The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-09-30

dam the world has ever see long ago planned and concei'
 Almost forgotten today is Arr thur Powell Davis, first father of Boulder Dam. Years ago, as chief engineer of the reclama- ton service, and later it's direc. tor, he planned the great pro- ject being dedicated today.
 For years the Davis report was the Bible for Boulder Dam. Then in 1023-six years before the dam was fought through congress = Davis found himself too liberal for the Harding administration and was fired.
 He went on to other things, notably the giant Mokehumne river aqueduct which supplies San Francisco and the vicinity with water. But as far as Bouler Dam was concerned, he was forgotten
 Until Secretary of the Inter- for Ickes remembered, called him back to Washington, gave him a special title in recognition of his services.
 One month later Davis died. Three Step-Fathers
 Three others stand alongside A. P. Davis as the fathers of Boulder Dam.
 They are Senator Hiram Johnson, ex-Congressma Phil Swing of California, and Elwood Mead, who succeeded Davis as director of reclamation.
 Mead Is now 77 years old. During about 57 of those years he supervised irrigation and reclamation projects in the far west, in Australia, in Palestine, in Austria and Germany, until he became the foremost land settlement authority of his day.
 And during the last twenty of those years he has fought the fight of Boulder Dam. One arm cut of almost at his shoulder, indcfatigable despite his years, Dr. Mead has pierc- ing blue eyes that give only Q hint of the fire that burns beneath his mild exterior. Swing and Johnson Phil Swing was elected to con- gress from San Diego in 1920 on the sole platform of passing the Boulder Dam bill. Prior to elec- ton he had helped organize the imperial irrigation district and was one of the greatest irriga- tion advocates in California.
 Boulder Dam was approved by congress in 1929. The next term following, Swing was defeated by aNdemocrat.
 But both Swing and Mead would have failed had it not been for the bulldog tenacity of Hiram Johnson.
 John son introduced the Boulder Dam bill in the senate even before Swing was elect ed to congress. Every session it was side-tracked. Every session he re-intrOduced 1t. Every year he crept closer to his goal.
 And if any one individual can rank with Davis as the father of Boulder Dam, 1t is the irasci- ble, bear-tempered, uncomprom- ising, loveable senator from California, who drove to a final conclusion the idea Davis con- ceived.
 Itinerant Ambassador
 When the Brazilian ambassa- dor, who beat Roosevelt to Boulder Dam by month, regis tered at the hotel in Las Vegas, he wrote: "Oswaldo Aranha, 5000 Massachusetts Ave-, Wash- ington, D. C."
 He wanted to remain in- cognito, confident that no one in that community of ranchers and construction workers, D. 800 miles from Washington, ever had heard of him.
 Tho incognito worked, and he spent the evening making conversation with anyone who would talk tO' him about the dam, the New Deal, and the desert.
 But at breakfast next morning his luck changed. The waitress put a cup of coffee at his right, little book in front of him, and said: MT. Ambassador, would you kindly give me your auto graph?"
 No one in Ambassador Aran- has party has yet been able to figure out how she discovered his identity. But they suspect the chauffeur.
 First Boulder Settlers
 Despite the tributes to Boulder Dam, the administration for months soft-pedaled the fact that new irrigable land was go- ing to be withheld from cultiva- ton.
 Reason for this was the al- ready existing crop surpluses and the attempt by the AAA to reduce or stabilize crop produc- tion.
 Now. however, this decision has been reversed. Rex Tug wells rural resettIcmcnt ad- mInistratiOn is looking for rich areas where 1t can relocate families from impoverished farming areas. It has cost cOvetOus eyes on reclamation areas around Boulder Dam.
 As a result hundreds of fam flies from northwest drought
 Rv EJ Paad