The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1953-12-11
Will We Let Power Trust
Grab HeIls Canyon?


Has it ever occurred to you wha
the water resources of this countr.
mean to we the people? l will use 70
an example the people of the North
west-Montana, Idaho, Washington
and Oregon.
To u.s. water is most important fol
Irrigation, for Recreation, for Trans
portation, and 1 mention the next one
last because l want to go into it fur
ther-Electricity.
Hydro electric power differs from
other electricity in only one major
way 1t is inexpensive to produce. Sc
inexpensive it costs the average home
owner only a few cents a day to live
comfortably with electricity.
This is Important In this modern day
we depend upon electricity for many
thingS-light heat, cooking, and many
others.
Why is power cheap? Because with
a little help from man. Nature does all
the rest. She furnishes the water and
the dam sites All man has to do is
use his technical knowledge and build
the dams and the generators and lines
to carry the power.
1 have heard people say that the Pa
cific Northwest has unlimited hydro
electric power possibilities. This is not
SO. There are few major spots left in
this region where dams might be built.
oh yes, there are many places where
SOMEONE COuIQ DulIu Il QdHl anu pro-
duce a small amount of power, but l
mean where there is sufficient water
and sufficient drop of the water, and
most important, a place where big,
multi-purpOse dam may be built. One
of these is in IdahO-a place called
Hell's Canyon. There the Snake river
has run for thousands of years, digging
a canyon in the granite mountains.
This canyon is almost the last major
one where big dam may be built.
l wish only to give you the facts as
I see them, then ask you the questions
in my mind and let you answer them
yourself.
You will notice that in one of the
above paragraphs I said "multi-pur-
pose dam" Just what is a multi
purpose DAMP"
Everyone has heard of floods. Those
of you who live in river valleys know
the danger and destruction a flood
can bring upon you and your neigh
bOrs. This is another advantage of a
a big dam-Flood Control
A large reservoir of water backed
up by a big dam can be let out evenly
and slowly, and the spring run-off
may be, and will be held back in
the reservoir behind the dam. Import |
ant to the farmer is irrigation water. |
We know that in the summer and fall |
the water is low in the rivers and |
streams. In many places it is hard |
for the farmer to secure sufficient |
water to irrigate his land A big dam |
would store the water from the spring |
thaws and it would be available to the |
farmer throughout the growing sea-
son. Advantage No.2-Irrigation.
Recreation is another feature of a
a big dam. The lake behind the dam
has million possibilities Game for
one. Where there is water there will
be deer and elk. Sports-such as fish
ing and water sports. And, once worth
less land will become resort spots and
grounds, and summer homes
for many who enjoy the out-of doors.
Such "a dam is proposed for HeIIs
Canyon would furnish employment
for thousands. This is good in our
land where unemployment is be-
coming growing problem. We are
going to have to support the unem-
plOyed one way or another, whether
through unemployment insurance,
relief, through government en-
plOyment. The latter would gain us
much more for our tax dollar. 7
Again we come to the big factor in
uilding this dam - Hydro electric
'ower. V
Cheap power is important in many h
One, to the home maker, but a
still bigger asset is the very fact =
hat inexpensive power will draw in I
ustry to the Pacific Northwest. We v
re lacking in industry. This would n
lcreaSe the value of our states, and
ring us more trade. Also the state
Xxx on these industrial developments 1t
lone would greatly increase the O.
ealth of our states n
Here is what the privately owned l
over companies would do. They +
ould build three small dams in Hells n
anyon instead of one big dam. These
ans would be for the purpose of gen
'ating hydro electric power only. 81
here would be little flood control, lit
e irrigation storage, and very little
creation around these dams. Most r.
npOrtant of all, the power would not
: as inexpensive as that the govern
emf would produce. n.
The power companies cannot afford ~
build one big "multi-purpose" DAM -
hey don't give a boot about the 9TH &C
important uses of the large dam. er
ley only want the power. D
What about it? Are we going to -
t the power companies rob us of one
our few remaining natural big dam 7
tes? Can we afford to discount flood
ntrol, irrigation, recr cation, indus