Tundra times., 1963-10-07

of the Interior
 There is very important docu- ment which was signed by Secre- tary of the Interior Stewart Udall and Secretary of the Army Stahr in March 1862, and which carefully divided up the authority and re- sponsibility for development for the natural resources of the state of Alaska including water and power development . .
 Consistent with it's responsibili- ties for marketing of power pro- duced at federal hydroelectric pro- jects, it is also agreed that the De- partment of the Interior shall be responsible for the operation and maintenance of the completed hy- droelectric projects in Ajax, Alas | ka
 'The leading economist, Dr. Ed ward s. Shaw, of Stanford Univer- sity. member of the Rampant Dam Advisory Committee, is reported to have disagreed with the econ- omic forecasts of the D&R report Other leading economists also dis agree as to many of the conclusions reached in this (the D&R) docu- ment.
 ". So there it is in black and white. No matter how hard the Let's Build Rampant Now people push, no matter how much money they manage to shake loose from the State of Alaska treasury and individual contributors, they are buying a pig in a poke until not only the Corps of Engineers reports are completed and published, but also the additional studies and re- ports now being prepared by the Department of the Interior :.
 High Volume Use
 T quote here from the Arthur D. Little report entitled: Potential For Use of Alaska's Energy Re- sources," which was prepared at the direction of the government of the State of Alaska, dated 1862:
 Regarding the larger hydro electric projects, it should be noted that it is not correct to speak without qualification of low-cost hydroelectric power. Low-cost for any particular project must be ac- companied by high-volume use.
 The larger hydroelectric projects proposed for Alaska as capable of providing 2 or mill power. would, with the exception of the first stage of Yukon Taiya Southeastern Alaska produce a quantity of pow CT many times the ability of pres ent Alaskan industry, commerce and population to absorb Growth of the existing economic base, even over several decades. might not be suf- ficient to produce base load sui ficiently large to reduce costs of power from these million kilowatt propects to levels below costs readi- ly available in other parts of the U. s.
 Real Power Needs
 Lets get our facts straight: Are we talking about Alaska's very real and pressing need for power here and now, or are We talking about the fast buck of construction money? We do need power for the immediate future and Rampant won't get power on the line for possibly 20 or 30 years -.
 Does Alaska need one big 'go- for-broke' construction project. which puts us right back in the old boom and bust routine, or do we need stable step-by-step building of our economy. using what we have, and planning for the imme- diate future?
 Might not these visions of mill lions of dollars of construction money during the period of build- ing be a smoke-screen for an even ehostlier future for the Interior and Fairbanks? We may find our selves over-expanded. and over ex- tended, with educational. trade and service facilities built for the boom