| OCR Text |
Show THE WESTERN WEB 47 was afforded for a power development under a project, the Secretary could lease for a period of not more than ten years any surplus power or power privilege, giving preference to municipal purposes, provided that the lease would not impair the efficiency of the irrigation project." The legalizing of power development changed the entire reclamation picture almost overnight. Power was money, big money, sure money. Power could be sold to commercial consumers. Power meant the establishment of new industries in the West, a transformation of the entire western economy. And power was a utility on which buyers could make a profit. The multiple-purpose reclamation project thus was born, and swiftly it became clear to all that it would become a giant, in many ways a bully menacing the smaller children of the family, and in other ways a comforting form of protection to have about in times of financial stress. The government, of course, was required to loan money to build the power features of a project. That meant the money expended belonged to the taxpayers. The government, therefore, should have a return on its investment, that is, the investment made by the people. So Congress reasoned. Power developed on a recla- mation project hardly could be called anything but a commercial enterprise. It was sold to every conceivable kind of business, to power companies which resold it, and to municipalities which delivered it for a price to domestic consumers and also used it for such purposes as lighting streets and operating traffic signals. Congress voted the power law with appreciable wis- dom, and the essence of it was this: |
