STATEMENT OF JOHN B. OLIVER, COUNTY ATTORNEY, BEDFORD COUNTY, BEDFORD, VA.

Mr. OLIVER, I am John B. Oliver of Bedford, and I am speaking, sir, for Bedford County, the Chamber of Commerce of Bedford County, the board of supervisors, and the council of the town of Bedford.

As all of these gentlemen can verify, at times and most frequently that river exerts its authority in no uncertain terms in Bedford County. And other times it presents a pitiful sight when it is a mere trickle.

Both of those conditions as you will observe from that map, are very costly from an economic standpoint to our county.

There are at present four hydroelectric plants in operation in Bedford County. One other plant or dam. That, in itself, bears evidence of the fact that the unruly condition of this river is making it economically unfeasible for industry to a certain extent, because no use has been made of that dam. It is a splendid dam, but the plant has been allowed to go down.

With your permission, may I impress upon you that the gentlemen from Bedford County who will be introduced to you are not wild New Deal spenders. We are conservative. I will say ultraconservative businessmen. We do not come here asking the Government to give us something. We simply come here to you, sir, and ask a Government to control a God-given resource so that we, in the exercise of our business, our labor, and our farming, can live a more abundant life. In other words, that we may profit by the resources that are at our command.

I would in no way attempt to tell you the thousands of dollars that the condition of this river at present costs the laboring man from loss of his work, and there are times, sir, that for weeks these plants are shut down; that it costs municipalities from the loss of generated current; that it costs capital from loss on their investment; and last but not least, sir, that it costs the farmers who are flooded out and whose lands are temporarily ruined.

We feel, and I do not attempt to put myself in the position of an engineer, because we have the utmost confidence in these gentlemen, that if this project meets with your approval, it will prove ultimately of great benefit to the economic and social and recreational life of our community.

We therefore respectfully request you give it your earnest consid

eration.

Senator MALONE. Thank you, sir.

Senator ROBERTSON. Is it also true, Mr. Oliver, in periods of drought and extremely low water you have to use supplemental steam plants to get power for the town of Bedford?

Mr. OLIVER. We get it from Appalachian.

Senator ROBERTSON. It affects it either way. If flooded, it hurts you; and if a drought it hurts you?

Mr. OLIVER. Yes, sir.

Senator ROBERTSON. The next witness is Mr. H. W. Robertson, mayor of the city of Covington.

Senator MALONE. Mr. Robertson.

STATEMENT OF H. W. ROBERTSON, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF COVINGTON, VA.

Mr. ROBERTSON. I am H. W. Robertson, mayor of Covington, Alleghany County, Va.

We feel that the Gathright Dam project is tremendously important to our section of the State, and our people are anxious that you approve the amount in question to start this project.

I thank you.

Senator MALONE. Thank you, Mr. Robertson.

Senator ROBERTSON. The next witness is Mr. Hale Collins, a member of the house of delegates from Covington, Alleghany County. Senator MALONE. Mr. Collins.

STATEMENT OF HALE COLLINS, COVINGTON, VA.

Mr. COLLINS. Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee: My name is Hale Collins from Alleghany County. I do not represent any special group, only the citizens of Alleghany County.

I would like to show you this map and call your attention to the town of Covington in the flood period of 1913.

The West Virginia Pulp & Paper Co. is located in this portion. The yellow lines designate the flooded area.

This is the woodyard of the paper mill. That was entirely flooded and most of that pulpwood carried off during that period.

The paper mill is in this position. All of this down through here is residential section. On down through the industrial site there. This yellow line shows the 1913 flood area, and it varies in degree since then with the type of floods and the high water at different times.

I just wanted to call your attention to that.

Gentlemen, I do not believe I can add anything further to what the gentleman here before me have said, but I heartily concur in everything they do say.

We have thought about this project and talked about it for a long time, and all of us, the entire community as far as I am able to see, are thoroughly sold on it and realize the importance of it.

