THE FATE OF THE RIVERS AND HARBORS BILL

NATl()N/\L R.ECLAMATION ASSOC IATlON

1119 National Press Building BULLETIN

VOL. IX, NO. 2

THE FATE OF THE RIVERS AND HARBORS BILL

Washington, D. C.

December 22, 1944

---

With the adjournment of Congress the Rivere and Harborn Bill (HR 3961), with all of the O'Ma.honey-Millikin Amendments incorporated therein, died f : Jr this session.

A peculiar

pa.rliment~i.ry

situ!ltion, which it is said ha.d not been duplicated in seventeen 'Years, was responsible.

The Ellictt A.mendment, which would free tho Contral Valley Project of the 160 acre land limituti ons of the Federal Reclamation Act, was put in the bill

by

the Honse last summer. It was not offered in the Senate. When the bill went to con- ference, the Senate Confer6es accepted the Elliott PJ1lendment.

At this point the Interior Department# which opposed the Elliott Amendment, brouEht so much pressure on both the House and Senate that a. plan was afoot for the House lea.dership to appoint

^D.

new conference

co~ittee

thD.t would be willing to drop the Elliott Amendment from the bill in conference. When Chairman Mansfield of the House COr.l.l"Tlittee asked for t4"1D.nimous consent for such ::.. conforence with tho Sena.te CongressBl.1.n Elliott obj ectad. 'l'his prevented nny further conferences on the subject between

~he

two Houses. While this was going on in the House the afternoon of D8cenber 15, Sens-tor Bailey, Chairman of the Senate Com.rn.ittee, was making the following

state~ent

in the Senate.

"liT.

President,

~

am u-'I1der the necessity of reporting the conference agreement on the conference ruport on House Bill 3961, the river a..">ld harbor bill, a.nd am under the further nocessity of moving that tho oonferenco rc)port be rejeoted. That

is because I find here in the Senate a very determined and substantial opposition to what is

^{knOW:1 f}

s the . Ell iott Amendment. I take it I lleed not

t~O

into un expla.na- tion of that •••• The object of

my

motion is to send the FLatter back to further conference with a view to

^tryin~

to arrive at some agreement which will ena.ble us to get

th~

river and harber bill through at this session. It is rather difficult and rather desperato, and it is embarrassing, but I see no other course to pursue.

I have been notified

^by

a number of Senators on both sides tha.t extensive debate on the subject of the Blliott A.rnsndment will take place.

^1t

I1r.

I1cKGllnr: "Hhut is tho Ell iott A-ncndment'?"

I

Mr.

Bailey

^I

ttThe Elliott

Amondr~lOnt

is the amendment relating to tho Central Valley in California. It is local to the state."

Mr. Hatch: "Mr. President, I cannot agree with that statement. The Elliott Amendment affects the fundamental irrigation and reclamation laws."

.'

J"1~.

Bailey

^{I tI}

It takes that local proj ect from under those laws.

^tt Mr.

Hatch: "Yes."

ar. Baileyt "That is mat I mean by saying it is local to that state."

Mr. White:

tfJ"1'~.

President, is it the Senator's request that the Senate reject

the conference report?"

Bulletin Vol. IX, No.2

2

December 22, 1944

l'1r.

Bailey: "Yes, in order that we may ask for

^0.

further conference

a,nd do

what we can to straighten out the matter. But

I

have no idee. that we can come back here ann

';0t anywhere unless

the Elliott Amendm ent shall be strickon out. I have roceiv- ed sufficient l.1')tice fr0m Sena.tors to be suspicious that it would take a long time to complete action on the roport. They

do

not say they would filibuster,

H.nd I run

not charging them with filibustering, but they sny they will take a great deal of

time, and time we do not now have, so

I

will go ahead with this ma.tter and do the best

I can

in the interest of the whole bill."

The

debate

on

this subject that followed on the Senate flo

c

)r fills five pages of tho

CGrJ.,~ressional

Record. Sena.tor

DCWr.1GY

of California

^I

oxplains

and

defe.l.1. ds the Elliott A.,

rrlGndy;,wnt

a.s essential to meet tho peculia.r c

onditions on tho Central Val-

ley Project. Under

tho

leadership of Senat

or Hatoh :

Jf Now 110xico, Scnat'Jr

La Follette, Senat

or

HB.:rdcn, Senator McKellar, and SO:1.ut

·

Jr Chavez argued e..gainst the Elliott Amendment.

After passing

over five pr~ges

of debate in the Congressional Record we qucte

agaiYl

from page

~)631..p

T[18

Pres idinf!; Officer:

"The

question

is on

agreeing to the ccnference report.

The rep

ort is

rejected."

&.

Bail

E

JY:

ttl

move that

th(~

Sonate insist upon itw m;lendments, roquost

^ft

fllr- ther cO:Lj,fero;.loe with the Houso thorc

on,

and that tho Chair appoint on tho part

':)f

th

e

Senato the

SD.f!6

c

o

nferees as were previ::.;us ly nppointed.

tt

The motion '{"a.s [){;reed to.

Again passing over

additi~n,al

pap.;es of debate on 'the

Elli<.~tt

Amendment

'(n~d

other matt0rs,

I

quote from page 96lt.6 of the Congressional Record.

Ylr.

Bailey: "Mr. Prosident,

I

hereby enter

^t3.

motion to roconsider the vote whereby the Senate rejects tho confore:me report on House Bill 3961, the river and hnrbor authorization bill. Having Given that notice

I

move now under the rule that the House be requested to return tho papers to the Sonate. I ask that tho motion be acted upon at once.

Mr.

Hill:

"J'1r.

President, will

thE)

SOll'ltor yield?"

Mr. Bailey: "I yield.

^tf

L1r. Hillz "Does the Senator contemplate now not going back to conference on the bi111"

Mr.

Bailey: "He can.'r1ot go back to conference. The House is unwi, lling to

go

into conferenoe."

Mr. Hill: "The House is unwilling to go into conferenoe?"

