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<br />00256~ <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />absolute necessity. <br />Accordingly, before the Inter-Agency Committee members and <br />adherents assembled here lunge into the vexatious problem of <br />procedures, a thorough comprehension and understanding of the <br />objectives sought and the difficulties to be encountered in <br />their solution, must be given solemn consideration. Thoughtful <br />organization is an emphatic must, but organization for the sake <br />of organization constitutes a grave menace. I fear that Inter- <br />Agency Committees are slipping into that trap. ~hat we do here <br />could become a "delaying tactic" which the urgency of the situa- <br />tion cannot tolerate. <br />The pioneers who settled this arid and semi-arid West are <br />correctly described as hardy, industrious and courageous. They <br />were self-reliant with abiding faith in themselves. My greatest <br />good fortune in life was to have been reared among them. As a <br />boy of ten, ably assisted by my brave mother, I looked after our <br />western Nebraska cattle ranch while my father and older brother <br />worked on the Perkins County ditch at Julesburg - 60 miles dis- <br />tant-to bring water from the South Platte to our parched land. <br />I am not inferring for one minute that the settlers could <br />or should meet the challenge of putting water on the land today. <br />They did put millions of acres under irrigation but all of it was <br />simple diversion from stream flaw. Today huge reservoirs, costing <br />hundreds of millions of dollar~ are required which call for more <br />capital than even a wealthy state dare undertake. Low cost irri- <br />gation projects in the west are passe. Only the unlimited credit <br /> <br />2 <br />