The people's voice., 1958-10-17

Current government publications
present some interesting facts about
Montana's big cash crop. wheat.
Statistical Abstracts of the U. S.,
published annually by the Commerce
Department, show that Montana's
acres in 1909-13 to 4,984,000 acres
in 1945-54. The Agriculture Depart
ment's estimate of acres planted in
1858 is 100000.
At the same time, the number of
acres harvested in the South (Ala-
bama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia,
Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mis-
sissippi, the Carolinas, Tennessee, Vir-
ginia and West Virginia) declined
from an average of 3,896,000 in
1909-13 to an estimated 2,001, 900 in
1858.
Montana's acreage allotment has
risen while that of the South has
fallen. According to the Agriculture
Department, our 1888 allotment was
3,973,939 acres, or $3.50 of the
U. S. total, that of the South was
2,597, 500, or 4.1596 of the U. S.
total. Montana's 1858 allotment was
1858, 1927 acres, 1880 of the U. S.
total; that of the South was 1,517,534
acres, 2.76%o Of the U. S. total.
So Montana's share of the national
allotment has been increasing while
that of the South has been decreas-
ing. Fifteen years ago, Montana's
allotment was half again as large as
the South's. Now it is two and one
half times as large.
LIBBY DAM
The International Joint Commits
sion, which must approve U. S.
Canadian Boundary water resource
development projects, reports cen
couraging" developments in negotia-
tions on proposed Libby Dam in
northwestern Montana. This word
comes from Commissioner Eugene
w. Weber. "The first of these is the
comprehensive examination of the
principal projects, existing and po-
tential, in the Columbia River Basin
which the commission and it's advis-
ers made in July of this year," he
wrote Senator Mansfield. GAS a re-
suit of that survey, we believe that
the mutual understanding of interests
in both Canada and the United States
of the various projects and the prob
lens associated with their develop
ment has been greatly improved"
eve believe that the Canadian Sec
tion of the commission and Canadian
officials interested and concerned
are appreciative of the merits of the
Libby project as compared with other
particularly possible uni
lateral action by Canada to divert the
Kootenay in such a way as to pre-
clude the feasibility of constructing
Libby. 1t appears that, when the engi-
neering and factual data are placed
on the table our Canadian col
leagues will be willing to consider the
Libby project applicable without
further delay"
Weber said this material is expect
ed to become available to the COM
luloSlOH COW olIdo CllC Cill VI Ililo Noll-
endar year, and that he hoped the
project could be taken up by the COM
mission next year.
Libby, biggest storage project re-
naming to be built in the Pacific
woud be a $285 million
dam rising 40 feet above
bedrock in the Kootenai River near
Libby. 1t was authorized by Congress
in 1850, but construction is contin-
gent upon an agreement with Canada.
Meanwhile, Senators Murray and
Mansfield and Congressman Metcalf
have introduced legislation to build
-he dam on the installment plan
5he first stage backing water to the
Canadian border, the second stage to
oe added when agreement is reached
With Canada. When they introduced
he bill, Metcalf expressed the fear
hat further delay might allow Can
ada to "shut the water off" by divert
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