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Show A NEW ERA DAWNS FOR THE BASIN When the' roll ' call in the House of Representatives back in Washington had been called last Thursday and 256 congressmen congress-men had voted in favor of the long-debated Upper Colorado River Storage Development Program a new era had been practically prac-tically assured for this great Inland Empire. The decisive 120 vote margin of victory was a fine tribute to the leaders of the Upper Basin States who have battled many odds over a long stream of years to see their hopes and dreams realized. It was indeed a crowning triumph for the men and women of great faith, forsight and indomitability who have worked long and hard 'for more than 30 years. Vindicated are the engineers of the Bureau of Reclamation who have made the investigations, drew the maps and defended the feasibility of the great program. Oftimes they were the objects of bitter attacks from individuals and' groups who, for selfish reasons, tried to pigeon-hole the great and important reclamation project that would offer hope and a future for , a western people. , The 256-136 vote was a decisive repudiation of the trick ery, duplicity and outrageous allegations hurled against the biM by some of the Southern California Water Lobbyists who stopped at nothing to defeat the measure. They were positive in their actions that only their area had a right to the' benefits that will come from the Colorado's undivided river water. For the past couple of years people of the Uintah Basin have had a "down in the dumps" feeling that all' hope for the future had vanished and they were ready to sacrifice a life's accumulation of land, equipment, their homes, their friends and loved ones to move to some other area where they thought they could see' more opportunity. It is true, the economic picture pic-ture hasn't been too bright, and with the cost of living constantly rising and prices of livestock and farm products declining, there actually wasn't much to look forward to. An age-old bit of philosophy is apropo to this situation "The race is not to the swift, but he that endures to the' end." If there ever was a time in the history of the great Uintah Basin when our people needed to hold the faith, it is now. Now when the hope of a half-century of pioneering can be crowned with great opportunities. Some day this land will become be-come a veritable land of milk and honey. . . one of the great parts of a growing Utah that is rich in undiscovered natural resources, and a great bread-basket of the West. A few years ago one of the great leaders of the Uintah Basin, a man, who in the opinion of this newspaper, has done more than any other person in Utah or the West to bring to pass the great reclamation project that is now almost assured, as-sured, told a group of weekly newspapers enroute to a national convention, that the Uintah 'Basin was one of the potentially richest parts of the west. He told of the oil, gilsonite, potash and many other mineral deposits that would one day be developedMayor de-velopedMayor B. H. Stringham of Vernal (he was mayor at that time), pointed toward the site' of Flaming Gorge and Echo Park, and predicted what is about to happen would happen. "Bry" Stringham is not the only far-sighted man who had faith to fight and work for the great development of the Upper Colorado Colo-rado River, but he has carried a tremendous toad and will continue con-tinue to lead and plan until we see the great dams built, and 1 large hydro-electrical plants feeding needed energy to the Basin and other parts of the West where development of our resources has just begun. Passage by Congress of the Upper Colorado bill is truly the beginning of a "go ahead" for the' gigantic water and power projects in this region. It is the start of the great Central Utah project that will add great wealth to our beautiful - State of Utah. It will see' confidence reborn in the hearts of discouraged people, who will stay here and help build this great potential inland empire that will see hundreds of new families move here to establish homes, till the lands', work in Our mines and oil fields. All is promised and will come to ' pass- in due time. The struggle is not over, to be sure. The bill still must go to the Joint Conference Committee for ironing out the differences differ-ences with the bill passed last April by the Senate, which contained con-tained the controversial1 Echo Park Dam. We must still be prepared pre-pared to give aid to preliminary investigating and planning that must come before actual construction begins on the dams, reservoirs, canals and other phases of the project. Yes, this is truly "The Beginning of 100 Years of Progress In the Uintah Basin, the State of Utah and the Entire Western Part of Our Great Nation." We' should praise those who have worked long and hard for its completion, and thank Almighty God for His guiding hand and influence.. It is certain many fervent and humble prayers have been offered for divine guidance' guid-ance' in the battle for the great project. 30 |