our working crews, resulting in increased payrolls and a sharp increase was also shown in the amount of materials and supplies necessary for continued operation.

Further expenditures, above average, or normal, for a city of this size, have been made in our street, police, fire, park, and recreation departments.

The accompanying tables show the extent of additional investments in the city of Pierre utilities systems from January 1, 1948, to April 30, 1953, inclusive. These tables do not include the expenditures made in contemplation of a normal increase, but are the expenditures made after the original improvements proved inadequate for the expansion and increased demands took place, nor are any operating costs included:

Additional investments in Pierre power plant and electric distribution system, Jan. 1, 1948, to Apr. 30, 1953, inclusive

Additional investments in Pierre water system, Jan. 1, 1948, to Apr. 30, 1953,

inclusive

I also wish to present some information and figures in behalf of the board of education of the city of Pierre, S. Dak.

At the present time, the properties of the board of education are 1 senior high school, 1 junior high school, and 3 grade schools, with an estimated valuation of $1,260,000.

In 1948, in anticipation of the construction of the Oahe Dam, a bond issue of $240,000 was voted to inaugurate a building program. This amount, plus existing bonds, reached the legal limit of bond issues allowed by South Dakota law. In addition to the above-mentioned sum, $45,000 has been expended from the general fund of the said board, for the improvement of buildings and the acquisition of land for future expansion of the educational system.

These existing school buildings are now overcrowded and classes are being conducted in temporary classrooms.

The Corps of Engineers has participated in the building program, to the extent of $200,000, which represents aid in the expansion of present buildings, and

the board of education is now working with the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in the planning of the continued expansion of the educational system in this city.

Plans now call for the construction of a new senior high school at a cost of $750,000 to $1,000,000. Some of the land, for the site of this new building, has already been acquired, and the remainder is in the process of acquisition.

In addition to the expenditures by the city of Pierre and the board of education, made necessary by the rapid expansion of the community, we are, as you know, annually confronted with the possibility of serious flood damage from rising waters of the Missouri River. Many damaging floods have been experienced in the past, the most recent of which and the worst of which occurred in April 1952. The people of the city of Pierre suffered flood damage at that time as follows:

Residential property.

Business and industry

Railroads, streets, sewers, etc.

Total damage to Pierre----

$473,000 1,037, 500 127, 300

1,637, 800

Gentlemen, summarizing the aforementioned figures pertaining to improvements made in anticipation of the Oahe Dam, and the damage suffered by reason of the absence of the Oahe Dam, we find that the city of Pierre has expended the sum of $740,802.91 for the expansion of its generating system and its water system; the Pierre Board of Education has expended approximately $300,000 for the expansion of its facilities and acquisition of land for further expansion; and the 1952 flood damage to the city, amounting to approximately $1,637,800, brings the grand total of expenditures and damages to the sum of approximately $2 678.602.

My name is Edward R. Mullally, a merchant living in Pierre, S. Dak. ; president of the South Dakota Reclamation Association; chairman of the Missouri River committee of the Pierre Chamber of Commerce; vice president of the Pierre Board of Education.

Since the inception of the Pick-Sloan plan the people of South Dakota have had a vital and continuing interest in its prosecution. Through our various organizations we have maintained close liaison with other organizations in the valley and with the two principal agencies charged with the construction. Our interest stems from the strong feeling in this area that without the construction of the Missouri Basin reservoirs the possibility of increase in the economy of the State is jeopardized.

Since in the past Oahe has been a controversial item with respect to its location and height, the people of South Dakota have kept themselves thoroughly informed as to the advantage and disadvantages of the many proposals that have been presented and have, after long study, become convinced that the plan as presented and approved by Congress is the one that offers the best return from the investment, the best chance for the development of our State, and the best chance for the development of the water resources of the basin. It must be remembered that all of the States of the basin are agricultural in their economy and that generally we rise and fall together. We, therefore, know that what is best for the entire basin is also best for South Dakota.

I would like to explain a little about some of these past controversies. During the last year and a half there has been considerable talk about the better results that might be obtained if the high Oahe dam were replaced by two low dams. We have searched through the many reasons advanced by both sides to the controversy within the State, we have consulted with the Bureau of Reclamation and the Corps of Engineers, and to us the facts in favor of a high Oahe are incontrovertible. A 2-dam plan would cost $100 million more, and the hydroelectric potential of the entire system would be reduced almost one-third. In addition-and this is of vital importance-although at the present time the full plan for development of irrigation from Oahe is not definite, enough is known to assure us that the irrigation potential of Oabe will be required; and since a low-dam plan would add immeasurably to the cost of pumping water into the irrigation area, obviously the high dam will be necessary. I might call to your attention the fact that but 2 million acre-feet out of 23 million are allocated to irrigation. It stands to reason that the argument advanced by opponents that irrigation is infeasible should have no effect on the size of the structure.

