Statement of Ames, Charles T., manager, electric department, city of Holly Springs, Page 1100 Cole, John P., statistician, Association of Southeastern Railroads ; Hardin, Brig. Gen. John R., United States Army, division engineer, 1072 1033, 1107 Henking, Dana M., Memphis, Tenn., president, Propeller Club of the 1058 Jones, Floyd, manager, Gibson County Electric Membership Corp., 1132 McCourt, W. E., Jr., Greenville, Miss., secretary-treasurer, Greenville 1105 Mitten, Robert, attorney, Illinois Central Railroad Co., Chicago, Ill-- 1095 1124 1054 1115 Taylor, Tyre, general counsel, Southern States Industrial Council____ Winter, Everett T., St. Louis, Mo., executive vice president, Mississippi Wright, Ervin H., manager Southwest Tennessee Electric Member- 1137 Cole, John P., statistician, Association of Southeastern Railroads: Computation of annual cost of Federal aid to navigation on se- Excerpt from computation of annual cost of Federal aid to navi- 1074 Excerpt from progress report of the Domestic Land and Water 1073 Jones, Floyd, manager, Gibson County Electric Membership Corp., Trenton, Tenn., and president, Tennessee Rural Electric Coopera- tive Association: Excerpt from Commission Report on Water Re- Jones, Hon. Robert E., a Representative in Congress from the State of Alabama, and chairman, Special Subcommittee on Water Resources 1059 Letters, statements, etc.-Continued Page Telegram from W. T. McKinney, chairman, Delta Council Flood Mitten, Robert, attorney, Illinois Central Railroad Co., Chicago, Ill.; Brown, Harris, State of Tennessee, October 28, 1955-- 1137 1104 1104 1103 1105 1103 1104 1103 1097 Excerpt from budget message of President Franklin D. Roosevelt 1097 Excerpt from budget message of President Harry S. Truman to the 1097 1095 Excerpt from Commission Report on Water Resources and Power Excerpt from report of Section of Research, Federal Coordinator Excerpt from Coordinator Eastman's report of public aids to Excerpt from President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Board of Investi- Statement showing the ton-miles of various transportation agencies 1096 1096 1128 1128 1126 1128 1131 Taylor, Tyre, general counsel, Southern States Industrial Council: Excerpt from resolution adopted by the Mississippi Valley Asso- 1064 1063 1061 1054 Excerpt from statement of President Herbert Hoover in 1927. 1053 1051 COMMISSION ON ORGANIZATION OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH OF THE GOVERNMENT (Water Resources and Power Report) THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1955 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SPECIAL SUBCOMMITTEE ON WATER RESOURCES AND POWER OF THE COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS, Memphis, Tenn. The special subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, in the Federal courtroom, Post Office Building, Memphis, Tenn., at 10 a. m., Hon. Robert E. Jones, Jr. (chairman of the special subcommittee) presiding. Members present: Representatives Robert E. Jones, Jr., Martha W. Griffiths, Henry S. Reuss, and Glenard P. Lipscomb. Also present: Representative Clifford Davis, William C. Wise, staff director; William L. Sturdevant, professional staff member; and Robert Morris. Mr. JONES. This is a special subcommittee of the Committee on Government Operations selected to study the recommendations of the Hoover Commission Report on Water Resources and Power. Mrs. Martha W. Griffiths on my right is a member of the subcommittee from the State of Michigan; Mr. Henry Reuss, a member of the subcommittee of the State of Wisconsin; Glen Lipscomb on my left is a member of the subcommittee from the State of California. My name is Bob Jones and I am a member from the State of Alabama. Our host for this meeting, who has received us so cordially, is your own Congressman Cliff Davis. Cliff Davis probably more than any man in the Congress has worked harder and more diligently on water resources' problems, and knows the field of water resources better than any Member of the House or Senate. He is chairman of the Committee on Public Works Subcommittee on Flood Control of the House of Representatives and he has served in that capacity for a number of years. He is familiar with the projects throughout the country and has dedicated himself to studying the problems of water-resources development and trying to devise a sound and prudent method for Federal investment in these types of projects. Cliff, we are delighted to have the opportunity to come to Memphis to visit with you and get some of your knowledge firsthand. We are going to ask you to sit with us so that you may from time to time give us some information that will lead us to make more careful inquiries into the matters that are elicited from the various witnesses. I want to say to you that we always look forward to coming to Memphis and more especially coming to Memphis when you are here and can show us the true Southern hospitality. STATEMENT OF HON. CLIFFORD DAVIS, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF TENNESSEE Mr. DAVIS. Thank you. Mr. JONES. It is good to have you, Mr. Davis. Mr. DAVIS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I certainly want to express my very deep, genuine, and sincere appreciation for those kind words you had to say about me. Of course I say this facetiously, but maybe not too facetiously since this is an off-election year as far as Members of Congress are concerned, but a kind word from a colleague from a different State always is helpful. Mr. JONES. I might say you know I am in a rather unique position. I serve on the committee of which you are chairman so if I do not say