Imperial Valley press., 1922-12-08

difficulty, rather than go to court
with further long delays, and no
settlement can be obtained in either
basin or between the two without
the unanimous consent of all parties.
Now, the problem, which interests
you most is the question of the ere
alton of storage and the develop
ment of this particular territory. |
am convinced, as | believe most of
the other engineers ere convinced,
that the place at which the great
storage reservoir sh0uld be erected
is in the neighborhcod of Boulder
Canyon. We often refer to it as
h the Boulder Dam but it need
not be within 80 or 40 miles of it,
for much engineering investigation
| must be carried on to determine the
proper place; but for all practical
! purposes. and from every engineers
ing point of view, il should be To-
Gated in the lower canyOn-approX-
! imatcly at Boulder Canyon.
Largest Reservoir IN History
That reservoir can be so construct
ed a8 to drain the entire flow of the
river for period Of "A months, com
/ prisiug the. largest reservoir ever
| erected in human histOry--including
| q greater dam than was ever built be-
forc-twice the height and live to
! 10 times the amount of water ever
! atored--iu a single engineering
work. 1t is, indeed, one Of the
greatest engineering works ever con
! templated at the hands OF man.
| That dam, when constructed, and 1t
undoubtedly will be constructed,
will furnish Il vast amount of water
power and will in itself comprise a
sufficient storage OF water to cover
the development Of the lower BASIN,
not only in our generation, but in
the generation Of our children.
And, yet, beyond this, are other
sites nature has provided ON the
Colorado River, i'll the lower basin,
| by which even that storage may be
doubled, if the agricultural and in
dustrial activities in this part OF
America should warrant. All to-
gether, if we could look ahead q
century,or, perhaps, only . genera
ton, we could see the additions of
millions of homes in the southern
basin of the Colorado River alone.
Now, you have other problems be-
sides the problem of storage. You
have the problems of new canals,
Ail-American, certain canals III Ari-
IONA, canals that are necessary be
fore water can be adequately APP
piled and before our American inter
ests can be protected.
You have a bill before Congress
through your representative, pfovid-
ing not only for the construction of
a dam at Boulder Canyon, but pro
viding also for the construction of
these great lateral canals, which are
, ultimately absolutely necessary for
the development of the lower basin.
Congressman Cooperate
think all interests are unit in
n desire to see that legislation
passed, and it has had from the be-
ginning the warm support of all
members Of the cabinet from the
, west. It has had the support of
most Of the representatives and SEN
ators from the west, except with
reservation that they could not per
nit that legislation to pass until
such time as the water rights of the
two basins were fixed, and | would
like to emphasize that particular
point again. It is 4 hard and bitter
, fact that there can be no program
, successfully consummatod for the
development of the lower river until
this compact is ratified or, alterna-
lively, if it should fail, until The
determination of the respective
rights of the river have been made
drought the courts.
Now. / would not be acting frank
, " with you, if I We're to tell you
, the program of that appropriation
, as planned before congress now Is
. certain of consumma ton, or has any
color of smooth sailing. You must
q bear in mind that these great prob
: lens, problems of protection to your
, life and property, problems of the
development of your part of the
United States, are long ways re
{ moved from the whole of the eastern
and middle western parts of the
4 United States; that today with the
enormous tax burden upon the
Americans there is little desire on
the part of the whole of the eastern
and middle western states to en-
courage that burden, even by the
creation of such reproductive works
as are contemplated here.
Colorado Greatest Undeveloped Asset
1t is my belief, and ! believe
agreed in by all thinking people who
have given any study to the prob
lem, that there is no direction in
which we are justified in expand
ing the expenditures of the federal
government, save the one, and that
is in the creation of reproductive
work that increases the number OF
I homes and the wealth of the United
States; and that this Colorado river
problem is today the greatest unde
q vcloped asset of the American peo-
\ pie, and one that warmly warrants
the support of the whole nation IN
its consummation, but it is long
i way from your opinion and my opn'
\ ion to conviction of some 80 mil
4 lion American people, who do not
come directly in contact with. this
problem.
Therefore, large amount OF
spade work still remains to be done
a before this project can secure that