Mr •

Bai Ie

y : tty 9 S • tt

The Presiding Offic

e

r (Hr. Lucas in the Chair): "The question is on the motion of the Senator from North Carolina that the House be requested to return to the Senate the papers in the river and harbor bill.

^1t

The motion was ag reed to.

Bulletin Vol. IX, No. 2 - 3 - December 22, 1944

Mr.

Be.iley:

'lYle

will receive the papers,

I

should sa.y, about 4:30, a.nd

I

intend to press my motion. Of course I should like Senators

Wh0

are interested to be present now."

Hr. IIill, "Does tho Sonat,or intond to prt.:Jss for the adoption of the report? Is that correct?1t

!ir.

Bailey: "Yes. I shall

mf~ke

the motion tv reconsider first."

lir. Hill: "If the motion .leo reconsider the vote is agrcod to, thon the ulti- mate end woul d be to

h~ye

the report adopted. n

Mr • Be.

i 1

ey : flYe s •

tt

The Sunate then took

up considGr~tion

of the First Supplemental

~~propriations

Bill for 1945. Lack

of

time .and the threat of

a.

filibuster prevented Chr:1.irmtU1 Ettiley ;;f over pr

~s

sing his motion to ho.VG the Senate ftrcoCJns ider the vote wlwroby the Senate rejected the c , )nference

'repcrt

en House Bill 3961.

n

Late in the afternoon of Docem.1)or 19 bofore Conf;ress H.djourned

until the

now

Congress is formed in January, Senator Bailey discuss·::d on thG floor of the Senate ths po.rlimento_ ry situution of the rivor and hr.rbor bill with Senato Leader

13e.rJ.:ley~

And Senator Overton discussed the matter

~t

length.

Senator Bailey saida "So Mr. President •••• I

B,.;."1

informed that if we undert,.ok to brin.g up the river-harbor bill there would be debe.te. That inforrr w.tio!.l

~ame

from the Ssnator of l{ew l1exico (Hr. HB:t:;ch) ••••• Hhen I returned from the con. f\·jrence

I

did the extraordinary thing, under th0: necessities of tho situa.tion,

of

m.oving that the Senate disagree to the conference report. I did so in ordor to avoid pr:)longoc debate and,

I

think

I !.1f.i.Y

say,

I

hope

I

do so without giving offenso - the possibility of what has sometir, te been spokf'n ()f in the Senate as a. filibuster.

But the House could not !"f:)ced3. That would require unanirrJ)us consent, and

ii:;

was lacking •••• Judge 11ansfield. sought to get a rule. He found that a quorum of the RulBs Committee of' tho House;

· c(·

uld n

ot

be had. Sc we returned here, and I enter- ed my motion to reconsider ••••

"My proposa.l is that if we ca.n

'bring

ab

c

JUt a quick adj ourn.P1ent by

way

of tabling my motion, if necossary - my motion is one to reconsicer - or

by

we.y of w5.thdrawing the bill, if neoes sary

^J

I am

r(~ady

•••••

"T make ':1y inql1iry to the leader.. What

TnaJr

I expect,

:l1r.

Prasident?n

Mr.

Bark.ley: ttMr. President, I wish to

H.Sle

the Senator a questiJn in that

CC)H-

nection, if he will yield to

De.

If I illlderstand the situation, the conference re- port was raj ectcd by the Senate L ... rgely on a.ccount of the Blliott

AFlendr~!ent. n

Nr.

Bl::dl'3Y2

"The rop. ort was rejected

on

ny motion."

Aftc'r further discussion Hr. Barkl

ey,

said: "Under thoso circur

:

lstances it would seen that it would bo almost futile to procGod further.

It

And so the Rivers and Earbors Bi.ll end the Elliott Amenduent died,

0..6

innocent victim, in a battle betwe

e

n the friends nnd tho f

c)s

of the Interior Department.

As the Rivers a.l1d

H~l.rbors

Bill passed tho

.

House and as it was approved

by

the

House and Senato conferees it contained the

0

'1'1uhoney-Millikin Amendments exactly

Bulletin Vol. IX, No. 2 Decembor 22,

19l~4

as

~ncorporp.ted

in the Flood Control Bill,

fl-l'J.d

in addition carried the following;

Snake River Amendn ent, as {-Iell as the Elliott Amondn.ent, bot..1-t of which were a. p9.rt of the

0

'MaJ :lOnay-I'lillikin Amendments as approved at tho Chicago Wuter Conservation Conference last September.

The Snak'e River Amondment

"Sna.ke River, Oreg., Wash., and Idaho

I

'J.'he construction of such

d9.nlS

as are necessary

und IJpen

channel improvement for purposes of providing sluck-wa.ter navi- gation and irrig'ltioll in accordance with the plan submittod in House Document No.

704, Seventy-fifth Congress with such Jnodifications, as do not change the require- ment to provide slack wc-.bar navigation, as the Secretary of War

may

find advis··

able after consulta.tion with the Secretary of tho Interior and such other agenci.es as may be concerned: Provided, That surplus electric energy generated at the dam s authorized in this item shall be delivered to the Socretary of the Interior fc,r dis position in accordance .... -lith existing laws relating to the disposition of power at Bonneville Dal1S Provided further, That no"thing in this paragraph shall be con- struod as c onferring the power of condemna.ti on of transmission lines."

The Ell iott .. Punendment

TtSec. 4. ^The

^exc,~ss

^land

provlslo~S

of the Federal Reclaraation laws shall not be a.pplica.ble to lunds whioh will receive a water supply from the Central Valley Pro jo ct, California, reauthoriz0d by Section 2 of the River and Harbor Act, apprGv ad August

26~

1937.

^It

HER.~i: A..1tE OtJ:'f.AHO~"'EY-I'1ILLIKIN

AI1ENDI1ENTS AS HRITTBN INTO THE FLOO:> CONTROL BIlL BY

TF~::: .sENATE, APf'ltOV'ED

BY Tlf'ill

HOUSE,

AND

NOV!

