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Show 208 WAR FOR THE COLORADO RIVER Down Pennsylvania Avenue on the last day of Janu- ary 1950, went Rep. Engle to talk with President Tru- man. When he came out of the White House, he told correspondents: 293 "It is my belief that the President does not favor the Central Arizona Project. He indicated an intense interest and thorough understanding of Cali- fornia's water problems. He realizes that we must pro- tect California against a water shortage and showed an aggressive intention of doing something about it. "The President, in my opinion, is not for any project costing $1,800 an acre in capital investment for lands worth at the most $300 per acre when under production and irrigation. The President, I believe, will require that each project be of proven economic feasibility, and further that he will look with caution on bringing more and more land into production to add to our surpluses of agricultural products already stacked up all over the country." Engle's statement prompted another congressman to call at the White House. Before the House Interior Committe at the time was HR. 1770, a bill that would liberalize the Reclamation Laws to such an extent that almost any sort of project proposed could be called feasible under law. The measure had been given vigor- ous support by both the Reclamation Bureau and other proponents of the Central Arizona Project, for under its elastic standards that project would have appeared com- pletely sound. In January 1950, as a result of logrolling, the bill stood a good chance of being approved by the House Interior Committee. Chairman J. Hardin Peterson thought it might be wise, before the committee voted, to find out exactly what the President thought of the |