That area where this dam is proposed to be constructed has been gone over by the Army engineers and recommended by them. It seems to be a natural point for it.

There is no other place it could be on Jackson River to give the same benefits and protect as many people, protect the flood area, and to guarantee even flow of that stream to all the people below that from the headwaters there to the city of Richmond.

We do hope you will see fit to go along with this project and not report this bill out.

Senator MALONE. Thank you.

Senator ROBERTSON. Now, Mr. Chairman, I am going to recognize for brief statements the representatives of these several counties that are interested in this project and vitally affected.

I first want to introduce a member of the board of supervisors of Bath County, Mr. Walter Farnsworth.

Senator MALONE. Mr. Farnsworth, we shall be happy to hear from

you.

STATEMENT OF WALTER FARNSWORTH, MEMBER, BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, BATH COUNTY, VA.

Mr. FARNSWORTH. Mr. Chairman and Senator, my name is Walter Farnsworth.

We are situated in the mountains and, of course, would not be benefited from the flood-control project in this dam. However, the entire project would be situated in Bath County, or practically all of it.

The only thing we have to sell up there is recreation, and we believe it would materially benefit our county in that way. We certainly would like to see the bill rejected by the Senate.

Senator ROBERTSON. I should now like to call on Mr. Sam Tankersly, president, BARC Elective Cooperative.

Mr. MOOMAW. He is not here, Senator.

Senator ROBERTSON. Is the manager of the BARC Electric Cooperative, Mr. Brady, here?

I will now call on Hon. Charles N. Loving, member of the house of delegates of Bath County.

Senator MALONE. Mr. Loving, would you like to come forward?

STATEMENT OF HON. CHARLES N. LOVING, MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF DELEGATES, BATH COUNTY, VA.

Mr. LOVING. No, thank you. I will just stand where I am.

I am only interested in this project for our neighbors below and for the recreational advantages which we believe in and are sold on, which will inure to our county. We have located there one of America's greatest resort hotels, in fact, the largest hotel in the State of Virginia, and we want the many thousands of people who visit there each year to be in a position to receive from us all of the recreational facilities which can be made available to them.

I believe I can say, Mr. Chairman, that the recreation for sportsmen provided by our county is without equal.

Senator ROBERTSON. And would you like to invite the chairman to visit your hotel, to see what you are talking about?

Mr. LOVING. I certainly would.

Senator ROBERTSON. I want to tell you that it is a $6,000,000 hotel with a $12,000,000 replacement value, and Mr. Loving is talking about the guests who might like to come up and fish in this river some time. Senator MALONE. I would be delighted to do so, but it seems that we can hardly get sufficient time to get around to the various committees here.

I am glad so many of you have had a chance to come here today to see how hard your Senator is working.

Senator ROBERTSON. I see here the county treasurer, Mr. Mustoe. We would be glad to hear from him.

Senator MALONE. You may proceed, Mr. Mustoe.

STATEMENT OF ROBERT MUSTOE, COUNTY TREASURER, BATH COUNTY, VA.

Mr. MUSTOE. My name is Robert Mustoe, and I am treasurer of Bath County.

I think, Mr. Chairman, the subject has been well covered.

I think Bath County would get great benefit from this development from a recreational viewpoint, but speaking from an unselfish viewpoint, I think I can say that the rest of the State will benefit even more. Senator MALONE. Thank you, Mr. Mustoe.

Senator ROBERTSON. I see the county agent, Mr. Manley, and I should like to call upon him.

Senator MALONE. Mr. Manley?

STATEMENT OF P. C. MANLEY, AGRICULTURAL COUNTY AGENT, BATH COUNTY, VA.

Mr. MANLEY. I am county agricultural agent, P. C. Manley, of Bath County. I represent the farmers of Bath County.

I only have a few statements to make.

One of them is that we are back up in the mountains. We produce a lot of good livestock and grain; not nearly as much as some, of course. We are nearly 50 miles from market. We have to haul in produce, and we have to haul out farm products.

