| OCR Text |
Show THE THREE-RING CIRCUS 225 This was lost interest alone! Several committee mem- bers privately disclosed their complete astonishment. Some of them had thought the claim that the project would mean an enormous loss in interest to the Treasury was a product of California partisans. Now it was sub- stantiated by Secretary Chapman, an avowed supporter of the project. Murdock could only retort that the Secretary's figures were ridiculous. He had no means of refuting them, and he understood that his cause had suffered a damaging blow. Quick to take advantage of the situation in a joint move were the Council of State Chambers of Commerce and the Colorado River Association. The Council com- puted the percentage of the immense tax burden each state would bear if the project were approved by Con- gress, and the Association disseminated the results throughout the nation, and sent them to every member of the House of Representatives. (See Appendix j.) With parliamentary bulldozing and borderline rulings, and over furious objections, Murdock had managed to push S. 75 out of the subcommittee to the full committee. Some members openly expressed the belief that the bill had not been properly voted out, but Rep. J. Hardin Peterson, chairman of the full committee, sided with Murdock on the question. Still greatly depressed by the injury Secretary Chap- man had inflicted, Murdock executed a move which served to increase his misfortunes. He issued a favorable report on the project which he claimed had been pre- pared by the subcommittee when S. 75 was sent to the full committee. In reality it was no more than the voice of the bill's supporters. Even that was an exaggeration, for some of them admitted they had never seen it and |