AHA I

'1' ING APPROV4~

OF THE PRES IDENT In connection with the exercise of jurisdiction over the rivers of the Nation through the construction of works of iElprovenent, for navigation or flood control, as herein authorized, it is hereby declared to be the

polic~l

of the Congress to rec ognize the interests and rights of the States in dqtermining the development of the watersheds within their borders ruld likewise their interests and rights in water utilization and control, as herein authorized to proserve and protect to the fullest possible extent established and potential uses, for all purposes, of the waters of the Nation's rivers; to facili.tate the consideration of projects on

0.

basis of comprehensive and coordinated development; and to limit the authorization and

con.s~ruction

of navigation works to those in which

~

substantial benefit to navigation will be realized therefrom and which cun be operated consistently with appropriate and economic use of the waters of such rivers by other users.

In conformity with this policy:

(a.)

Plans. pro pos n, ls, or reports of the Chief of EnGineers, War Department, for any

wo~ks

of improvement for navigation or flood control not heretofore or herein a.uthorized, shall be submitted to the Congress only upon complia.nce with the pro- visions of this paragraph (a). Investigations which form the basis of

D~y

such pl ans, proposals, or reports shall be c o nducted in such n manner as to give to the affected State or States, during the course of the investigations, information de- veloped by the invfJstigations and als o opportunity for consultation regarding plans and proposo'ls, and, to the extent deemed practicable by tho Chief of

Engineers, opportunity to cooperate in the investigations. If such investigations in whole or part e. re concerned with the use or control of waters arising west of the ninety-seventh meridian, the Chief of Engineers sh [.1. 1l give to the Secretary of

th~

Interior, during the courso of the investigations, information developed by

the investigations and also opportunity for consultation regarding plans and pro-

posals, and to the extent deemed pro.cticable by the Chief of Engineers, opportunity

. ..

Bulletin Vol. IX, No.2 5 .• Decemb8r 22,

191~

to cooperate in the

inv:.~stigu.tions.

The relL\tions of the Chief of Engineors with any State under this paragraph (u) sha.ll b.;) with the Governor of the state or such official or

ag~ncy

of the

St~lte 9.S

the Gover

·.

lor may designate. The term ttaffected state or States

^tt

shall In.clude those in which the works or any part thereof nre proposed to be located; thoso

vi~liclL

in whole or part are both wi thin the drainage

ba.sin involved and situated in a

St~lte

lying wholly or in p8.rt west of the ninety- eighth moridia..l1; o.nd such or thoso

'

;-Ihich are east of the ninety-eighth meridian as, in the judgment of' thf3 Chie

.

i' of Engineers, will be substantially affected.

Such plans, proposals, or reports and related investigc.tions

sh~).ll

be made to the end, among other things, of facilitu·ting; the coordination of ple.ns for the con- struction and operatio:! of' the proposed v.rorks with other pIn.ns involving the waters which would be used or (}ont:;,'\)lled by such proposed vvorks. Each report submitting any suoh pIe-us or proposals to t!le Congress shall set out th3rein, a.-rn.ong othur thinfSs, the relationship betw0en tho plans for construction nnd operation of the proposed works and the plans, if e.ny, submitted by the affected states and by the Secrotary of

~he

Interior. The Chi€.f of Engineers shall transmit

a.

copy of his proposed rGport to each

affect~ed

State, and, in case tho plans 0r propos8.1s cover- ed b:{ the report are concBrned "with the us e or control of waters which rise

in

whole or in part west of the ninoty-seventh meridian

,

to the Secretary of the Interior. Wi thin nin8ty clays from the d9.te of receipt of' said proposed repGrt, the v':ri tten views and rec:)mnlGndations of each affected Stf.\.te and of the Secretary of the Interior ::.lay be submitted to the Chief of Engineers. The Secretary of War shall tre.nsmit to the Congress, with suoh comments and recO!";unendaticns a.s he deems appropr in te, the !'.roposed report together with the

submitted

vievlS and rec01m:';enda- tions of

aff6~ted

states and vf the Secretary of the Interior. The

Secrs~tary

of War r.1ay prGpare and make sai d transmittal

~"1y

time following said ninety-day peri- od. The LJtter Ji' transmi ttul f).nd its attachments shllll be printed as a House or Senate doou!:1eut.

(b) The use fer navigation, in

con~lectiol1

with tho c:per.ltion nnd muintenance of such

w0~ks

herein

authQri~ed

for construction, of waters arising in Stutes lying wholly or partly west of t.he ninoty-eighth

m~)ridial1

shall be onl.y suc:'}. use as dOGS not conflict with aUJT beneficial cnnstlJTl. pti7t; use, present or future, in States ly- ing wholly or partly

WGst

c

f

tl.a- .1..1in(

=J

ty-aighth neririian, of such watera for domes- tic, municipal, stock water, irrigation, nining, or industrial purposes.

(c) The Secrp.tary of the Int8rior, in making investigaticns of and reports on works for irrigation and purposes incidental thereto shall, in relation to an

aff8cted StatE: or statos (as dofin

^r

3d in ruragrnph (0.) of this s0cti:m). nnd to the Secretary of War, be subjoct to the snme provisions :oegardinb investigations, plnns, prl..")posals, ond r

eports

as prescribed in po.rugro.ph (0.) of this soctiol'l for the C:"ief' of Engi.neers and the Secretary of Hr.r. In the evont n. submission of views and reccmraend:1.tions, mude by an affected State or

by

the Secretary of War pursuant tu

s~id

provisions, sets forth objoctiolW to the plans 0r prorosals cover- ed

by

the report of the Secretflry of the Int0rior$ th8 prop'Jsod works shall not be

dee~ed

authorized except upon approval

by

an Act of Cc.ngress; and subsection 9 (a) of the ReclD.tlati

oYL Pro~iecrt

Act of 1939 (53 stat. 1187) and subsection 3 (a) of the Act of August 11, 1939 (53 Stat. 1418)1 as

a~ended,

are hereby

~~ended

accordingly.

