The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1951-03-16
Something For Nothing-or
Who Pays the Fiddler?
By e. J. PARKINSON, Great Falls
First In A Series of Three Articles

fIfSC In a Series OF Three Articles
There is no such thing as getting
something for nothing, although some
times when we try it, we get more than
we bargained for.
The cost of the Missouri Valley de-
velopment under the various plans pro-
posed is estimated to cost about 6R
This is about $1,625000 900 for each of
the proposed improvements, Naviga
ton. Power, Flood Control and Irriga-
ton, and would average about $4,000
for every family in the Missouri river
watershed from Yellowstone Park to
st. Louis. What will it be worth to
them?
NAVIGATION
The Missouri river from Sioux City
to ST. Louis, a distance of $50 milef, is
to be improved for navigation as
part of the Missouri Valley develop
ment. The total cost of work already
done and to be done is estimated to be
about 870,000,0 900, or about 2h mil
lion dollars per mile This is about
$4,000 for every family in the United
States from Maine to California or
about $1,000 for every family in the |
Missouri Valley watershed from Old |
Faithful to the Mississippi. This |
amount Of money would build a 6-lane |
heavy duty highway, plus a double |
track railroad, on both sides of the Mis-
souri, river from Sioux City to st. Louis,
and also heavy duty continuous land
ing field for aeroplanes for the whole
distance. After that, there would still
be money enough left to build a heavy
duty highway on every mile of Mon
tana's federal aid highway system
or, as another alternative, it would
build heavy duty highways or rail
roads across the United States from |:
the Atlantic to the Pacific. If these
then were maintained free by the gov
a. ont h. |
be, transportation costs on nearly all
freight and passenger traffic, of nearly
everybody in the United States would
be reduced to only a small fraction of
what it is now
At this point it might be in order to /:
ask, Why should any money at all be
spent on navigation of the Missouri
river:" Water transportation on rivers !.
has been a negligible factor in World .
War III or the Korean War. The very :
good reason for this is that a slow
moving vessel is just sitting duck for /:
planes. Also, it is too slow
% move military supplies where they F.
ire needed when they are needed F.:
Brig. General Sturgis of the Army
has this to say: Il know of no other e
ype of transportation route that is :
Us resistant to interruption of service :
Tue TO bombing, as an open water sys- =
en- That may have been true so =
ears ago, but not so today. Here is :
Why and l challenge Cen Sturgis to :
me- :
First we have FIT Peck dam with :
bout 20 million acre feet stored behind :
[. Next is the Garrison dam storing =
million acre feet Then there are =
everal other dams on the Missouri :
lVer above Sioux City. One of the i'm :
ortant purposes of these dams is to =
roVlde water for continuous naviga- =
ion below Sioux City, although what :
night be transported in case of war =
5 rather hard to imagine =
Let us assume that some country that -
ad the atom bomb decided to attack =
s. At the present time, that could -
My be Russia. Our military authori- =
les tell us that at least half of a fleet =
f enemy planes carrying bombs would =
each their target in the United States =
of everything we might do =
D stop them. II
Their First Objective" L
Let us assume that they had decided -
hat destruction of our water transpor- =
alton and power system would be 8
heir first objective. They start out -
18th a dozen atom bombs and land six =
n their targets. The first one would =
e on Fort Peck dam, blasting a chan -
ell through it below the water line. =
egardless of how small such a chan -
Ell might be, within "a hours there =
Ould be a gulch clear to the bottom of =
lie dam not less than a half mile wide, -
robably more, probably amount to at =
asst 20 million cubic feet of water =
ar second, which would be around 200 -
mes more water than the greatest =
God on record for the Missouri river =
Then assume that another bomb was =
Popped on Garrison dam. This would =
)uble the flood to around 400 times -
lie greatest flood on record. Bombing -
the rest of the dams between there =
I'd Sioux City would mean flood at -
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