OCR Text |
Show 38 DIXIE PROJECT, UTAH ington County, and if the Congress of the United States will vote the funds to build this project, they will be in time duly repaid, and they will bring health and happiness to this community, and when, as the statisticians tell us, we have reached the point wThere we have difficulty feeding the people of our Nation, you will find this little group of people sitting down here in Washington County producing abundantly, as you can see and exporting to those who need it. I might mention one other thing, the crops that we raise here, practically all of them are not in surplus at this time. About the only one that is is feed grain, and we consume all of the feed grain that we raise, and we import hundreds of tons into Washington County to take care of our poultry and our livestock. I thank you. Mr. ROGERS. Thank you, Mr. Cox, for your testimony. Our next witness is Mr. Claude Fry, president of the Canal Co. Mr. Fry, if you will come forward we will recognize you. STATEMENT OF CLAUDE FRY, PRESIDENT OF THE CANAL CO. Mr. FRY. Chairman Rogers, Governor Clyde, distinguished legislators, members of Washington County, we are honored with such a distinguished group of people. Your presence here makes our hearts hope for the Dixie project. The feasibility of this project has been ably given by Mr. West and his colleagues. The amount of land that would be under cultivation, new land and the amount of land that all will have supplemental waters has been told, and I know we want to get some sleep tonight, so I'm going to turn to my statement of the last hearing and read just a little of it. I realize that the more that is given the less the people will work for themselves, and the more their poverty increases. We are not asking for something for nothing. This project is out of our reach, we can't build it alone with our meager funds from Washington County, and it has been proven to be feasible, that we are willing to pay it back. Washington County is an arid area. Water is the lifeblood of Dixie. Water is necessary to prevent an exodus so the people won't be forced to leave their homes and crowd to the metropolitan areas. Because of the lack of water our young people have been forced to leave Washington County to find work; They have gone to Los Angeles and Las Vegas by the hundreds, though many of them would rather stay here. Help us to help ourselves develop this area and make a pleasant feasible place to live where the climate is ideal. In Washington County lies Zion National Forest and Dixie State Park which are fast becoming popular recreational areas. With the addition of skiing, boating, and fishing, Washington County will become one of the most famous playground areas in America. It is located in a setting of red hills and unique colors. The crops that will be raised here will not swell our supply of subsidized crops. The crops will be gardening, fruit raising, semitropical grains, almonds, figs, pomegranates, and so forth. The electrical power that the Dixie project will produce will develop this area industrially. The Hawthorn Manufacturing Co. is here now and is expanding. The Dixie project is feasible as has been shown. The culmination of the Dixie project will be a blessing to the people of Washington County, of the State |