The people's voice., 1959-03-13
Continued From Page One)


watt hours of power capacity, it:
100000 acre-feet of usable water
storage and it's many other bene
fits. Paradise Dam is needed for the
jobs it will create, the new businesses
and industries it will bring into
being. the broader tax base it will
develop and the expanded recreation
al activities it will provide.
"Of direct concern to farm peo-
ple," Kenfield continued, "are the
possibilities for expanded local mar
kets for farm produce and the sta
bility the project will afford the
local economy. Of direct concern
also to farm people are the extra
power supplies and irrigation aspects.
Paradise will help firm up the
electric energy Of the whole region
to the benefit of many rural cleo
trio co-operatives serving many thou
sands of rural families. Need for
rural power is emphasized by the
fact farmers are doubling their use
of electric energy every five years.
paradise could ultimately make
available tens of thousands of irri-
gable acres of land in the area.
Not only could the $500 acres of
irrigable land that will be inun-
dated be replaced, but at least
twice as many more acres could
be put under ditch utilizing grav-
ity flow and pumping with low
cost power if farmers and ranchers
so desire.
"Certainly we insist" the farm
leader emphasized, chat in proceed
ing with this project the tribal treaty
rights of the Flathead-Salish Indians
be recognized and that legislation
authorizing construction provide also
for a commission to assist with the
equitable relocation of displaced
families, businesses and farms and
re-development of displaced COM
munities :"
James S. TIMBER, president of Mon
tana AFL-CIO with a membership
of $4,000, spoke of the tax problems
that had arisen at the recently, ad-
journed legislature and the great
need for larger tax base. He told
the Army Engineers that last year
Montana had the dubious honor of |
being number one in the nation in |
unemployment, percentage-wise. He |
pointed out that we spend a lot of |
money educating our children in
Montana and then send them some
place else to make living
NOT WILLING TO ABANDON
PARADISE
Eugene Pike, manager of the Mis-
soula Electric Cooperative, and
speaking for the state association,
said his group was not willing to
abandon Paradise Dam, that they
thought the relocation costs sub
mitted in the report of the engineers
are Excessive, and that they would
reluctantly" support Knowles. Not
ing that the Engineers had asked for
new facts to be presented, Pike said
he had three: 1. we are all 16 months
older; 2. Nine-Mile Prairie has lost
support; 3. Paradise Dam has gained
support.
Jack Harwood, Sanders County S
commissioner, asked CnaC deCerml-
nation be made at the earliest pos /
sible moment by the Engineers be- +
cause there are a million dollars v
worth of bridges in his county that C
have to have some attention and it
would save a lot of money if they s
knew what the outcome of this con- +
troversy is going to be. He asked n
that "bickering on small matters" L
come to an end and a compromise be Ii
reached and Knowles be built. Ii
Splendid statements for Paradise !
Dam were made by many members II
If the State House of Representa- Il
ives, including Charles Harball Il
Lake., Arthur N. Jensen (MineraD {,
Toe Strnisha (Ravalli), Oscar Held y
ng (Missoula), L. P. Tonner (Flat- v
ready and Senator H. H. Anderson
'Lincoln). NJ
Also speaking in favor of the Para !,
Iise project were Frances Logan, =.
Jharlo, secretary of the Committee u
or Paradise Dam and Western Dis
rict Congressional Committeewoman