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Show 44 WAR FOR THE COLORADO RIVER dation of intent upon which the act had been con- structed. That original foundation was a vitally important matter in the battle over S. 1175. For the proposed Central Arizona Project utterly destroyed it, and sup- planted it with an entirely new concept of reclamation, a concept that the authors of the basic national policies had never contemplated, and one that made of recla- mation a political sewer down which federal money would be poured without hope of recovery. The government leaders who at the turn of the century had been striving to establish and improve the economy of the West had understood that reclamation laws had to be written on an absolutely fair basis, a basis that would open the door to opportunity to any American who cared to pass through it. They looked into the vast reaches of western plain and desert and they saw a land of unlimited opportunity. The larger part of that empire belonged to all the people in that it was public domain, and the Federal Government was merely the guardian of this vast natural resource. Congress wrote with that principle in mind. One fact was certain from the beginning: the Federal Govern- ment was required to aid in developing the public lands through irrigation. The prime purpose was to improve the lands, place them in private ownership, and thereby create a sound and prosperous economy in the reclaimed wilderness. The land would not be a gift to anyone who elected to accept it. The land would be purchased by those who wished to farm it, and it would be paid for in a specified number of years. The projects would be required to return the money advanced by the Treasury. It was a program as fundamentally American as the |