Senator WATKINS. I certainly do not want to debate this, but I might point out that there are possibilities under the Federal Power Act. Senator ANDERSON. There were possibilities. Senator WATKINS. I assure you, gentlemen, that you are going to have that discussed and we will meet it head on when the time comes. Mr. JACKSON. Mr. Chairman, I have our first vice president here, Mr. LaSelle Coles, who has a very brief statement in connection with the problem that Senator Barrett has been endeavoring to solve by his bill. STATEMENT OF LaSELLE COLES, FIRST VICE PRESIDENT, Mr. COLES. Thank you. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, due to the lateness of time I will take a very few seconds here. I would like to go back on the matter that Mr. Moeur discussed with you first on Senate Resolution 281. One thing I think you gentlemen of the committee should remember is that if you take action on that resolution and put into law the recommendations there that that would be a water policy, and when you do that we of the West are going to have to live with that for the next 25 or 30 or 50 years so that it is a very, very serious matter. We hope you give it a great deal of consideration before anything is done. Then, Senator Malone, I have been making a study on this population thing and I would like to insert a word here in answer to the first question which I believe you asked Hub as to what we were doing. There has been a great deal put out on population figures here lately in periodicals. It was brought out here that less than 5 percent of our total production is surplus. We have approximately 170 million people in the United States at this time. You take a pencil and figure it out: 170 million people are eating and using 95 percent of what is produced on the farms; 8 million more people will consume it all. We have figured that out. It is approximately 8 million more people. There are some things wrong with that. As you go along you have wheat and corn and cotton making up the greater part of that but in reducing that amount by bringing land under irrigation you do not raise particularly, wheat and cotton and corn, but go into vegetables and into diversified crops of other types and each irrigation project we put in tends to reduce the amount of surplus that we have. I think we can establish that fact. Senator MALONE. Right at that point, if you will allow me to interrupt, that still does not touch the vital subject. The subject is that you cannot get grain out of the Middle West and feed it to the cattle and sheep, and hogs, out west of the Rocky Mountains very far so that you are counting on all this grain being eaten up by that time where, as a matter of fact, if we keep up a guaranty of profit it is going to increase in the Middle West. I know something about that country and all they did in Iowa and all, and it is natural and proper that they just cultivated the corn a couple more times on the same acreage and used a little more fertilizer and doubled and trebled the production and can still do it. I am not objecting to that. What I am objecting to is that even if they have twice as much grain as the United States can consume in the Middle West it is not going to help the development of the West. What are you doing in educating the country that you cannot live in Nevada and eat out of Missouri? Mr. COLES. That is right. Senator MALONE. You had better get busy on that if you are on the subject. Mr. COLES. Right in our own county, which is the center of Oregon, we are feeding corn from Iowa. Senator MALONE. I will tell you how you are getting it. We are getting some of it with the Government paying part of the cost. Mr. COLES. That may be possible. We are paying about $70 a ton for it, though. Senator MALONE. That is all right, but the Government finally is going to get tired of this. I am talking about the taxpayers getting tired of writing off a certain amount, $20 a ton, I believe that they write off on southern Nevada now because it is in a drought area. They furnish hay at $7.50 a ton and cut their freight rate in half. They are performing manipulations that will not last very long. Your problem is, do not let the people of the United States get set in the belief that, if you are producing enough in Iowa to feed everybody, that you have to eat it, that we are not going to finance any more irrigation development west of the Rockies. Mr. COLES. What they produce in Iowa does not make a good diet or a well-rounded diet. Senator MALONE. They make a good diet but you cannot pay to get it out there. Mr. COLES. I would like to mention that our population is increasing now at the rate of 4,200,000 every year. In 10 years that is 42 million. It will not be long until we have that 200 million. Senator MALONE. People use different judgment in families. You cannot figure that far ahead. Mr. COLES. Our resolution No. 1 is entitled, "Subjection of All Federal Agencies to State Water Law." Senator Barrett has talked about that. He has said approximately what I would like to say. I would like to say to you that we made that resolution No. 1 for a particular purpose. That was that practically all of the States demanded that. We feel that that is one of the most important, if not the most important, piece of legislation that you will have before you this year. On behalf of our