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Show 34 WAR FOR THE COLORADO RIVER not at all how the taxpayers of eastern states suffered as a result. These were strong charges, but California had docu- mentary proof to support them, and that proof will be presented in this book in its proper place - as it came before committees of the Congress. The cornerstone of the new Reclamation Bureau program was cemented with a simple phrase which, especially in the West, embodied the greatest truth: WHOSOEVER CONTROLS THE WATER CONTROLS ALL Under its program, the Reclamation Bureau proposed to secure control of all western water and power projects by a new form of contract which would have taken from the states, communities, and individuals all rights to participate in owning or operating any development. This legal device, known as the "9-e Contract," would be offered to farmers and organized irrigation districts who used water from federally financed projects. Under its terms, water users would repay the government for a project, but would never own that project, never have a voice in its operation, nor would they be able to use as they wished the water they bought. Title to both the water and the project would forever remain with the Reclamation Bureau. The National Reclamation Association, whose mem- bers at the time represented nearly two hundred irri- gation and power projects, was opposed to such a policy. At a hearing before the House Public Lands Committee in February 1947, Representative John Murdock of Arizona asked the association president, Sawyer, his position on the matter. 4 The position of the association is . . . that when paid for, they (the dams) should be turned over to the men who paid for them |