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Show 226 WAR FOR THE COLORADO RIVER yond any hope of future reduction, and the national economy will be in a strait-jacket. "The Bureau has furnished the House Interior Com- mitteee with a statement purporting to show how many dollars each state will get from the building of the upper Colorado River project. This is the largest con- glomeration of dams and irrigation ditches ever put to- gether under one title. It contains either 2, 4, or 6 power dams, and either 11, 12, or 33 irrigation projects. Nobody seems to know exactly what it contains, how much it will cost, or much else about it. "In its learned paper analyzing the dollar benefits to be derived for each state, however, the Bureau con- veniently has omitted mentioning anything about sub- sidy. This is considerable. In other reports the Bureau has admitted that the project would cost the taxpayers $1,153 million in lost interest. Evidence has been pre- sented to the Congress showing that this subsidy by the Federal Treasury would amount to $4 billion, possibly more. "In its analysis, the Bureau presents a table which is intended to show the amount of money to be spent in each state for materials and equipment for the project. "I have appended to this table the amount of money which the taxpayers of each state will have to pay if the project is built. "The comparisons are somewhat startling. "For instance, the state of New York will receive, according to the Bureau, $77,398,000, but the tax- payers of New York will have to fork out $493,600,000 for the project. "Who does the Bureau of Reclamation think it's kidding?" |