association, I would like to thank especially Senator Barrett and the other members of this committee for what you did on that bill last year, S. 863. It will correct a situation which happened as a result of the Pelton Dam case which is in my own State. I very, very much believe that that situation should be corrected because as long as it is allowed to continue we will have a cloud on our water rights in the Western States. This is the only way we think it can be taken care of. I understand, Senator Barrett, that there have been amendments made to your bill which will overcome some of the objections to your bill last year. We hope that this committee will give your bill earnest consideration and if you cannot agree on that then come up with something which does what should be done in order to protect our water rights. I do not believe I have anything more unless you have some questions, gentlemen. I offer for the record National Reclamation Association Resolution No. 1, approved November 16, 1956. The CHAIRMAN. It will be included in the record at this point. Thank you very much. NATIONAL RECLAMATION ASSOCIATION RESOLUTION No. 1, SUBJECTION OF ALL FEDERAL AGENCIES TO STATE WATER LAWS Whereas the National Reclamation Association, by resolution No. 3 adopted at its annual meeting at Lincoln, Nebr., in 1955, emphatically approved the principle that the distribution and use of ground water and the waters of streams arising in States lying wholly or partly west of the 98th meridian is the exclusive sovereign right of those States, and that in those States all Federal agencies should be subjected to State water laws; and Whereas we are encouraged by the legislation that was introduced in the 84th Congress to implement these principles: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the National Reclamation Association, That the Congress be urged to pass legislation recognizing the sovereign right in the States lying wholly or partly west of the 98th meridian to regulate and control the appropriation, distribution, and use of ground water and the waters of navigable and nonnavigable streams for beneficial use pursuant to State law; and be it further Resolved, That Federal agencies, permittees, licensees, and employees of the Federal Government, in seeking the use of water for any purpose in connection with Federal programs, projects, activities, licenses, or permits, shall, as a condition precedent to the use of any such water, acquire rights to the use thereof in conformity with State laws and procedures relating to the control, appropriation, use, or distribution of such water. Mr. COLES. Thank you. Senator NEUBERGER. Mr. Chairman, I would like the record to show that Mr. Coles has been the foremost leader of reclamation in our State of Oregon and is perhaps more responsible than anybody else for the public opinion which led to the authorization of the great Crooked River project in Crook County, Oreg. I would like the record to show that after his testimony. The CHAIRMAN. The record will show that. Mr. JACKSON. Mr. Chairman, on behalf of the National Reclamation Association and particularly the board of direction, we want to express our appreciation for the courtesy and generosity in bearing with us here as we endeavor to present to you certain problems which we thought were pertinent and timely. Thank you very much. Senator WATKINS. Thank you very much. The CHAIRMAN. Senator Watkins. Senator WATKINS. I have a telegram from the Utah Water and Power Board with reference to this recommendation with respect to Senate Resolution 281 of the 84th Congress. They were asked for comments and this is the comment they would like to file as their comment. The CHAIRMAN. Do you want to put that in the record? Senator WATKINS. Yes. The CHAIRMAN. That may go in the record. (The telegram referred to follows:) Hon. ARTHUR V. WATKINS, United States Senate, Washington, D. C.: This office concurs in the comments and recommendations made by the Upper Colorado River Commission with respect to Senate Resolution 281 of the 84th Congress. JAY R. BINGHAM, Director, Utah Water and Power Board. Senator KUCHEL. Mr. Chairman, while we are here, and I regret that our Senator from Nevada is not here, may I inquire of Senator Watkins, has anything been done with respect to a meeting of the Republicans on subcommittees? Senator WATKINS. If there has been, I did not know about it. Senator KUCHEL. Does the chairman intend to hold a meeting next week so that the subcommittees may be officially appointed? The CHAIRMAN. It is my understanding that we had planned for the meeting next week. Senator KUCHEL. On Tuesday, Mr. Chairman? The CHAIRMAN. Yes. Senator WATKINS. Senator Malone assured us that there would be a meeting. The CHAIRMAN. Is there any further matter to be brought before the meeting? I want to express my appreciation of the presentation made here this morning and will look forward to further conferences in the future. I am sure that it will be helpful. Thank you very much. (Whereupon, at 11:55 a. m., the committee adjourned.) О SENATE COMMITTEES ON INTERIOR AND IN CONNECTION WITH S. Res. 281 of the 84th Congress FEBRUARY 13, 1957 Printed for the use of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs 88574 UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1957 PURCHASED THROUGH DOC. EX. PROJECT |