OCR Text |
Show fully contribute their share to a fruitful life when used to grow crops for which they are best fitted. They will no longer contribute sediment and the richness of their soils to the streams. The rivers will be different. When regulated they will be less subject to floods, which destroy life and the routine of Hfe and business. They will not, at other seasons, be slow stagnant pools, draining the adjoining marshland; nor will they be a source of disease to those near them. During rainy seasons they will carry only the water than can be used bene- ficially for electric power and other purposes, within channels designed to carry the flow without damage. And in the dry seasons they will carry the same amount of water, maintaining the lakes and marshes at the optimum level for fish and wildlife and for recreation use. But, more important, the destructive energy of the water will be put to beneficial use to turn the wheels of industry, to make possible a better liveli- hood, to relieve the burden of the housewife, and to make life itself more enjoyable. Industry will add value to the products of forest and farm, and to products of less fortunate areas. This same energy will link this basin with adjoining basins adding to the strength of the South, for electricity knows no barriers. Here is the opportunity for a fuller life for the people of the area. It is theirs to achieve. The realization of the possibilities depends upon their desires and the initiative they use in furthering the development of these, their own natural resources, in the interest of all of the people in the area and the Nation. 573 |