| OCR Text |
Show HI HO, AQUALANTES 177 the Upper Basin confused by his words, the longer they would be remembered and discussed. But Martin did say that it would be a difficult task to convince congressmen from the East and Midwest that they should spend a billion dollars to develop the Upper Basin, and if the Upper Basin states weren't agreed among themselves, congressmen from other states would have a good excuse for voting against the project. If no one seemed sure of what Martin was talking about, the fact was not publicly admitted. There may have been some hard-heads in the Upper Basin who were not quite sure, either, that Martin was such a strong Upper Basin supporter after all. The energetic Salt Lake Tribune elected to see in Martin's words a "cogent warning"196 that the east-west row in Colorado should be settled at once. What other area of disagreement existed in the Upper Basin? But Colorado, as a state, had firmly stood for the crsp. Far more easily understood in the Upper Basin were the words of Rep. Engle of California. The Democrats would control the 84th Congress, and Engle would be chairman of the House Interior Committee which held the power of life or death over the Upper Basin project. Not to be outdone by his Republican California col- leagues, Nixon and Knowland, Engle reassured the Upper Basin states that he stood squarely for their project.197 This, then, was the unpleasant picture which faced California, and especially the Colorado River Board, fighting to protect its rights on the Colorado River. Vice-president Nixon, Senator Knowland, Interior Committee Chairman Engle, all on record endorsing the crsp, and in the background Senator Kuchel wobbling on weak legs. |
