Evening star., 1952-07-02
Text of President 7ruus Speech Dedication of Arkansas Power Project

Here Is the tert OF President
TrunrGn's address today at Bull
Shoals Dam, Ark, dedicGting
Norfolk and Bull Shoals Dams.
I am glad to be here among
so many friends. I am sure you
are all as impressed as I am by
this huge dam here at Bull
Shoals. And the one I saw over
at Norfolk this morning Is al
most as big as this one.
These dams belong to the
people. We are here to dedicate
them to the service Of the peo-
pie.
Bull Shoals and Norfolk Dams
will hold back millions Of gal
Ions of flood water-water that
otherwise would go on q ram
page down the river. tearing up
good farm land. carrying away
homes, filing towns with mud
and trash.
The electric generators at
these dams will have a capacity
of more than 100000 kilowatts.
These dams will have capacity
enough to supply four cities the
size of Little Rock. Ark, or seven
cities the size Of Springfield.
Mo.
The reservoirs behind these
dams are creating wonderful OPP
portunities for fishing, camping
and recreation. I am told that
more than 100000 people visited
Norfolk Lake last year.
These are marvellous projects,
indeed. They are examples OF
how men have learned to put
the resources of nature to work
for human good. But they are
examples of something else. too.
They are examples of how peo-
pie have to fight to overcome
not only the forces of nature.
but also the forces Of reaction
and selfishness.
You people in Arkansas and
Missouri know how hard you
had to fight to get these dams
built. Bull Shoals and Norfolk
were opposed, bitterly opposed.
And why? Because in addition
to stopping floods they were to
produce hydroelectric power.
Public Interest VS..
Private SeIfishness
And right there the public
interest ran headon into pri-
vate selfishness. For there were
some private power companies
in this area who thought that
nobody should be allowed to
produce power but themselves.
These private power companies
had been given State charters
to produce and sell power, and
they seemed to think that gave
them some sort Of divine right
to prevent any one else from
producing electricity.
They fought against these
dams for years. They made
speeches, and they put ads in
the papers. and they appeared
before congressional commit
tees. trying by every means
fair and foul alike-to prevent
these dams from being started.
You may remember that the
Arkansas Power & Light Co.
built an expensive working
model of a dam. This model
was supposed to prove that you
could not have flood control
and power in the same project.
The company carted that thing
all over the State of Arkansas,
trying to fool people. They
didn't fool anybody but them
selves.
I hope the gentlemen who
built that model will come up
here and look at Bull Shoals
and Norfolk in operation. They
will see how foolish they were.
These great dams are stopping
floods and they are producing
.poWer-an at the same time,
and in the same projects. It's
pretty hard to argue with a
fact.
But 1t isn't enough simply to
produce power at dams like
these. That power is no good
unless it gets to the people who
need it. at a cost they can afford
to pay. Power can make a tre-
mendous difference in peoples
lives. as many of you here
know from your own experience
Electricity can replace the kero-
sene lamp and the hand
operated pump. It can replace
hand milking and the old-fash-
ioned washboard. Farm families
and town families need elec-
tricity for refrigerators and
freezers and hay dryers and
feed grinders and a hundred
0ther lISeS