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Show Dam Projects Could Create A Million Jobs Material Makers as Well As Actual Construction Workers Would Benefit Jobs for thousands of skilled and unskilled workmen will be created in every part of the country when congress approves plans and provides pro-vides funds for building more than 400 irrigation and power projects proposed by the bureau of rec- ; lamation in its $5,000,000,000 post- war inventory. Although these proposed irrigation and power projects will be located in the 17 western states, where the bureau of reclamation since 1902 has been responsible for the conservation conserva-tion and wise use of water resources, re-sources, their construction will create cre-ate job opportunities from Maine to . California. Behind every man on the con-, con-, struction job there will be one or j more helpers who may be thousands , of miles away. An employment analysis of the bureau's postwar ( inventory reveals that of the 4,250,-, 4,250,-, 000,000 man-hours of labor required i to construct all the projects about 1,650,000.000 man-hours will be re-, re-, quired at construction sites. Materials from' 31 States. The materials needed for rec-, rec-, lamation work, of which such, basic products as iron and steel, cement, E electrical equipment and supplies, , foundry and machine-shop products, 1 and lumber are of primary impor- - tance, must be obtained from widely i separated sources. Much of this ma-t ma-t terial and equipment will come from the 31 statsj outside the arid - and semiarid regions of the west. If funds are male available for : construction of .all the projects, 3 bureau officials estimate that more l than 450,000 men could be put to 1 work the first year, less than half 1 of these at construction sites. At 3 peak employment in the second 5 or third year almost 1,000,000 men ; could receive pay envelopes In dif- 2 ferent parts of the country as a re-r re-r suit of this mighty effort. f Agricultural and industrial enterprises enter-prises i. the West will help to sup- - port and give homes to servicemen f and others who have expressed their i desire to settle on irrigated farms. - Of the 2,000,000 vesterners in the - armed forces, it is estimated that i 265,000 will want to return to the f land. " i Veteran legislation, authorized a aud pending, gives servicemen prl- n ority of settlement on bureau of rec-clamation rec-clamation projects. On some proj- i ects public lands will be open to q homestead entry. |