SEC. (lO)!;. 6. That the Secret9.ry cf War is authorized to

(11)ee~l- te

muke con-

tructs with States, municipalities, privute c('·ncerns, or individua.ls

,

at such

prices and on such terms as he may deom reascnablc, for domestic and industrio.l

uses for surplus

wat~r

and mn.y co uvui1ablo at any reservoir uneer the centrol of

the War Department (12)

l

Provided, That no contracts f

e

r such water shall a.dverse-

ly affeot then existing lawful uses of such water. All I:wueys received from such

(13)ealee contracts shall be de~osited in tho Treasury of the United States

' as

miscellaneous receipts.

Eulletin Vol. IX, No. 2 - 6 . - December 22, 1944

Sec. 8. Hereafter, whenever the Secretary of War determines, upon recommenda- tion

^~

the Secretary of the Interior that any dam and reservoir project operated under the direction of the Secretary of War may be utilized for irrigation pur- poses, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to

cor~truct,

operate, and maintain, under the provisions of the Federal reclamation laws (Act of June 17, 1902, 32

st~t.

388, and Acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thoreto), such addi tic nal works in connecti.on therewith as he may deem neoes sary for irrigation purposes. Such irriga.tion works may be undertaken only after a report and find- i ngs thereon ho.;""e been made by the Secretary of the Interior as provided in said

Federal reola.:'"nation

l~ws

and after subsequent specific authorization of the Con- gress

by

an authorization Act; and, within the limits of the water users' repay- ment ability such report

^rr.ay

be predioated on the allocation to irrigation of an appropriate portion of the cost of' struotures and facilities used for irrigation and other rurp()ses. Dafls and reservoirs operated under the direction of the

^Se(~re­

tEj-ry

of

~'lar may

be utilized hereafter for irrigation purposes only in conformity with tho provisions of this section, but the foregoing requirement shall not pre- juJice lawf\ll uses now existing: Provided .. That this section shall not apply to a!IJ dam 'Jr reserv-) ir heretofore constructed in whole or in part by the Army

E:n~ineers,

which provides conservation storage of water for irrigation purposes.

(18) Sec. 9. (a) The general comprehensive

pl~ns

set forth in House Document 475 u.nd Senate Docl..unent 191, Seventy-eighth Congress, second session, as revised: '1nd coordinated py Senate

Doc~~ent ~+7,

Seventy-eighth Congress, second sessiJn, are hereby approved and the initial stages recommended are hereby authorized and shall

be prosecutod

~J

the War Department and the Department of the Interior o.s speedily as may be consistent with budgetary requirements. -

(b) The general comprehensive plan for flood control and other purposes in the I1iss- ouri River Dasin approved by the Act of June 28, 1938, as modified by subse- quest Acts, is hereby expanded to include the works referred to in paragraph (a.) to be undertaken

by

the War Department; and said expanded plan shall . be prosecuted under the direction of the Secretary of War and supervision of the Chief of

Engineers.

(c) Subject to the basin-wide findings a.nd recommendations regarding the bene- fits, the allocations of costs and the repayments by water users, made in said House and Senate documents, the reclamation and rower developments to be under- taken b:

^T

the Secretary of the Interior under said plans shull be governed by the Federal Reolamation

L£i.wS

(Act of June 17, 1902, 32 stat. 388, and Acts runendatory thereof or supplementary thereto), except that irrig tion of Indian trust and

tribal lrl.!lds .. and repayment therefor, sh,nll be in accordance with the laws relating to Indian lands.

(d) In addi tion to previ 'J us authorizations there is hereby authorized to be appropriated the sum of $200,000,000 for the partial accomplisJunent of the works to be undertaken under said expnnded plans by the Corps of Engineers.

(e) The

S~~

of 0.200,000,000 is hereby authorized to be appropriated for tho partial nccornplishment of the vwrks to be undertaken under said plans by the Secretary of the Interior.

CONNECTICUT RNER BASIN

In addition to previous authorizations, thezre is hereby authorized to be appro-

priated the sum of $30,000,000 for the prosecution of the comprehensive plan

approved in the Act of June 28, 1938, as modified by the Act

approv8~

August 18,

Bulletin Vel. IX, No. 2 7 - December 22, 1944

1941, for the Connecticut River

Basin:

Provided,

(26)~hat Raitli~!'

1;si-e 8:\i1;asP3:&8:-

t~eB

nap

~P8vie~~ a~tRep3:&at3:eB e~a~~

.8

ee~9tp~ea t~ &~ta8P~&e t~e eeRatp~etieR e~

a

ft~~a

fia..l;l.

!31~

t:A.e

WilJ:.~am&¥3:**e e3:~9

Nothing in this Act or in

any previous

authorization shall be construed to authorize the construction of a dam, other than

a

flc.od

control

type dam# on the

main

stream cf the West River in the tovms of Du..rnrnerston

or Newfane

in

the

State

of

Vermont: Provided further, That the

iU"my Engineers are

authorizod and directed to construct eight reservoirs in the West River

Basin

in Vermont instead

of

the flood control roservoir authorized by existing law, known as the Wil1ia:-nsvil1e reservoir in the above mentioned t

owns,

in accordance

with

en ulter!'l.a.tive plan submitted by the Vermont State

"

riater Con- servation

Board as

the same

may,

be

modified

by agre'Jmellt between the said Board

and

the Seoretary

of War

and the Chief

of Engineers,

pr0vided that the Seoretary

of War

determines that the total costs

of

the

altern~te plfm

shall not exceed the sum of

$ll~OOO.OOO and

that the

amount

of flood control secured by them

at

the entrance

of

the waters of. the Hest River

into

the COlmecticut River shall not be less than sevonty-i"'ivo per centum

of

the

flood

control which may be secnred from

tho single

so-called

\-lilliamsvillc

reservoir

now

B.uthorizf)d to bo constructed by the Army Engineers. Plans. prop'Jsals. or reports heretofore e.uthorized for con- struction at Cambridgep::>rt. Ludl

;

)w, South Tunbridge, and GaysYil1e. in the

Connecticut River

Bas in. or

any

}"'lodification

hereaftGr

me.de of the ' comprehensive plan

for the Connecticut River

Basin

in Verrnont

undor

authority

of

the Flood Con-

trol

Act approved June 28, 1938.

or :Jf

section 3 of the Flood Control Aot approv

-

ed

August

18, 1941, shall not be carried out until after compliance with the pro- visions

of parag;raph

(a) of section 1

of

this Act: Provided further, That neither this a.uthorization

1101' any

previ,)us authorization shall be construed to authorize the cohstruotL)n of

a

da!TI

or

reservoir at the Suga.r Hill site on the

Atl1':101100SUC

River.