I would like to stress again the fact that we in South Dakota are interested in the entire development, and from there go into the reasons we believe that Oahe must go ahead at the same rate as the other structures. We have long known that all of the dams were integrated into a single system. I think the easiest way to explain that is to say that while there are several dams, they can be considered as a single system to impound and use the great amount of water that comes down our river in flood time. We have very few natural resources in the upper basin. Water is our greatest one, and we intend that it be conserved and used for we people who have been living out here for the last several generations. Oahe is as much a part of the Fort Randall structure as it would be were it built at Fort Randall. The spillway at Oahe and the size of the reservoir are directly related to similar features at Fort Randall. The engineers tell us-and have gone into a great amount of detail in exp.aining the facts-that Fort Randall's life would be seriously impaired if Oahe were delayed due to the large amount of silt which comes into the Oahe Reservoir (where it is planned for and where it has been allocated space), but which, if it went into the Randall reservoir, would use up precious storage space at a rate of 2 or 3 times as fast as planned.

You undoubtedly know that Oahe includes a hydroelectric generating plant which will be used to generate electricity as the floodwaters are slowly released. We think it would be ridiculous to release this water without generating the electricity which we need and which we can use as fast as it is produced. In that connection, let me say that we admire the ingenuity of the reclamation engineers who have thought out and planned a system which will allow all of the electricity which is generated in the basin to be used where it is most needed. We have prior rights and we claim only that which we can use. I can assure you that there will be a market for that power.

The flood protection which Oahe will give we must have. You gentlemen have all heard of the basin flood of 1952 in which the loss ran into several hundreds of millions of dollars, not mentioning the floods preceding it, even to the one that caused the Flood Control Act of 1944 to become law. The flood of 1952 dealt the city of Pierre a crippling blow and the loss was terrific, leaving our river bottom a shambles. We see no sense in permitting such a thing to happen again when it is so easily prevented.

There has been some talk that South Dakota is well taken care of since Fort Randall and Gavins Point are also within our borders. We think this is a foolish argument since the dams are placed where they must be to accomplish the greatest flood-control benefits, and it just happens they are in South Dakota. The benefits from the dams, especially Fort Randall and Gavins Point, go to people downstream. Oahe is the one which we are interested in for the benefits it will give our State. We cannot afford to wait for its completion much longer. It has been under construction some 4 or 5 years, at a snail's pace, whereas the Garrison and Fort Randall jobs have been progressing rapidly.

Mr. GRIFFIN. I am very happy to be here. Thank you for this 1 minute of time. Our community out there is 100 percent for the Missouri River project.

Mr. DAVIS. Thank you, Mr. Griffin. We are glad to have word from Mullally and we will include his statement in the record.

Mr. LOVRE. One of the experts on this subject is none other than Mr. R. B. Hipple, who is personally acquainted with all of the members of this committee, and who is here representing the entire Missouri River program.

Mr. HIPPLE. Mr. Chairman, I will not take up the time of the committee to argue this case, but I do want to read to the committee a portion of the report of the Civil Functions Committee of the 80th Congress, in reporting the bill out of the first session of the 80th Congress. It was the 80th Congress which started the Oahe Dam, and the one sentence that I believe this committee could well consider at this time is:

The Oahe Reservoir, in the opinion of the committee, offers the greatest total benefits in flood control (21,800,000 acre-feet capacity), power production (360,000 kilowatts), and water conservation for irrigation or navigation of any of the

projected reservoirs, being the farthest downstream of the big reservoirs and nearest to the point of flood control where it is needed.

That was the conclusion of the committee at that time and we believe that this committee could very easily adopt the same conclusion. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee.

Mr. DAVIS. Thank you, Mr. Hipple.

Mr. LOVRE. Mr. Chairman, I have been requested by the mayor of the city of Yankton to have his statement incorporated at this point in the record.

(The matter referred to follows:)

STATEMENT OF MAYOR ERNEST A. CROCKETT, OF YANKTON, S. DAK.,

My name is Ernest A. Crockett. I am mayor of the city of Yankton, S. Dak., and make my appearance here by a written statement primarily as mayor of the said city of Yankton but also in behalf of the best interest of the people along the entire basin of the Missouri River. We in the Midwest, who have for so many years been interested and active in the development of the Missouri River, wish to urge upon the Congress appropriation of funds sufficient to continue the work now so well under way in an orderly and expeditious manner; to not only prevent a recurrence of the disastrous flood of 1952 and former years, but for the preservation of the work already done, and thereby avoid great harm to the entire program.

For many years past the Congress has appropriated funds for study and work upon the Missouri River because they were certain of the value and importance of river control to our national economy. To interrupt this work now by the insufficient appropriation of funds would mean to place in jeopardy the work already done.

