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Show 264 WAR FOR THE COLORADO RIVER entirely this year because of a lack of water. We do not have a single farm mortgage on our books that is delin- quent, and we do not anticipate any delinquencies as a result of water shortages. "A ten percent decline in the price of farm products would reduce our farm income more than any shortage of water that is likely to occur." Asked Rep. Poulson of Congress: "I wonder if Senator McFarland could have been talking about some other project in some other state, instead of the Arizona project?" As if they had never heard of Bimson, McFarland and Murdock continued to walk the corridors of the House Office Building seeking support for S. 75. They got very little encouragement, and it was September 25th before Murdock called his committee together. The meeting produced nothing but more violent arguments. Returning to his own office, Murdock wrote a tearful plea to every member of the House, begging them not to let California "grab the entire Colorado River." 384 Now Engle droped a bomb he had been secretly saving for some time. In May he had written to William E. Wrather, director of the U. S. Geological Survey, asking for a report on the amount of water available for irri- gation in natural underground reservoirs beneath the area of the proposed Arizona project. Wrather's reply had come to Engle in August, and when he read it he was completely amazed.385 Murdock called the next committee meeting on Octo- ber 2, and on that same day Engle released the Geologi- cal Survey report in a press release.386 "Arizona," said Engle, "has enough water in under- |
