mr. N. E. Dodd, Director

;)f tho Agricultural. Adjustment Agency

of the Department of Agriculture.

VOL. VIII, NO. 13. Page 4 ^{June 29, 1944}

The Bureau's Fost-War Program included 236 projeots in 17 western stutes that would irrigate 6,707,639 acres of new land and furnish a supplemental water supply to 9,365,295 acres now being farmed with an inadequate supply. The projects would cost $2,952,613,000.

Broken dovm

by

states, the picture looks this way:

state Number of Irrifiated Aores

Projects New Lnnd SUEE!emental Total Cost Power

Arizona 15 ^{444,000 328,000} $ 640,475,000

^X

California 27 .1,689,000 3,506,000 605,967,000

^X

Colorado 19 87,290 l,9

²

f.u}50 329,506,000

X

Idaho 20 307,550 1,709,260 168,912,000

X

Kansas 5 ^103,000 --- 19,000,000

Montana 33 564,255 84,940 159,356,000

^X

Nebraska 5 96,580 32,485 39,242,000

^X

Nevada 4 25,235 106,000 16,232,000

X

New Mexico 9 50,770 24,2,580 53,903,000

^X

North Dakota

9

403,255 58,795,000

Oklahoma

₉

. 181,500 6,100 35,490,000

Oregon 15 266,334 92,770 59,981,000

X

south Dakota 6 283,830 14,000 41,335,000

^X

Texas 12 312,710 585,090 113,257,000

X

Utah 20.

90~500

268,900 164,679,000

X

Washington 4 1,131,110 6,000 369,900,000

X

Wyoming 24 ^{370,720 458,820} 76,883,000

X

TOTALS 236* 6,707,639 9,3 65,295 $2,95 2 ,613,000

*does not include miscellaneous projects.

THIRTEENTH

ANNUAL

MEETING SCHEDULED

FOR

DENVER NOVEr1BER FIFTEEN TO SEVENTEEN,

INCLUSIVE

The Executive Cownittee has just approved plans for the next Annual Meeting of tho National Reclamation Assooiation, to be held at Denver, Colorado on November 15, 16 and 17. The Board of Directors, and probably the Logislative Committoe, will meet in Denver on November 13 and 14. Plans are now underway for

^a.

oonference-type

program which will have as its purpose the clarification of issues

and

so far as possible

0.

meeting of minds upon our futuro western development program. Better plan now to be present and participo.te.

FOH:EH

Respectfully submitted, F. O. Hagie

Secretary-Manager