The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-07-23

preserving states rights. Its high light was an eight-point indictment against establishing any more gov- ernment corporations which would have political and economic author ity that crossed state lines and were not answerable to Congress for the expenditure of their revenues.
 This letter was published just be- fore the Senate Commerce Sub- committee opened hearings on Mon- tana Senator James E. Murray's bill to create new Missouri Valley Au- thority. The committee reported against MVA. The letter wasn't the only cause, but it helped. Roy Miller acting president of the Intracoastal Canal Association, of Louisiana and Texas, chairman of the water lob- by's co-ordinating committee, was star witness.
 Flushed by its first success the lobby expanded in preparation for further MVA hearings this fall. Eleven more land and water users associations joined up, bringing the total to 31. The 31 have now issued a second blast, 60,o00 copies of a pamphlet entitled, "The Authority Issue, written by Judge Clifford H. Stone of the National Reclamation Association. It is a blistering attack against the whole idea of river val- ley development under authorities. LOBBY MAKES
 STRANGE BEDFELLOWS
 There is no known compilation of the membership or resources of the 31 organizations in this water lob by. But a close look at the list re- veals not only its power, but some strange bedfellows:
 Take the National Rivers and Harbors Congress, founded in 1901. u works for bigger and better con- gressional appropriations for river and harbor development, and gets them. Its president is U. s. Senator John L. Mcclellan of Arkansas. Its four national vice presidents are Senator John H. Overton of Louisi- ana and Congressman William H. Wilmington Mississippi, Hugh Pe- terson of Georgia and Charles R.. ClaSon of Massachusetts. Chairman of the Board is Congressman Dewey Short of Missouri.
 Four other congressman and three ex-congressmen are on it's board of directors. National Rivers and Har- bors Congress makes great point that its annual budget is only $12,- 900 a year. But when a pressure group has 19 active congressman among its top officers, maybe money isn't necessary.
 Take the National Reclamation Association. It was originally or ganized in 1898 and was responsible for passage of the act which created the U. s. Bureau of Reclamation in the Department of Interior. The as- sociation was reorganized 13 years ago under the leadership of Cover nor George H. Dern, former Secre- tary of War. Today it represents over 400 western state water dis trictS.
 SACRED COW"
 ASSOCIATION
 It is pretty much of sacred COW around the Department of Interior which has an unwritten rule against ever referring to the association as deriving any of its support from western railroads or private power companies, though it is openly charged with these affiliations by National Farmers Union.
 The Water Conservation Con- mittee's Continuing Committee came into being last September in Chicago It was conference called primarily by National Reclamation Association. Representatives from 28 states were assembled for the purpose of perfecting amendments to flood control and rivers and har- bors legislation then pending before Congress. Senator Joseph c. O,Ma- honey of Wyoming and Eugene D. Millikin of Colorado attended and the amendments which they spon- sored and the Conference supported were written into the bills.
 These. are probably the big three of the 31 organizations now group ed in the water lobby.