Evening star., 1962-08-18
KENNEDY *t. ..a4. .
Western Trip UnderIines
Major Water Projects
Continued From Page Al

W xOSemlLe.
Other Gestures Planned
Other arrangements called
for Gov. Brown to accompany
Mr.. Kennedy by helicopter to
Fresno following the ground
breaking. Then the Governor
was to climb aboard the presi-
Dental jet for the flight to
Los Angeles.
Mr.. Kennedy visited Yosemite
for the first time and spent
the night there, in one of the
most magnificent valleys on
earth.
He dined in his suite at the
Ahwahnee Hotel, then watched
the famed firefall from a bal
cony. Red embers Of red fir
bark caScaded from Glacier
Point. $500 feet above the val
ley, down the face of a 1000
foot cliff in a spectacle that
has a 60-year tradition.
To accommodate the Presi-
dent, the firefall was delayed
80 minutes; and to impress
him, the quantity of glowing
Goals was doubled or tripled.
The fireball capped a day
that took Mr.. Kennedy on a
2,500-mile zig-Zag course across
the continent by Jet liner and
by jet powered helicopters.
Two Stops
There were two stops along
the way, at other water pro-
jects.
Just outside Pierre, S. D., the
President drove onto the worlds
largest dam of packed earth
the Oahe Dam across the Mis-
souri,. 1t is nearly a mile thick
at the base, more than a mile
and three quarters long. and
its 250-mile reservoir is longer
than Lake Erie.
The $345 million dollar pro-
ject is part Of the big Missouri
River basin development and
supplies water for irrigation,
flood control, navigation, power
and recreation. ,
At Pueblo, Colo, Mr.. Ken
nedy circled the spot where a
dam and reservoir will provide j
one of the key features of the
new Frying Pan-ArkanSas river
project.
The President signed on
Thursday the bill authorizing
the Sl70 million project. to
collect water from the snow
mantled Western slope of the
Rockies, swish it through a
tunnel under the Continental
Divide, and bring it to parched
lands in Southeastern Colo
RADIO.
Similar Themes
At both stops, Mr.. Kennedy /,
delivered speeches. They had {
a theme that water resources
development benefit the entire ,
Nation, that the decade ahead
will require more and more ,
projects and that Congress
ought to get busy on what he
termed an investment in the
future of the country.
At Oahe Dam, and in similar
words at apublic school stadium
in Boulder, Mr.. Kennedy said:
II don't want to see the
United States second in space
or in the development of power ,
projects, and I think is is most
appropriate in this great dec
ade that we light the entire
country"
Thousands Of people turned
out to see Mr.. Kennedy and
wave him on his way. Not so {
many turned out for the
speeches.
Mr.. Kennedy took Demo-
cratic hopefuls under his wing,
yet he displayed the required
amount of bipartisanShip by
mentioning Republicans and by =,
asking South Dakota's Repub-
lican Gov. Archie Gubbard to !.
ride with him in White House
limousine.
McGovern Reference Omitted
, For some reason, Mr.. Ken
nedy omitted in the delivery of
his Pierre speech the good word
he had included in a prepared 1
version for George McGovern, I
the Democratic candidate for {
the Senate in South Dakota. He I
merely referred to Mr.. McGov- I
ern at the outset as his recent ]
associate at the White House. '
Yet the former Food for 9
Peace director was right by Mr..
Kennedy's elbow when the '
President greeted a noisy crowd 9
at the airport.
From Washington, Mr.. Ken S
nedy brought along the three I
Colorado Democrats in Con- {
gress-all seeking reelection: /
Senator Carroll and Represent +
atives Aspinall and Rogers. t
Senator Carroll and Demo- {
cratic Gov. Stephen L. R. Nc l
Nichols, each of whom is in a
tough battle for reelection, 9
tagged along closely at the air. I
port ceremonies at Pueblo. {
Gov. McNichols rode in Mr.. l
Kennedy's car to the stadium, {
and Senator Carroll introduced '
the President.
/. Colorado's Republican SEN