Notet

Section (b) of the Chic

ago

draft was accomplished

by

substitute

methods.

Section 15

was

deleted as requested.

The

Chicago v

orsion of amo

ndments to sections 4 a..YJ.d 8 as passed by the

Huuse were

not approved

by

Congress.

Respectfully submitted,

F. O. Hagie,

Secretary-Manager

More Irrigation

Western reclamationists urge abandonment of limitation on the amount of land eligible for water from government project.

Thc National Reclamation Assn., organ of irrigationists in 17 wcstern states, has mo\'cd to put an end to a 42-year-old reclamation law principle (intended to encourage de\'elopmcnt of family farming) that the govern- ment's irrigation works should supply water to no more than 160 aercs uneler one ownership.

• Amendment Indorsed-Thc associa- tion voted unanimously, at a meeting in Dem-cr, to support the Elliott amend- ment pending in the Scnate to permit supplying water to farm units .of any size from government works lI1 the 5300.000,000 Central Va11ey project of California (B\V-l\lay13'44,p21).

The irrigationists wcnt further e1l1U yokd that thc rcclamation act be amcndcd so that the 160-acrc limita- tion should not apply in futurc to any projects ~upplying sUpplcI~lental wclter to establIsh cd farms. ThIS would re- move the limitation for most of the numerous irrigation projects planned for posh"ar construction. Such new land projects as the 1 ,200,000-acrc develop- ment planncd under thc Grand Coulee

Dam would still be subject to the acre- age limitation.

Campaigning

for

rcpeal

of restrictions

011

governmeHt irrigation

,raters are

executives

of

the National Rec1am3- tion Assn. (left

to

right, seated):

Ora

Bundy,

newly

elected president;

Rob-

34

• Approved in House-The Elliott amendment would be attached to the rivers and harbors bill. The Honse overwhelmingly approved the amend- ment, and the Denvcr action prob- ably means its adoption in the Senate.

A fierce con troycrsy has bcen waged o\'cr it in California.

The association approved hyo other resolutions on subjects which promi::,e to create a battle in the Senate O\-er the rivers and harbors bill and the post- war flood control bill:

(1) The so-called O'Mahoney-1\IiI1i- kin amendment to the flood control bill was indorsed. This mcasure would de- dare irrigation to bc the primary use of western watcr and would compel the Army Engineers and other agenci~s planning new river projects to permIt review by states in which the proj~ets lie-and by the Secretary of the Intenor, in regions west of the 97th meridi~n:

\Vith this resolution the aSSOCIatIon adopted another demanding passage of the joint plan recently worked out by the Engineers an4 the Burcau of. ~ec­

lamation for a $1,350,000,000 nng::.l- tion flood control, and navigation proj- ect 'for development of the :Nlissouri River Basin (B\V-Nov.l8'44,p20). And delegates demanded that the Engineers and the bureau get together similarly in any western valley where projects COIl- flict.

(2) The association adopted a reso- lution opposing the President's recently renewed campaign for seven Tennessee Va11ey Authority-type authorities to ~e­

velop major river basins, sp~cific~lly ^li1- cluding those of the 1\1Issoun, the Columbia, and the Arkansas.

ert \". Sawver. first vice-president;

(standing) Fioyd O. Hagie,

secretar~­

manager;

O. S. Warden,

past

pre<)1-

dent;

Harry

N. Polk, second vice- president; and James

Ford, treasurer.

Business Week • December 2. 1944

OFFICERS

0.5. WARDEN PRESIDENT

ORA BUNDY FIRST VICE .PRESIDENT

ROBERT W. SAWYER SECOND VICE·PRESIDENT

J.A.FORD TREASURER

F.O. HAGlE SECRETARY. MANAGER

•

DIRECTORS

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

H.D.STRUNK MCCOOK, 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

•

OFFICE of SECRETARY-MANAGER

•

1119 NATIONAL PRESS BUILDING

•

WASHINGTON 4, D. C.

VOLUME IX, NO. 1 BULLETIN Deces ber 1, 1944

HIGHLIGHTS

OT!'

THE DENVER CONVENT ION

Just a few words concerning the Thirteenth Annua.l Heeting an.d Con- vention held 'at Denver, lJovomb

(

-:lr 15, 16, and 17. Thor

'

] were 800 re

g

is- tered delegates. The prc

·grar:1 was carried forward as scheduled.

All speakers and pru-ticip ants were on hand bringing to the ass8mbly

e.

woalth of vital infornation on a score of subjects. An unusually stron b ^program for the future was outlined and agreed upon as 17 well oonsidered r

e

solu- tions were unanimously approved.

President O. S. Warden. who for nino :.,rears has pilotGd the Associa- tion

frOfl

a struggling infant to its present stature

^I

requested relief from his Presidor..tial duties and was r..ade

~J.

Honorary Life Momber.

President

\

-!f J,rdon was succ80ded

by

Ora Bundy of Ogden., Utah. President Bundy has represe:ai.:ed the State of Utah on the Board of Directors for ei!!,ht years

f ..

nd is intinutoly ffl.

J

ailir..,r with tho water progrn.;, 1 of the west

ern states. President Bundy see::n.s 8,ssilred of the same whole-h88

.rted support of all tho membership which made the growth ('lnd success

of the

Association under Prosident Warden's adI:linistration.

