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<br />\;- ."" <br />'{, ,~ <br />, <br />$ <br /> <br />002367 <br /> <br />EXCERP'l{S FROM <br />STATEMENT BY MAJO~ GENERAL 'E. C. ITSCHNER <br />. ClIIEF OF ENGINEERS, U. S. ARMY <br />. / . - . <br />BEFORE SENATE 9OMMI'l'TEES ON INTERIOR AND <br />INSULAR AFFAIRS AND PUBLIC ,WORKS <br />. 18 February 19'5!l ' <br /> <br />.:.l)!~~ <br />._~:-..'J", <br /> <br />The Soviets are proud of their accomplishmeBts iB this field (water resources, <br />developIOellt) and publicize tkem widely. Sometimes the task of ceOTdiaat.b.g and <br />interpretimg the facts and statistics is difficult and ceBfusimg, aad we do Bot <br />always have al~ the detail we would like. Fer example, it is al1 but impossible te <br />measure their efforts ia meaetary terms. Nevertheless, I believe we,haveeaeugh <br />infermatioa to give this committee an evaluatioa of Soviet accomplishmeats, progress, <br />and programs in the water resource field. <br /> <br />SUMMARY OF SOVIET STATUS <br /> <br />The Soviet wsteli" resource effort is demoastratimg to the world what caa be deme <br />1m this field by well-coJis1dered, loag ruge plsmning aad, a williagaess ~o make <br />sacrif~es ia prese~t staadards of livimg'ia order to achieve the goal of a great <br />futu,re indus'trial develoP,:"eBt. IBdeed,. the Soviets have givea water resource develep- <br />ment a priority secolld omly to the developmeat of heavy i1.dustry desigaed to support <br />military programs. This fact must be viewed in the light of Secretary Khruschev's <br />statemeat: '~e declare war oa the Uaited States ia peaceful productiell...We,will <br />win over the Uaited States." Thus they have opealy challellged us e. a c.mP~titi&1l <br />for wsrld ecoaomic demiaaJice. Obviously, ia view of tae priority given it,they <br />regard theIr race against us im water resource developmeat as a key cORtest' 1It -this <br />cemp'etit1on for werld supremacy. . <br /> <br />I weuldliItetos':'~arize for yeu hew the race staads today. <br /> <br />Ift hydroelectric p~er development, the Soviets alre4dy approach us ia total <br />installed capacity aad' have iad~vidual projects uRder c8astructioR tRat far exceed <br />afty American project ia cap~city. : <br /> <br />In imland waterway navigatioa, they have projects that rival ours, aad plaas <br />that probably 'surpass ours, though the amGuat of navigatioa oa tlteir waterways' ts <br />less than that OR Americaa waterways. <br /> <br />In irrigation, the types of developmeat are ceasiderably differeat, but the <br />Soviet effort is roughlY comparable to ours iR scope. They have bigger projects than <br />ours, and they probably are irrigatiRg aew acres at le~t as fast as we are. <br /> <br />In otlter aspects of water resource devel~pment, such as flood cORtrol,-water <br />supply, and recreatioR, they do aot have projects equal to ours but appear aGt to <br />need them at this time. <br /> <br />Their eRgineeriag, vessels, and cOIlS,tructioa, allowing fer I'heir differeat <br />circumstances, appear to be equal ,to ours. <br /> <br />Their power equipment and eagineeriRg, ia items like geaerators aad trallsmission <br />lines, are excellent, and they are superior to ours in a few characteristics. <br /> <br />T~e most remarkable fact about the Soviet water resource effert is its rate <br />of growth. At the ead of World War II much of :the F,urepeu portin of the SiWiet <br />Unioa was devastated. 'Their ~jer programs have beeR accomplished ~argely within <br />teR years~-,the bulk of them, in faet;,. wit1tb. tlae past five years.. The ecoa8lllic <br />