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Show News Writer Sees Upper ColoradoProjectSHpping I Frank Hewlett, Salt Lake Tribune Tri-bune reporter from Washington, is of the opinion the Upper Colorado River program is losing ground in Congress. Following is what Mr Hewlett had. to say in his Sunday morning column in the Tribune. Prospects for House passage of Utah's most important legislation before the Congress the vast Upper Colorado Storage' program now appear less promising than when the nation's lawmakers' reconvened re-convened a month ago. Until the past week optimism had been running high., Suddenly it changed. Now Upper Basin House members are saying privately pri-vately they are worried. The reasons are several and some are of an involved nature. Perhaps the main one is the difficulty dif-ficulty being encountered in trying to sell a major new irrigation program pro-gram at a time when crop sur pluses' are one of the administration's administra-tion's biggest headaches. Another is the hard-hitting and persisent attack on the Upper Colorado program pro-gram by the Los Angeles water lobby. While some of the Southerp I California charges nearly border (Continued on Back Page) UPPER COLORADO RIVER . . . (Continued from Page One) on the ridiculous, the propaganda, nevertheless, is being used by at least a segment of the American press, radio and television. Furthermore, it is keeping proponents pro-ponents of the Upper Basin development devel-opment so busy refuting these charges that they have little time left to do anything in the constructive con-structive interest of the program. Some friends of the projects are urging the Upper Colorado River Commission, its grass roots committee com-mittee and the Upper Basin lawmakers law-makers to take' the initiative and stop worrying . about whether every Southern California propaganda propa-ganda blast is answered. Others feel, however, the opposition op-position is hurting itself by its present undignified tactics. They remind that at last year's convention of the National Reclamation Recla-mation Assn. the delegates became s'o disgusted with the type of output out-put from Southern California's mimeograph machines they passed what amounted to a censure resolution. reso-lution. Proponents of the Upper Colorado Colo-rado program also are hopeful that the tide will turn back in their favor next week as a result of two important meetings. One is Tuesday's scheduled session ses-sion of the important House Republican Re-publican Policy Committee to, in the words of minority leader Jos'. W. Martin, "decide what to do" about the Upper Colorado Project. Since the project is part of President Eisenhower's program, the committee appears to have no other course than to endorse it, depite Southern California's objections. ob-jections. On Wednesday the House Committee' Com-mittee' on Interior and Insular Affairs Af-fairs will meet to act on amendments amend-ments proposed by the Upper Colorado Col-orado River Commission and the conservationists. These already have been approved ap-proved by the Upper Basin House members. |