The Chapel Hill weekly., 1957-07-05
Why Accept A
Stroneer's Opinion!

The situation must be getting desperate for
those fayoring the dam when 1t becomee necessary
70 import United States Senator from the State 81
Oregon to explain the necessity for o dam being
built at Moncure North Carolina.
What does the Senator from Oregon know about
the drought conditions or the flood conditions pn the
lower Cape Fear River? When Senator Wayne
Morse was in Raleigh he could have told us some
thing about what was going on in the West; that
every acre of land irrigated West Of the Mississippi
RiVer some 26 million acres, cost the taxpayers 81
America from $4,000 up to 81 900 an acre to ir-
rigate these lands, and much Of this land can now
be bought for $3.50 an acre.
II we should ever need more farmland, there
is 100 million of land in the Southe astern states
that could be cleared out of the brush and put into
cultivation for cost of from $110 to $3.50 an acre.
ana TINS would be much cheaper than irrigAtinR
land IN the West at cost to the taxpayers Of from
$4,000 to $1,000 an acre
The Senator might have enlightened us on how
these big projects in the West were being financed.
Take the Arizona project that was brought before
Congress. The State of Arizona proposed to put up
1000 to build the project the State Of Arizona
getting all the benefits Of the project and calling on
me other states OF the Union to help finance It, New
York was called upon to put up 1855 million; Cali
iornia $l93 million; Texas 500 million; and 30 on
through the states; North Carolina $8b million-to
finance project in Arizona. the State Of Arizona
getting all the benefits of the project agreeing only
to put up $10,600,000.
The Senator might have told Us something about
the history Of the United States Bureau of Rsclama-
non. When big project comes up for considsra-
uon, the United States Bureau Of Reclamation is
called upon by Congress to make an estimate of the
project. Our Congressman accept these estimates
at face value. In looking over the records of the
United States Bureau of Reclamation, there seems
TO be wide difference between the estimated cost
OF project and the actual cost Of project when
completed
Let US look at some of these. The United States
Bureau estimated that the Milk River project in
Montana would cost 81 million. When the project
was completed it cost 81 million The Idaho project
was estimated to cost $2,6o0,OOO. When completed
1t cost 1900 000 The California project was est
mated by the Bureau to cost $17O million When
completed it cost $667 million. The Missouri Basin
project was estimated to cost 1881 Million When
million
Why such difference between the estimated
cost OF project and the actual cost? Can it be
that these estimates just bait that Congress is
thus baited with these low estimates and later caught
with the bills to pay? If 80, it's great system they
have-underestimatin the cost of project, exag-
gerating the benefits of project leaving the people
with all Of the bills to pay. This is something Con-
gress might investigate. The Senator didn't tell us
anything about the workings of the Bureau Instead
he spent all of his time talking about the shortage
Of water.