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Show THE THREE-RING CIRCUS 143 words written to the Interior Department by the Budget Bureau. It will be recalled that there had been two letters, signed by Budget Bureau Director Pace, on the project, one of February 4, 1949, and one of February 11, 1949. In the first letter, Pace had said the report was not in accord with the program of the President. This state- ment was replaced in Chapman's report by three little dots. Wrote Chapman to O'Mahoney: By letter dated February 4, the Director of the Bureau of the Budget advised me that he had been instructed by the President "to advise you . . . that he again recommends that measures be taken to bring about prompt settlement of the water-rights controversy. Chapman had left out the President's statement: "that authorization of the improvement is not in accord with his program at this time and . . ." Rep. Cecil King immediately issued a press statement asking: 166 "Was the operation performed on a high administration level? Was it done with the knowledge of the Director of the Budget and the Secretary of the Interior? Was this the work of a single official whose intention it is to deceive and confuse Congress?" Only silence came from the Interior Department and the Budget Bureau, but one thing remained unquestion- able. The Interior Department had no intention of apprising Congress officially that the project was not in accord with the program of the President. The project was the grand example of the great program which the Reclamation Bureau had formulated for wrecking the reclamation laws and setting itself up as the supreme power in the West. If it was necessary to emasculate statements of the President to achieve this goal, they were willing to do so. |