OCR Text |
Show SECOND SECTBOM SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH-FRID- AY, MARCH 25, 1960 Sen. Moss Opposes Expenditure Of Millions for Arch 'Protection1 I Its tVfK x only 13 per cent of the time the water would be far below the columns of the arch, and could not possibly lap against them or impair them in any way." Senator Moss told the Senate that present plans call for ex-penditures to do the following: Construct a barrier below the bridge to keep the waters from backing up under it. Construct a diversion dam to keep the waters of Bridge Creek from flooding behind the barrier dam. Construct a tunnel to divert the Bridge Creek waters under the mountains and across into neighboring Aztec Creek whose course parallels that of Bridge Creek. "All of this, together with ac-c- es roads into the area or heli-copter service to bring in the necessary equipment and sup-plies, could cost the people about $25 million," he declared. SENATOR FRANK E. MOSS Senator Frank E. Moss of Utah Friday told the Senate that he would oppose the government's expenditure of $25 million to build "protective works" to pre-vent the backing up of water of the Glen Canyon reservoir under Rainbow Bridge. He called the President's bud-get request for this item as "in-defensible waste of the taxpayers money." He declared that a sliver of reservoir water under the bridge would enhance the beauty of the San Juan County natural wonder and would make it accessible to many who would otherwise never see it. He introduced a bill to amend "After the protective works are built, there would be an an-nual cost of inspection and main-tcnac- e work on the pumping plant which would be necessary on any of the three alternate bar-rier dam plans suggested. "I repeat, the expenditure is unnecessary and indefensible. I intend to ask both the Senate and House Appropriations Commit-tee to report the Public Works appropriations bill without the $25 million the President has requested for protective works at the Rainbow Bridge National Monument," Senator Moss said. the" Colorado River Storage pro-ject act to change the provision stating that no water from a reservoir may "be within" a national monument to one that no such water may "impair" a national monument. He said he would testify before the House Appropriations Committee on the $25 million appropriation. Senator Moss said, "Allowing the waters of the Glen Canyon reservoir to back up under the Rainbow Bridge in Southern Utah will not 'impair' this na-tional monument, but will sub-stantially enhance it. The so-call- ed protective works which the Interior Department is being forced by the provisions of the law to plan and build arc noth-ing short of a first-rat- e boon-dogle- ." The Senator based his position on a Bureau of Reclamation re-port of the findings of field par-ties' sent to examine the area for the Bureau, the National Park Service and the Geological Sur-vey. He quoted the report as stating that under Rainbow Bridge the water would be 46 feet deep, but that the water surface would be 21 feet below the left abutment and 33 feet below the right abut-ment of the bridge, and went on: "In other words, when the reservoir was at its highest level which incidentally would be S.L Commission Holds Spotlight With Firing and Reorganization ;i Salt Lake City Commission this week held the news spot-light with its firing of Chief of : Police W. Cleon Skousen and reassignment of three depart-- ! ment heads. In rapid fire order this is what happened: ; By a three to two vote of the ; commission a move by Mayor J. j Bracken Lee to dismiss the po-lice chief was approved. Voting with the mayor were Commis-sioner J. K. Piercey and Ted L. Guerts. Voting against the action were Commissioners Joe L. ; Christensen and L. C. Romney. Later that day Mr. Skousen j went on radio and television to tell his side of events which led to his dismissal. This included charges that Mayor Lee did not want strict law enforcement in Salt Lake City. The mayor said that the former chief would not carry out his orders. The mayor, prior to the Wednesday reorgani-zation, was head of the Public Safety Department and in charge of the police department. Wednesday the Commission was reorganized with former Water Commissioner Piercey taking the Public Safety De-partment and Mr. Geurts taking over the water department. May-or Lee became Finance Com-missioner, the post previously held by Mr. Geurts. Commissioner Piercey said he would at once begin a search for a new police chief and said the former chief, nor Capt. L. C. Crowther, who is serving as tem-porary chief, would be under consideration for the post. A front runner in speculation over the post was Dale R. Curtis, former FBI man and a candidate for sheriff of Salt Lake County on the Republican ticket in 1958. Commission Appoints Truman S. Curtis Purchasing Agent The Salt Lake City Commission this week appointed Truman S. Curtis, businesman and former state agent purchasing agent, to succeed the late Kingsley Claw-so- n. Mr. Curtis, who presently lives in Kaysville, said he would es-tablish residence in Salt Lake City to meet requirements of the city's residence law. Mr. Curtis served as purchas-i- n agent under Mayor L. Bracken Lee when the mayor was gover-nor. He was a businessman in Logan for 25 years. In 1957 he joined Covey Petroleum Co., as sales representative. He will resign the position to accept the city post. Rep. Thomas M. Rees Will Run for Reelection to House A veteran Utah legislator, Rep. Thomas M. Rees, this week an-nounced he would seek renomi-natio- n and reelection on the Democratic ticket. Rep. Rees is running in the 15th Legislative District in Salt Lake County. He has served nine terms in the House, a record for the body. In making his announcement, Mr. Rees said he was mainly in-terested in careful and selective retrenchment in state spending. He said he believed the state should cut back on some things that are desirable but not suf-ficiently essential to justify go-ing into debt. