| OCR Text |
Show THE THREE-RING CIRCUS 147 fornia engineering witnesses would, he announced, pre- sent a specific proposal for the appointment of an engi- neering board of national standing, to review the pro- ject's economic, engineering and water issues before Congress attempted to pass on these technical matters.174 Next Downey cited what he considered an important deception in the project bill. It involved the fact that Bridge Canyon Dam reservoir would be filled with silt within forty years [later lowered to twenty-five years] without upstream protection. This was admitted by the Reclamation Bureau. Yet the project was not expected to pay out for perhaps ninety or a hundred years.174 Consequently, to prevent Bridge Canyon Dam from becoming useless in forty years, another great dam [at Glen Canyon] would have to be built. This would cost at least another $150,000,000. But the cost of the dam at Glen Canyon, although essential to the project, was not included in the estimated project cost. When he took the witness chair, Attorney Shaw at once became the victim of badgering by Senators McFarland, Anderson, Millikin, Watkins, Miller and O'Mahoney175 Repeatedly they interrupted him, and even got into lengthy arguments among themselves which the chairman had difficulty halting. Shaw got no opportunity to present his prepared statement, and at last he gave up and asked that it be inserted in the record. He was still trying to be heard when the first session was adjourned. When he returned to testify the next morning, he again came under the cross-fire of Senators arguing among themselves. Men who were not lawyers were debating legal matters. Men who were not engineers discoursed on engineering problems. At last, even Anderson, bitterly opposed to California, complained: |