THE

SENATlt~

APP.H.OVES THE O'I1A,HONEY-.t1ILLIKIN PJ1EIIDMENTS TO THE It''LOOD CONTROL BILL WITH SLIGHT CI-rANGES

This week the Senate a.pproved, with slight amendments, all of the O'I'iahc ney-NillikLl Ar.1endmonts to the Flood Control Bill as recomr:lended by th

tJ

Cllicago Water Conservation Conference and as appr oved by the

}b ..

tional RACl8.17Hltion Associati

on at Denv;er, eXc9pt tho umendraents to SGtJ-

tion 6 and Secti

:)n 8 of the Bill. These two seotions were written in~o

the O'l1ahonoy-I1illikin Ame:':1dments at the Chioago Conferenco at tho speci- fic

rGqu(~st ! j f

tho delegatas fron California

and TeXt~s.

While these arn.endr;'lents were under discussion on the floor of the Senate a letter was rend to thE') St3nate frc::.1 Secret-a.ry Ickes opposing the a::rJ.endnents to Sec- tions 6 a.nd 8. In the debate that followed those amondr.1ents were oppos- ed on tho hround thai:;, they

-

had the effect

of changing the Reclamation

Law and had never been c

onsid-gred by the Irrigation Reclar19.tion CO~'nit­

teo of the Senate. The M9nd!l1onts were not defended on th( -! floor at

(l,ny

tililO by tho

Senf.t~)rs

of Calif

,

:;. rnin.

fl,nd Texl),s.

ArlOng the changes tha t were m!lde in the

-O'I1flhoney .. J"Iill ikin

Ar.1endments are the f

ollowing:

ANNUAL PRECIPITATION 2 TO 30 INCHES ANNUAL PRECIPITATION 30 TO eo INCHES •

u.

S. Weather Bureau

1. rrhe :Fnr'. (c ) ,

Was",

applied to the present bill. n

ot t o

future bills.

2. The

followil~g

sections of the amend:rrents as

rec::mrmond(~d

by thE: Chicag

o

Water

C81~f8rence

woro ad

cpted substanti-

ally as submitted.

AN EXPANSION OF WESTERN IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE PROVIDES THE SUREST AND QUICKEST MEANS OF INCREASING AMERICA·S WAR FOOD PRODUCTION. FOOD IS FAST BECOMING ONE OF THE MOST CRITICAL OF ALL WAR MATERIALS

Vol. IX, No.1, Page 2

The first

para.~ro.~h,

or policy statenent, was adopted with minor changes.

Para.graph (a) was adoptlJd with minor changes.- Parag;raph (c) · ... ms adopted with minor chanp;es.

P'lre..graph (d) we.s e.dopted wi

t~

miner changes.

/

Section 15 of the Flood Control Bill was doleted uS recommended.

Section 9 of the Flood Cuntrol Bi 11, doo.li:i1g with the Mis souri Ri V/ )r Bo.s in wa.s adopted

p.~s

reccm!71ended at the Chicago I!leeting.

The purpose of paragraph (0) of the O'I'!e.honey-!!illi'kin }.mendmcnts was ucccn- plished by substltuta nothods.

The Flood Contrc)l Bill passed the Senato today. It will now

go

to Ccnferenoo between tho Honse and Sene..te. It is confidently expected th?-!t no T

!

lf.teriul cho.nges will be IJ'.o.do in C' :)n£erenco. It is believ: )d tho Bill will

'bo

f.lpproved by the Fr

'Jsi-

dent.

The West and the Nation will

for'~ver

be grateful to S9nators O'I'fuhoney and Millikin and to all tho other ScuatJrs,

Conf~rASSm(;;n f:~l'.d GOV'Jri"10rS from tho ec

.st and WGst who have fouhht this

~~r-etlt

fit.;ht throug:h to

IJ.

successful conclusion and

h('~ve

causod these epoch-making amendments to become the law of tho I

p

.nd. ThoJ

^r

will serve every stream b

n.sin of every stu-tel ~'Tc

hope every roo.dor of this bulletin will lose no time in wri tine: his Som:.tors, Congres smen, and Governor

^0.

"thnnk you" noto to expr13ss his sincere appreciation for his help in this

~reB.t

enterprise. Do it now' THE RlVEHS AND

HA.REORS

NOW BEFORE THE

SSNATE

As

tllis is wri·tten the Rivors and Harbors Bill is bofore the Senate and likely to be vot, ed upon today. Senator Ovorton, 'who is chA.irmRn of the SUb-Commi tto6

handling both bills, has indichted his desiro to have the same amendments incornoro.t- ad in the Rivers and Harbors Bill, insofar ns

e.p:plic(~b16.

ABBY

AND

BUREAU'S IN'rEGHATED PLAU FOR l'IISSOURI RIVER DBVELOPMENT IS ENCLOSED

~

-

For the inforr:1ution of our m.embers we enclose Sennte Doomnent No. 247 which is the joint intog;ri.lted engineering plan of the Army Engineers find thH

Buref~.u

of Reola- mation for the c:mprehonsive developr:1ent of tho r

-

Iissouri River Basin. This plan is incorporat.ed in the II'locd Cont.rol Bill Ilnd $200,000,000 is authorized f

or

the Army and $200,000,000 is Iluthorized for the BurfJE'.u to stllrt work on their resPGotive phuses of the oomplete bas in -Nide plan.

WASHINGTON NEWS

FROM

\'IESTERN CONSTRUCTION :NEWS AND BUS INESS WEEK ARTICLE

Attached to this bulletin is a two-p:::.ge rHproduction of materiRl from the Western Construction News und

.

from

B'.lS i~~ess

H()()k for

Ot;'~tober,

vlhich spoaks for .

i

tS6lf,

We

conmlOnd it to

your

careful reading.

The

rroblem,,'3

vJithin

the Department

of the Interior, referred to in

Mr.

Krl.lck

m

an '::; nrticle,

hn.vc

long

D8en.