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR were forced to assume all the company expense for this long drawn out hearing, besides pay-ing for the evidence they them-selves were able to get in the record. Virtually the same fiasco oc-curred at the recent public hear-ing before the Salt Lake City Commission on the sale of the Forest Dale Golf Course and the building of a new course in Par-ley's Canyon. Long before the hour this hearing was scheduled to open the council chambers were stacked with city employes and road departments, etc., all of whom were obligated to sup-port the action of the Commis-sioners, and hoot and applaud for everything said for the Canyon golf course and to boo any rea-sons opposing it and the sale of Forrest Dale. No one objects to more city golf courses, parks, and recreational centers for our city is certainly poverty stricken in these facilities today, but Salt Lake City citizens will never build up more golf courses by giving away already established golf centers and acreage to cer-tain powerful interests as our City Commissioners have done against Salt Lake Citizens. With proceedings like the above is it any wonder that citi-zens generally feel that public hearings are useless and futile? Lorenzo E. Elggren, President Consumers Welfare League and former State Senator. Many public hearings are use-less because the people present are neither representative, in number or in sentiment, of the genuine public interest of the people. Our public hearings are largely dominated by selfish in-terests who are more interested in excluding the facts against them than in exposing all the facts for the public good. Striking examples of this are the recent public hearings for an increased gas rate before the State Public Service Commis-sion, and the rigged hearing be-fore the Salt Lake City Com-mission on the secret sale of For-rest Dale Golf Course and the building of a substitute course in Parley's Canyon. At the public hearings of the Mountain Fuel Supply Co., end-ing December last, demanding a 14 per cent increase in gas rates from residence consumers there were present by official count, representing the public, only 8 people, and four of these eight were Commission staff mem-bers. Against this representation of the public there were present by actual count representing the Fuel Company 27 expert attor-neys, accountants, engineers and clever executives besides im-ported experts from firms out-side. This array of gas experts not only occupied practically all the seats and space in the hear-ing room but they took up near-ly nine tenths of the time in pre-senting their voluminous evi-dence, exhibits and arguments, and in objecting to any evidence that was given in support of the rate payers who opposed this raise in gas rates. These 27 ex-perts from the company were all highly paid officials and were present the many days the hear-ing continued. All were draw-ing their salaries from the rate payers money collected by the company, so the rate payers House Passes Bill To Aid Prospectors Phosphate prospectors will be able to obtain federal leases on their discoveries without open-ing them to competitive bidding under a bill which passed the House. Rep. David S. King of Utah, sponsor of the bill, said the bill establishes two-ye- ar prospecting permits to protect the prospec-tors' claims. "If, within that period, the prospectors can show the Secretary of the Interior that there are valuable phosphate de-posits on their claims, they will be entitled to leases on any or all of the lands covered by their permits," he explained. "In the absence of a permit provision, the government has been able to issue only leases and these have always been awarded through competitive bidding, without regard for the person who made the original discovery. "Often the hard working pros-pector who made the discovery was edged out of it in the bid-ding," he said. The bill passed the Senate earlier under the sponsorship of Senator Frank E. Moss and it needs only the President's sig-nature to become law. Mormon Youth Panel To Discuss Dating "Youth Speaks on Dating" is the subject LaRue C. Longden, YWMIA Activity Counselor, and two high school people will dis-cuss on NBC network's "Faith in Action" program on Sunday, March 27, the final broadcast in a series spotlighting the 13 week fireside meetings for Mormon youth. NBC network will broadcast the program at 8:15 a.m. and it will be heard in. Utah on KCPX at 7:45 a.m. Richard Evans, noted commen-tator and church leader, will re-view youth activities of the Mu-tual Improvement Association of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-da- y Saints and will intro-duce Mrs. Longden and her two panelists. The three will speak on purpose and values in dating, parent-teenag- er relationships as well as modesty. Participants are Nancy Funk, 16, Highland junior, and Warner Woodworth, 18, student body president of South High School. Both are active in weekly fire-side discussions on youth topics. A highlight of the program is the recorded music of a 2,000 voice Festival Youth Chorus. j News Preview Chancellor Adenauer plans! a major purge of ex-Naz- is 2 I' from his West German re-- j gime . . . Nepal seeks a big! increase in U. S. aid . . . . I of now, the U. S definitely j to launch a man in a! (As by November. |