good things about you you are likely to fire me. Mr. DAVIS. Thank you again, Mr. Chairman. It is fortunate that we have more of you members from distant sections of the country present in Memphis, the very center of the Midsouth-midway between the city of Chicago and the city of New Orleans. This is a rapidly growing section in every possible way. I can start with culture and churches and schools and go to Army installa tions, industry, business, chemicals, or almost any part of our economy. You will find them all affected very substantially in this wide area, even reaching into your own district of Alabama, Mr. Jones. We are always glad to have Members of Congress come to this great city so that you can see the way in which we live and you can find a solution to some of our problems. You will pardon me, but I am not going to make any long statement since we have a few witnesses who know a great deal about this situation. I can say, though, Mr. Chairman, that these gentlemen are well qualified to give you their views. While there may be some others who may volunteer to make statements, those few who will make statements to you will not take up your time unduly but will come right to the point. They have thought these matters through and will give you their best judgment. I have been amazed at the very great interest expressed by other sections of the country on water resources and water control. A great many people in this country do not yet realize that 47 percent of the surface water of this big country of ours carries right down the Mississippi River, right by our front door, into the gulf. By the way, I am delighted to see General Hardin, the president of the Mississippi River Commission, present here. He is one of the ablest engineer officers we have ever had in the long, fine history of the Corps of Engineers. Perhaps he will add something here. Of course you know him personally, Mr. Chairman. A great many people in this country are surprised to know that we have this demand being made on us to take care of these waters. I think you will find the river here very low now. We have had a shortage of water in that river but we never know when the river will be come wild and with disastrous consequences when it takes the flow to the gulf. We have to be prepared for that. However, I come back to one other thing: That you find a new interest in flood control in other sections of the country because of the disastrous damage and great destruction done in New England, not once, but twice in a matter of a couple of months. So I will tell you as a member of our committee, and your colleagues on this subcommittee that the leadership in the House has been in contact with me. We will have a whale of a bill offered this next session, General Hardin, from other sections of the country. Of course, we have to come along with our own also. They are thinking about control of water everywhere. We know that we must control the waters but we feel that God has given us this abundance of water. I cannot quote the engineers exactly, but their philosophy is that you have to help the river do what the river wants to do. You cannot change the course of a river too many times. If that river decides to change its course you have to go along and help it do what it wants to do. In helping it do that you are going to have to help the people along its banks. Secondly, the engineers have the philosophy that since we have this God-given stream it should be used for the public welfare. I wish it were possible for all of you to have taken the trip that I have with General Hardin down the Mississippi on a steamer where you could see the levee protections that have been built and where you would meet barges going in both directions all during the day and night, sometimes with a trainload of tonnage, and carrying petroleum products and many other things. We had our good friend from Michigan, Mr. George Dondero, there with us. Of course he was very much interested in automobiles since he comes from Michigan. George was absolutely carried away when he saw-and I can stand corrected on this amount-seven or eight hundred automobiles on a barge coming down the river. It was really a beautiful sight with all of these variegated colors on the automobiles, to see seven or eight hundred of them come down on this barge and land in our big harbor project which is important to the economy of our country. They unload those cars and they put about a gallon of gasoline in them and drive them out of here heading ultimately to the Far West and the South, the Northeast and the Northwest, the Southeast and the East-in every direction. I am making the point here that we use the river for commerce and for the great general welfare of our people. You see a constant stream of business going back and forth on the river. I want to say to my colleagues from other parts of the country that long ago I came to the very definite conclusion that what helps one section of the country is bound sooner or later to help other sections of the country. And, so help me, the longer I stay in Congress and seniority matures a man in his thoughts and reasonableness-the more I try to back some of you with your projects in other sections of the country. I say, "Can't I be for that because of the general welfare of this great country of ours?" You will pardon me for saying too much, but I accept with very great pleasure the opportunity and honor to sit here with you. Colonel Kittrell, I think, is in possession of the list of witnesses who will testify before you today. I know Colonel Kittrell is going to make a statement himself. We are in accord on this. |