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. . "It is to be hoped that one of the other of these reports will really tell the story, for there is a whale of a story to tell--a story of failure, of frustrated hopes, of political pork, of bureaucratic miSl'epresentation, and of widespread ignorQIlce of I,he t has been done la th taxpayers' money over a period of more ~lan half 2. century since T. R. pushed through his Reclamation Act of 1902." G r 'l -.cd': tJ ~......J l ~jell, I join in hoping that the story of r,ecla'nstiol'l is fully aired. I hope ti1at the successful operation of the Salt !'J.ver project here in Arizona, the Boise and ninidoka projects in Idaho, the Yakima and ColUl1lbia Basin projects in Washing- ton can be described. I hope the story may be told of how the Colorado-Big Thomp- son project in its first year of fUll operation ~1is past SurnL~er prevented a drouth disaster on 500,COO acres of land in nortil-central Coloredo. I hope tl1e story muy be told of the Central Valley project in Cilifornia and holo/ it has tu:cned flooc! dis2.3ter on the Sacr81,l€nto River, in tho north part of the valley, into a combination rescue fl!ld agricultural expansion effort in the far southern end. I 'lOpe, too, that the story ma~' De tole: of the needs for the future. 'Ihe i.jest generally, and the Southuest in particular, are experiencing the most rapid popula- tion F;rol-rt:l of any section of our country. These nel-J frontiers of expansior. and . opportunity were, to a large degree, provided by reclamation projects. These areas are provi~inf a tremendous market for American industrial products. t '~1e future holds more opportunities for progress. Various ~jestern State groups have severaJ. new rec".amation projects read3'- for Congress tu oonsider for autllorization and init.irticn of construotion. 'I1HJY have been I-lorlced out by States and 10c8.1 groups in close collaboration ,.a tJl the planning engi.neers of the Bureau of Reclamation. None of them ~lCuld huve been feacible by the standards of 50 years ago. ) But then there weren't 35 million people in tile loestern States in 1900 as there are todE'Y either. An acre-foot oI.' !o/1lter today is l;orth infinitel~' more than the farmer on the Salt River project cotud have paid 30 or 40 years ago. And con- versel:', the contribution the.t a farmer can make to the ilmerican economy ';:;y the successful operation of his farm is much greater today than it was a half century ago. TIlat is why I urge the engineering professien, particularly in these Western Ste.tes, to keep in mind not the bigness of the reclanation structure, the number of yards of concrete that [':0 inte the dron, or the intricate desiGn of the outlet works, but the end result. Keep in mind "hat these reclamation facilities are designed to acco!'lplisll, ,Ihat they are accomplishing, and what those planned in the future can do to lift the ceiling of economic opportunity. And be prepared to be vocal about it. We in the West, vhether we be engineer, merchant or farmer, are faced "Ii th a challenge to demonstrate the 1I0rth of recla- mation to ~le l!ation. We should do some talking about it. We should be fully armed to cite chapter and verse of ~1e benefits Roosevelt Dam has contributed to the S2lt :liver ValleY--Mc1, ;)y the s&'lle token, of the benefits the Salt River Valley has contributed to the economic stability and welfare of the Nation. We should be able to tell, for instance, that reta~l sales in Maricopa County in a recent :'ear, totaled ()4:J0 million, that baILc clearings were (i3,229 million, 5