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Show THE THREE-RING CIRCUS 171 no power. This Congress has no jurisdiction and it has no power to interpret an interstate compact. Congress cannot decide that California is wrong and Arizona is right. Congress cannot take any water away from Cali- fornia. Congress cannot grant any water to Arizona." Rep. William Lemke broke in to express the view that Congress could build all the dams it wanted, but it could not decide where the water would go, and Engle agreed.219 "We are asked to determine a question of water rights by this legislation," said Engle.220 "We have no constitutional power to do it." Rep. Patten chided California for claiming it was "drawing on its last waterhole," and referred sarcastic- ally to the suggestion that the "Golden Empire" was "about to wither and blow away." "Has the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce heard about this?" he asked.221 Here Patten was touching on a subject that was soon to be repugnant to the Arizona supporters of the project, for Arizona chambers of commerce and business leaders were to repudiate the statements of Patten, Murdock and McFarland that without the project Arizona would become a land of chaos and disaster. Senator McFarland didn't hesitate this morning, how- ever, to sing the theme song of his case before the Senate: without the project 150,000 people would be driven out of Arizona.222 Bells summoning the House members to the floor sounded, and the brief session was ended. Thursday, March 31, 1949 Wayne M. Akin, chairman of the Arizona Interstate Stream Commission, sang the chorus of McFarland's song as the curtain rose.223 |