.recognized.

Obviously a solution mU3t be fOlUld if the ."wrJr. of the Bnrenu of Heclamn.tion is not to be swollowed up

by

s orne typo of' region al !;.uthori ty which cun !i.ove forward without the handioap of an unseen rcstrr.inln

r

: h

tmd.

A LETTER FROM THE CONT INUING

COmI~:T'SI~

OF TEE WATER CONSERVATION CONFEHEH CE

Enclosed is c.. letter from the Continuing CvIJ.mittee sent from

Denvar~

Colorado, Nov6mber 18th. It is

self-expl~natory.

Please

rG~d

it.

Respeotfully subnitted,

F. O. liagie,

Secretary-M~.lnl1ger

WASHINGTON NEWS

for the Construction West

By ARNOLD KRUCKMAN WASHINGTON, D.

c.-

The heavy construction industries of the West slope will feel the effect of the elections on Nov. 7. Many elements in- volved will influence the future one way or another. Most directly apparent will be what happens to the reclamation and road building programs. The advent of new people in Congress inevitably will make a difference. And a complete turn- over in administrative policies obviously will make still a greater difference. From the purely personal and human side of the picture we, here in the Capital, are bound either way to lose many valued friends. When they come back on Nov.

14, we know some will be with us only a few more weeks, and there will be con- siderable genuine sadness hereabouts.

Whatever the change may be, we feel generally any shift in over-all control in the highest places of the Interior De- partment will be good. It might be worse than it is at present, so far as the con- trols imposed on the Bureau of Reclama- tion is concerned, but apparently the people of the irrigation areas do not feel it should get any worse. The word filters through that if the election does not automatically cause a change in relation to the ultimate administration of the affairs of the Bureau of Reclamation,

~he people of the West slope most con- cerned are going to do something about it, vigorously and noisily.

The irritation does not center on Com- missioner Bashore, and his administra- tive and professional associates in the Bureau of Reclamation. It is held they are doing a good job, within the diffi- culties with which they are hedged. Nor, surprisingly, is there such violent objec- tion to the cantakerous little man at the head of the Department of Interior, Spit- fire Harold, the Terror of Winnetka.

On the whole, if you can swallow his rather unfair spitefulness. he IS regardea as a reasonably fair person, after you break hrou h the Sie fried line he has around him. The trou Ie IS t e me. t is an mtangible entity consisting wholry of an a re ation of more or less outh-

m e or ess ar ent hankering for anonymity.

I

t would be dishonest as well as un- fair to imply that these anonymous Household Guards of Harold mean any- thing but that which' is sincere, and real.

The trouble is, from the standpoint of the people in the West, the Household Guard has not the remotest u,nderstand- ing of the fundamental problems that make reclamatIOn tick. But they do have pohtIcal m.!Luence, and they are so placed ttat they can meddle With the· plans, purposes, and work of those m the Bu- reau of Reclamation.

Cause of apathy

This kind of situation has come within the experience of most humans. You ob-

serve it in the unhappiness that envelops a home in which the two who make the home are honest and earnest but are worlds apart in their concept of what makes a home. You have run into it in business when the administrative heads are out of tune with the staff. The Bu- reau. of Reclamation consists of. scien- tists, engineers, technologists, men of highly trained skill and abilities, prob- ably the highest types of specialists of their kind in the world. For almost a half century this organization has been consolidated into a unique body with a very fine understanding of the West, and with ideals symbolized in the great works typified by the hundreds of jobs done in the West, outstandingly brought to mind by Boulder Dam, and. by. similar . w{)rks which have made communities for thousands, greatly augmented the na- tional wealth, and supplied foods, fibers., and electrical energy. needed by the West.

It would be foolish to claim the Rec- lamation people are mvanably nght, and that they are anythmg but human' but they do know their business. And it'ke all . highly trained technological people, they

do not work at their best under condi- tions of strain and persistent discord. Tt is this depressing janglmg atmosPli'ffe you sometimes f't;el when you havebusi- ness With the ReclamatIOn people. You find much the same atmosphere in other Government agencies where some forms of regimentation and autocracy have been allowed to creep in during the past 12 years~ It leaves the best of people dull and dispirited.

Undoubtedly this is one of the effects Washington, Jefferson, and other his- toric founders of the Republic wished to avoid when they insisted that frequent change in general administration would keep the government vigorous,lively, and vital. There are responsible persons here in the Capital who will tell you that John Page would still be the Commis- sioner of Reclamation if the nervous strain had not ruined his health. People obliged to work under such conditions become not merely discouraged but lose' that self-assurance inherent in the pro- fessional man.

The water bills

Some of the troubles involved in all this may be discussed when the Flood Control and the Rivers and Harbors Bills come before Congress shortly after its members' come back in November.

The issues will primarily be whether irrigation, power, and similar beneficial uses of water in rivers shall be subordi- nate to navigation, and whether the job to be done shall be under the control of the Corps of Engineers, or whether the Reclamation ~ureau shall have complete and independent control over the type of work within its geographical and

technological orbit. And, of course, down deep under all these issues will lie the basic consideration whether these enterprises shall be controlled by the Federal Government, or the States shall have the rights and -powers presumably retained by them in the original cQrnpact we know as the Constitution.

It is clear the States' rights issues are as important in this impending fight as are any of the others. The recent Water Conservation Conference at Chicago, between the representatives of 29 States, c.oming from the West and the East, laid emphasis on States' rights repeatedly.

The startling aspect is that this insis- tence comes from the 17 States of West- ern America, and the 12 States of north- eastern United States. In other words, the States' rights issue, which dominated the conflict of the Civil War, and.which was championed. solely by the South, now is basic in the water fight cham- pioned by the West and the northeast.

