The Winslow mail., 1925-12-11
SECRETARY OF
POWER BOARD
OPPOSED TO
BOULDER DAM

Problems of the Colorado river
took an outstanding position among
questions during the first few days
of congress with the introduction
in the senate of three measures
dealing with the subject and re-
sumption by the senate irrigation
and reclamation committee Of its
investigation of the Boulder Canyon
project.
Senator Ashurst presented
memorial of the Arizona state leg
islature asking that the federal
government go on record in favor
of a policy of using in this country
all waters of the Colorado river SO
that the Mexican government and
using the waters for irrigation may
have ample warning that their use
of the waters will not be consider
ed in this country as basis for
d IL.
Senator Pittman, democrat, Neva-
da, introduced a joint resolution
which would suspend until Febru-
ary !, 1928, the power of the fed
eral power commission to grant ap-
plications for development of pro-
jects of the Colorado river. This
resolution also would declare the
recently expressed policy of the
commission to hold up all develop
ment of the river for reasonable
time pending ratification of the wa
ter compact, to be the policy of
congress.
In resuming it's investigation of
the Boulder Canyon project, which
takes in general survey of all
problems of the Colorado, the irri-
cation and reclamation committee
under Chairman McNary, republi-
can, Oregon, heard testimony of E.
r. Merrill, executive secretary of
the federal power commission, who
questioned the feasibility of erect
ing a $50 or 6O5 foot dam, as sug-
gested. He declared the spread OF
water at such heights would re-
suit in a waste of water from evap-
Grafton which might easily offset
any advantage accruing from the
higher level.
With the amount of water that
would be exposed through the use
of 605 foot dam, Mr.. Merrill said,
an amount sufficient to irrigate
from $4,000 to 100000 acres would
evaporate annually.
Merrill insisted the Boulder pro-
ject should not be considered as
single project but that consldera-
tions should also take into account
the general plan for comprehensive
development of the entire river. He
called attention to the recent ac-
ton by the power commission In
suspending all development along
the Colorado river for reasonable
time until seven basin states had
opportunity to enter into the Colo
rado pact and declared that under
these conditions, he was forced to
assume the commission would not
authorize project of the size pro-
DOScu DIT DOu1OCI ohIA ChC NNAh P~"Se
had been signed in view of the fact
that it had turned down project
one tenth that size because OF the
same consideration.
Mr.. Merrill declared the question
of food control and irrigation had
always been looked upon by the
commission as more than important
than power development. In this
connection he expressed the BELIEF
that storage capacity in the upper
reaches of the river as well as flood
control basins in the lower river
are necessary. He said in deciding
between Boulder and Mohave, drill
ings to determine the cost of lay
ing the foundations would be con-
trolling factor in determining
which site would be most feasible.
This statement was Immediately
seized upon by Senator Johnson,
republican, California, who has ad-
vocated construction of high dam,
who attempted to show Merrill had
not personally investigated the pro-
ject Merrill made it clear that all
his testimony was based on reports
of government engineers who had
made extensive surveys of the sit