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Show 54 WAR FOR THE COLORADO RIVER belief that a mission to Salt Lake City might be helpful in improving the rapidly deteriorating relations between California and the Upper Basin states. A meeting of the Junior Chamber of Commerce of Salt Lake was selected by Jensen as the forum before which he would make his diplomatic pitch. Deciding that three could be more persuasive than one, he ar- ranged to have Franklin Thomas, Cal Tech dean and chairman of the Colorado River Board, and James H. Howard, general counsel of Metropolitan, accompany him. He had to induce Thomas to go, but he could order Howard to make the trip. Thomas went rather than create more dissension be- tween himself and Jensen on the board, and Howard merely obeyed his boss, but neither had any faith in the maneuver, and Howard was convinced that it was un- questionably unwise. Howard was right. All three men spoke in Salt Lake, and sought to im- press uppon the Upper Baisn states that California honored their rights in the Colorado River. California's opposition to the crsp and the Central Arizona Project was based entirely on its wish to develop the West ac- cording to sound standards of economics. A plea was made to the Upper Basin to work with California in separating the good from the bad projects, and to pre- vent the Reclamation Bureau from securing greater dominion over the western states. 65 The mission was a complete flop. The Upper Basin's reaction was a stiffening attitude and a heightening of suspicion toward California. Moreover, there was re- sentment against Jensen, who was looked upon as an Upper Basin native who had come home after years of absence, in an attempt to dissuade his own people from |