. T t is extremely interesting to contem- plate. the fact. that the, thought 0.1 th£

conferee.s from the 29 States at Chicago was completely unanimous in relat,ioI,l to water problems. They agreed, in su'b':

stance, that inland navigation is not as important to the. welfare of the nation as is irrigation, mining, and the use of water for domestic needs, for municipali- ties, for stock, and for industrial pur- poses: It is appar~ntly clear that the peo- ple regard rail, highways, and air as the essentials for transport. And it isstrik- ing that the conferees repeatedly. em- phasized the complete subordination of navigation on the waterways west of the ninety-eighth meridian. .

The result of the Chicago conference appears to show that at least 29 States out of the 48 have. formed a bloc' to re- write the Flood Control and the Rivers and Harbors BiJls wherever these pro- posed laws would interfere with the in- dustrial, agricultural and domestic use of the river-waters. Roughly, it would seem the States opposed to the para- mount claims of navigation' now repre- sent two-thirds of the votes in Congress.

Basin authorities?

I t remains to be seen whether or not there is any substantial support for the creation of more Authorities after the pattern of the TVA. It is generally as- sumed the President's proposal to create a Missouri River Basin Authority was prompted by Lilienthal of TVA. Super- ficial comments would lead to the im- pression that the suggestion came out of the memorial addressed to the Presi- dent by the Governors of the Missouri Basin States after their meeting at Oma- ha. Close study of the document does not support the thought. Nor does there appear to be any strong backing for an Authority among the people of the Mis- souri Basin States; and it is reported here there is no warm response to the suggestion that another Authority be established in the Columbia River wa- tershed, including the States of Wash- ington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

The President also suggested that an Authority be established in'the Arkansas River watershed, from the Mississippi westward to the Colorado. A few days

90

WESTERN CONSTRUCTION NEWS-October) 1944

after the President's message was deliv- responsive to public sentiment.

ered to Congress, HR 5377 was intro- duced by Rep. John J. Cochran of St.

Louis, presumably prompted by the

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, to establish a

\A/'AJE

Missouri Valley Authority "to provide YYJ

R -THE BIG ISSUE IN THE WEST

for unified water control and resource

development in the Missouri River and

50% of all crop lands in eleven western states are watered by irrigation

surrounding region in the interest of the

control and prevention of floods, the promotion of navigation and reclama- tion of public lands, the strengthening of national defense, and for other pur- poses."

The Missouri river

Late in September, the so - called Sloane Plan, the method of developing the Missouri River resources, submitted by Assistant Regional Reclamation Commissioner W. G. Sloane, of the Montana headquarters, was the subject of public hearings before the Senate Irrigation and Reclamation Committee.

The hearings were conducted by Sen.

O'~ahoney. In additi9n to Mr. Sloane, testimony was offered by Comm. Harry W. Bashore, Asst. Comm. William E.

Warne, Liaison Officer W. G. Line- weaver, Chief N. E. Dodd of War Food Administration, Dr. John L. Coulter, former U. S. Tariff Commissioner; Carl H. Wilken, economist; Floyd Hagie, National E-eclamation Association, and others. The Sloane Plan is the Bureau of Reclamation rejoinder to the Pick Plan,

o~ered by.the Army Engineers. It pro- VIdes for more than 30 projects at an initial cost of $396,000,000, of which

$200,000,000 would be spent in the earliest stages. The record made in these hearings will be helpful when the battle begins in Congress over the Flood Con- trol and Rivers and Harbors bills. It is expected further supporting data will be developed at Denver in November at the annual meeting of the National Rec- lamation Association, which promises to be exceedingly interesting. The unity of the 29 States which met in Chicago is

de~onstrated by the call sent to the members of its Conference Committee to meet in Denver two days before the NRC <;onvenes in order to prepare its members for participation in the Na- tional Reclamation Association sessions.

It is' anticipated States not represented at Chicago also will appear at Denver.

There is every evidence that a N a- tional Water Conference movement, as a permanent organization, is about to come into existence. Such nation-wide Conference obviously will give tremen-

?o?s ~omentl;1m to the building of 236 IrngatIOn projects proposed as a post- war undertaking in the West, particu- larly in the 11 states of the Pacific slope.

This huge project, to cost ultimately

$3,000,000,000t creating 135,000 new farms with an additional population of 20,000,000, recently was discussed tn a national radio hook-up by Wi.lliam E.

Warne, Assistant Commissioner of Rec- lamation. If'the West slope snaps into it, and -yigorously, as well as actively, helps to push the program, it is apparent further reclamation of the arid but rich lands of the West is on the march. The idea appeal~ to the East, and especially to the people in the Capital who are

STATE Arizona California Colorado Idaho Montana Nevada New Mexico Oregon Utah Washington Wyoming Total

(CROP ACREAGE) IRRIGATED NONIRRIGATED

652,806 569,657 5,069,568 1,761,385 3,220,685 3,108,177 2,273,949 723,103 1,696,063 4,548,860 832,253 451,688 553,174 1,280,153 1,048,076 1,888,452 1,176,239 1,042,673 615,114 3,015,702 1,486,498 258,384 18,624,425 18,648,234 U. S. Bureau 01 Reclamation.

Water

is

a

fighting

word -in tht: West, as the Missouri River ·

,battle between irrigation

and navigation interests

(BW -Jun.24'44,p42) and the Colo-

rado River battle among eight states, the U. S. government, and Mexico

(BW -Jul.29'44,p39)

will attest. And the reason is not far to seek. Of the 37,272,659 acres of cultivated land in tIle eleven westernmost states, 18,624,- 425, or 49.97%, depend on irrigation.

October~ 1944-WEsTERN CONSTRUCTI0142

• •

Irrigated Nonirrigated (one mil/ion acres of crop land)

CI IU5INE55 WEEK

for

their water

supply. William E.

Warne, , assistant commissioner of the V. S. Bureau of Reclamation, stated recently that with efficient use of ex-

isting

water the amount of formerly arid and semiarid land under cultiva-

tion could be doubled. He went on

to suggest that this might be one way of making a "new frontier" of free or low-rent farm land available to return-

ing

veterans

who

want to own farms.

1 •• I .. e.1 Week • Novell'lber 4. 1944