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Show 254 WAR FOR THE COLORADO RIVER Terrell, Watkins yelled, is a lobbyist in the employ of the Colorado River Association, therefore a party to the "unabashed Southern California lobby." He expressed the hope that newspapers and members of Congress would not be taken in again by the "artful southern California propaganda." 309 Watkins, it was revealed, had made an effort to get the Soil Conservation Service to repudiate and dis- credit Terrell's findings. The effort was a complete failure for the simple reason that Terrell's figures had been taken from the service's records. Moreover, before he began his investigation, Terrell had obtained a letter of introduction from A. D. Williams, chief of the Soil Conservation Service, to the service headquarters in each of the states he planned to visit. The letter, which was printed in the Congressional Record, said: 310 Washington, d. c. September 27, 1955 To: State conservationists - Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Pennsyl- vania, South Carolina, Virginia. From: D. A. Williams, Administrator. Subject: Request for information. A Mr. John U. Terrell has requested permission to visit some of our state offices for information on land facts in the states. Since this information is based on our surveys and estimates, and is not confidential in nature, you may supply such facts as you may have. We have not agreed to supply any interpretations of those data. It is my understanding that Mr. Terrell will visit your office within the next few weeks. The Upper Basin newspapers castigated Hosmer and Terrell, in their stories using the words "shyster," |