Evening star., 1932-11-13

BY the Associated Press.
HOOVER DAM, New, November IL.
The full text of President Hoover S
address here tonight follows:
This is not the first time have
visited the site of this great dam, and
it is giving me extraordinary pleasure
to see the great dream I have long
held taking form in actual reality of
stone and cement.
1t is now 10 years since I became
chairman of the Colorado River Com
mission.
That commission solved in unique
way the legal conflicts as to water
rights amongst six of the States which
had long held up any possibility OF the
realization of these works. This was
accomplished after three years of nego-
tiations, finally closing with the Santa
Fe compact.
1t was the first time that a provision
in the Constitution of the United
States for treaties among the several
states was utilized on SO great scale
that compact was ratified by six Of the
states and is held open to the seventh
to join at any time it may desire. 1t
cleared out the legal underbrush in a
way that enabled the next step to be
taken.
Part in Undertaking.
And I again had the satisfaction of
presenting, both as engineer and as
head of the commission, to President
Coolidge and to the Congress, the great
Importance of these works, and had
further part in the drafting of the final
legislation which ultimately brought
them into being.
This legislation required the making
of an extremely intricate arrangement
by which the Federal Government
should advance the money but the by
product Of power arising from this dam
should be sold in such fashion as to
return to the Federal Government its
entire costs with interest. That con-
tract for the sale of power was sue
ceSsfully negotiated by the present
Secretary of the Interior with my ap-
proval and contracts were let for ac-
tual construction which was begun
during my administration.
The work has been carried forward
with such rapidity that 1t is already
more than a year ahead Of schedule
period for its completion. Within a
few days the river will be diverted
through massive tunnels in order that
the foundations of the dam may be
laid.
This dam Is the greatest engineering
work of its Character ever attempted
by the hand of man. It's height alone
is nearly TOO feet, making it more than
100 feet higher than the Washington
Monument, and far higher than any
other such construction ever undertaken.
Swift Flowing Streams.
To understand its purpose our people
must realize that the Colorado River, in
its freshets from the SHOWS of the
Rocky Mountains, flows at rate as
great as that of Niagara. In the dry
season 1t diminishes to less than 5 per
cent of its maximum flow. The pur-
pose of the dam, therefore, is to store
the freshet. And the amount of water
is so gigantic in its proportions that
the lake created behind it is over -c0
miles long and will require the entire
flow of the river for more than two
years to fill it.
The primary purpose Of this great
construction was not the production OF
power as by-product to its major pllr-
pose it will produce over a million
horsepower which will, as I have said,
pay the cost of the dam and interest
back to the Federal Treasury.
Its major purposes were four in num-
Der.
Its first purpose was to stabilize the
flow Of the river from these gigantic
annual floods thus preventing dest-uc-
ton OF the great Imperial Valley and
the agriculture which has grown up in
the neighboring States and in Mexico.
Most Americans will remember how
President Theodore Roosevelt many
years ago had to intervene to stop the
break in the levees on the river through
which the whole of this river was pour
ing in torrents into the arena of the
Imperial Valley which, being below sea
level, would have been turned in an
irredeemable sea. This danger is for
ever removed by the construction of
this dam.
Water for Large Area.
Second, to provide supply of domes-
tic water accessible to Southern Cali
fornia and parts Of Arizona. Southern
California has population grown al
most to the point where its entire water
supply is absorbed, as evidenced by the
periodic necessity to ration water in
that quarter. With these new supplies
of water its growth can go on for gen.
erationS.
And in this connection, I may men
ton that through loans from the Re
construction Corporation, work starts
at once on the great acqueduct to carry
this water into Los Angeles and the
surrounding towns.
The third purpose was to provide an
adequate supply Of irrigation water to
the large areas Of Arizona, the Imperial
Valley and other valleys Of Southern
California.
! American rights in the now Of the river