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<br />JJJ174 <br /> <br />~- <br /> <br />Write your Congressmen and roroe more intelligent legislation to be enacted. <br /> <br />People or the West, yours are the stakes whioh are wagered. By your inaotion <br />they may be lost--by your aotions they will be wonl <br /> <br />KMYR - Deoember 11, 1943 <br /> <br />People or Coloradol Today I sound a warning of a threat to existing irri- <br />gation aotivities. H you rind that the danger is real then the West must awaken <br />and aot. <br /> <br />For more than rorty years the people or the semi-arid states have looked to <br />the Reolamation Bureau for aid in the solution of their problems of agrioultural <br />development. Reservoirs and oanals for the impounding and transport:ati on of <br />water for irrigation have been construoted and operated to bless the V;est and <br />to raise orops with whioh to reed a large portion of tho nation. <br /> <br />Reoently a movement has been oommenoed whioh would relegate the Reolamation <br />Bureau to a seoondary position in the development of river struotures. The Se_. <br />oretary of War and' the Chief of Engineers would be authorized to impose a new <br />oontrol on western rivers with navigation and f'lood danger made par8JI\ount to irri- <br />gation and eleotrio power development. <br /> <br />The injurious results to agrioulture and business cannot be estimated. <br />Plans for new projeots and struotures might well be abandoned. <br /> <br />A series of Congressional measures, sorne already introduoed and others whioh <br />are oontemplated will submerge Reolamation aotivities, they call ror attention <br />and aotion. <br /> <br />The rirst whioh oonoerns Colorado direotly is oontained in Senate Bill No. <br />1519 whioh was introduced on November 9th. It is .100 be oalled the Arkansas_White <br />River Basin Aot. <br /> <br />Arter direoting the oonstruction and operation of d8JI\s, reservoirs and allied <br />structures to insure oontemplated navigation and flood oontrol benerits, the bill <br />express~y says that hydroeleotrio energy may be. generated and irrigation and <br />reolamation uses may be permitted only when they are oonsistent with navigation <br />and flood oontrol. <br /> <br />Then to complete the unfavorable phases of the measure it is provided that <br />projects so construoted may be utilized for irrigation only with the oonourrenoe <br />of the Seoretary of War. <br /> <br />For years the West has been injured and retarded t: governmental agenoies <br />with no understanding of our.problems and our potentialities. The rest of the <br />oountry knows little of the conditions whioh diotated the irrigation systems <br />