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<br />-9- <br /> <br />Write your Congressmen and f'oroe mOJ'e intelligent legislation to be enacted. <br /> <br />People of the West # yours ar$ the stakes. whioh are wagered. By your wotton <br />they may be lost--by your aoti ens they will be won' <br /> <br />lCMYR. Deoember 11. 1943 <br /> <br />People of Colorado., Today I sound a waming of a threat to existing irri- <br />gation aotivities. If' you f'ind that the danger is real then the 'Vest must aaken <br />and aot. <br /> <br />For more than f'orty years the people of' t~e semi....rid states have looked to <br />the Reolanation Bureau f'or aid in the solution of their problems of' agrioultUral <br />development. Reservoirs and oanals for the impounding and transportati on of <br />water for irrigation have been oonstructed and. operated to bless the VIest and <br />to raise orops with whioh to feed a large portion of' the nation. <br /> <br />Reoently a movement has been oomlnenoed 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 flood danger made paramount 'bo irri- <br />gation and eleotrio power development. <br /> <br />The injurious results to agrioulture and business oannot be estimated. . <br />Plans for new projeots and structures might well be abandoned, <br /> <br />A series of' Congressional measures, some already introduoed and others whioh <br />are oontemplated will submerge Reolamation aotivities, they oall for attention <br />and aotion. <br /> <br />The first whioh ooncerns Colorado direotly is oontained in Senate Bill No. <br />l5l9 whioh was introduoed on November 9th. It is to be oalled the Arkansas-white <br />River Basin Aot. <br /> <br />Arter direoting the oonstruction and operation of' dams, reservoirs- and allied <br />struotures to insure oontemplated navigation and f'lood oontrol benefits, the bill <br />express,ly says that hydroeleotrio energy may be generated and irrigation and <br />reolamation uses may be pennitted only when they are oonsistent with navigation <br />and f'lood oontrol. <br /> <br />Then to bomplete the unfavorable phases of' the measure it is provided that <br />projeots so construoted may be utilized f'or irrigation only with the oonourrenoe <br />of' the Seoretary of War. <br /> <br />For years the West has been injured and retarded c; governmental agenoies <br />with no understanding of our problems and our potentialities. The rest of the <br />oountry knows little of' the oonditiOA. whioh di~ated the ir1'1gation systems <br /> <br />