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<br />. <br /> <br />00257r::: <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />.. <br />,j <br /> <br />pointed out in his NRA speech. it cannot be ll~llionstr$1f~d'1fh~, <br /> <br />in 170 years, this power has been abused. He quotes from the <br /> <br />New River case the following language: <br /> <br />"The district court is ~11te right in saying there <br />are obvious limits to such improvements as affecting <br />navigability, These limits are necessarily a matter <br />of degree. There must be a balance between cost and 11 <br />need at a time when the improvement would be useful." <br /> <br />and then says: <br />"In all the talk about it. have you heard that <br />before? It1s there. Does that sound to you like <br />a disposit1on toward irresponsibility?" <br />But enough of discussion of the "powers" of the federal <br />government. They are there in the Constitution, and they will, <br />in all likelihood remain. By admitting the existence of these <br />powers, the hTestern states move to a middle ground. They do <br />not say that private water rights established under existing <br />state law are impregnable---they admit that they are subject <br />to these powers. I think that in all the heat that has been <br />generated on the subjeot of the confliot between state and <br />federal water rights, the federal government overlooks the <br />fact that the West is already meeting the federal government <br />halfway. <br /> <br />We must now turn to the second class of rights held by <br />the United States--property rights as owner of publio lands. <br />as distinguished from powers of the federal government. <br />The federal government holds vast areas as proprietor. <br />With the oonsent of the senior senator from Colorado, Hon. <br />Gordon Allott, I attaoh as Appendix A a table showing suoh <br /> <br />-5- <br />