Gavins Point Dam, located at a point some 4 miles up the river from Yankton, with its powerhouse in the State of Nebraska, is not only an integral part of the Pick-Sloan plan and necessary for its proper function, but is also very definitely a part of the dam at Fort Randall, in that it not only regulates the fall or releases of waters from the upper dams, it also provides for the production of 100,000 kilowatts of electrical energy and at the same time shores up an additional 200,000 watts of power at the Randall Dam; in accordance with the engineer's plans (these dams are designed to be completed simultaneously), the Gavins Dam is also important in the prevention of further land erosion on the lower Missouri River. As has been brought to the attention of the Congress in former years, the losses on the lower Missouri River due to floods and erosion has not only cost farmers in the valley many millions of dollars in the loss of land and the resulting damage in flooding, but has deprived the Nation of the benefits of much of the crops which are raised in this breadbasket of the Nation. The construction work on the Gavin's Point Dam has not resulted in any expense to the Government by reason of housing. Private capital in this city has provided housing, and will continue to do so as the work progresses, so that every dollar of the money appropriated for the use on Gavin's Point is being applied to construction work.

Then, in addition, the bridge across the Missouri River belongs to the city of Yankton, which is in close proximity to the work, and the engineers are making use of this bridge at a very nominal cost, which avoids building a new bridge or building a highway across the dam that would cost several hundreds of thousands of dollars. The purchase of this bridge has been an undertaking of the city, and the tolls will retire the indebtedness this year, and then it will be a toll-free structure serving United States Highway No. 81, one of the most important transcontinental highways of the Nation. When the bridge is freed it will belond to, and will be maintained jointly by, the States of Nebraska and South Dakota. The appraised value of the structure as of today is $2% million, and, of course, the completion of Gavin's Point Dam will forever protect the approaches to this bridge.

In keeping with our President's budget, I believe his present recommendation of $12.100,000 for the continuation of the work on this dam to be sufficient and adequate, without materail loss to the overall construction of the dam, and, therefore, urge upon the committees the appropriation of such funds for the continuance of the work.

Mr. LOVRE. We also have with us Mr. Harold W. Levinger, who represents the Yankton Chamber of Commerce.

Mr. LEVINGER. I have just a short statement, and I will pass copies of it around, and ask that my statement be included in the record. (The matter referred to follows:)

STATEMENT BY HAROLD W. LEVINGER, CHAIRMAN, MISSOURI RIVER COMMITTEE OF THE YANKTON, S. DAK., CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

My name is Harold W. Levinger, merchant and landowner, and I am here representing over 500 business and professional men and women belonging to the Yankton Chamber of Commerce.

I know I speak the sentiments of the majority of residents of the great Missouri Valley when I say that we greatly appreciate the recognition by your committee of the importance of the entire Missouri River development program for flood control and other multiple benefits.

The Gavins Point Dam and Reservoir project, between Nebraska and South Dakota, is an essential part of the overall program of the main stem of the Missouri River. One of the prime functions of the Gavins Point Dam which our citizens deeply need is the protection of hundreds of thousands of acres of the most fertile land in the midwest from erosion and flooding. Its re-regulating function will give that protection. We strongly support the recommendation of the Bureau of the Budget for $12,100,000 for fiscal 1954 and hope that this committee approves that full amount. The project is well along and these funds will insure its speedy completion.

Fort Randall Dam, a short distance upstream, is already closed, and if Gavins Point Dam can now be closed to work with Randall, a great step in flood control will be accomplished.

The Corps of Engineers has designed the Gavins Point Dam as an auxiliary of the Fort Randall Dam for reregulating purposes and it is necessary that both be completed simultaneously if maximum benefits in flood control and in power are to be derived from the Fort Randall Dam.

Oahe Dam, near Pierre, must also be completed to assure real flood control and also the successful operation of Fort Randall and Gavins Point Dams. The $8,250,000 provided in the budget for Oahe will enable its continued construction and eventually Oahe Dam will serve as important a purpose in development of the Missouri River Basin, as Hoover Dam is now doing for the West.

I can also assure you that every farmer is equally concerned and realizes the great need for speedy completion of the Pick-Sloan plan in the Missouri Basin. Where today the river is flooding and cutting away their land and homes, it can then be put to work for them in irrigating their fertile bottom land.

We in South Dakota strongly feel that not alone will this development benefit us; but will reflect and bring returns to the entire United States and in fact that every single State will feel directly or indirectly prosperity through the early completion of this great project.

Thank you for the privilege of appearing before you.

Mr. LEVINGER. I might just mention one thing that, perhaps, the committee would be interested in.

Sunday before I left for Washington I drove out to see the appearance of the Gavins Point Dam.

They have moved this huge dredge down from Randall right out in that water, and they are now ready to start on the spillway and the footings and the foundations for the towers. The minute those are completed they can take the dredge on the other side and close the dam.

What I want to mention is that perhaps a year from July, if everything goes right, if you gentlemen see fit to give us the full $12,100,000, along with the $8,250,000 for Oahe, we will have a lake there forming and we should have some fishing and hunting up there.

Thank you.

Mr. LOVRE. Mr. Chairman, the city of Huron has been very much interested in this program, and the Chamber of Commerce of Huron,