Quoting from the report of the Committee of the Presidents of Land Grant Colleges on Postwar Reconversion, one of the things recommended was that facilities be provided for recreation for the people of the country and the development of resources, whereby farmers could dispose of produce locally, thereby giving more people employment and providing a market, without the expense of hauling out so far.

We are handicapped in every market that the farmers of Bath County go to, because of the excess cost of hauling to these markets, and from these markets.

The recreational facilities will give benefit largely to the farmers of Bath County.

Now, it would almost break your heart to go over the area that would be covered by the waters of this proposed dam.

At one time it consisted of about 1,000 to 1,200 acres. At the present time it is unfenced. It has grown up in briers and undergrowth. And the waters of Jackson River, flowing for 12 miles, are utilized by only a few dozen members, whereas the lake would provide fishing and recreational facilities for literally hundreds of people that would be in automobile distance of the lake.

Thank you.

Senator ROBERTSON. It is not true that Bath County has an area of 450 square miles?

Mr. MANLEY. Five hundred forty-five square miles, sir.

Senator ROBERTSON. And a great percentage of it is either mountains or hill land?

Mr. MANLEY. Practically all of it. We have valleys where the rivers flow, and there are farms along these rivers.

Senator ROBERTSON. And you cannot afford to carry through the spring and summer any more cattle than you can feed in the winter. Mr. MANLEY. That is true. We can't.

Senator ROBERTSON. And if you do not have some good bottom land to go with your hill land, you are just out of luck.

Mr. MANLEY. We surely are.

Senator MALONE. Thank you very much, Mr. Manley.

Mr. MANLEY. I have a prepared factual summary on Gathright Dam which I would like to submit for the record.

Senator MALONE. It will be placed in the record. (The summary referred to is as follows:)

GATHRIGHT DAM ON JACKSON RIVER

Location.-Twelve miles north of Covington.

Purpose.-Flood-damage prevention, generating electric current, and recrea

tion facilities.

The construction of this proposed dam would in a large measure prevent local flood damage, would provide protection from flood damage along the entire length of the James River, and would provide a flow of water in the James which would to a great extent eliminate pools of stagnant water and sewage, which are a menace to the health of the people living along the lower parts of the James River. Such a condition also is very detrimental to the fish population and makes much of the fish that are caught unfit for human consumption.

This flood damage control alone would justify the construction of the Gathright Dam and it would seem that it would be much more feasible to control our floodwaters near the sources of our large streams and thereby prevent the inevitable silting of our dams located far down these streams. It is a comparatively easy matter to provide an adequate flow of water in nearly any of our streams, and more especially the James River, if such dams as the proposed Gathright Dam were built on the tributaries of our larger rivers.

Water power.-In addition to the above-mentioned benefits of such a dam the potential power for generating electricity would be a most substantial benefit to the surrounding area, and would make possible other hydroelectric plants now located on the James, year-round operation at full capacity whereas at present in times of low water these plants cannot operate at full capacity for the lack of adequate amounts of water.

About 18 years ago one of our utility companies considered the building of a similar dam very much worth while for the production of electric current. The reason why the dam was not built at that time is well known. Therefore, if a private utility felt that the sale of current from such a generating plant would pay dividends, have we any reason to doubt that it would not do likewise today? The report of the Committee on Postwar Agricultural Policy of the Association of Land Grant Colleges and Universities, meeting in Chicago in 1944, made the following recommendations with regard to electrification:

"By aiding rural industrialization and encouraging the development of vacation homes and rural residences it can bring increased employment opportunities to rural people.

"More than half of the Nation's farms are still without electric power and it should be an immediate concern in the postwar period to extend this service as rapidly as possible."

No other place in the eastern United States is this recommendation more applicable than to Bath County and other nearby scenic and historic sections of Virginia and West Virginia.

Recreation. Quoting from a survey made by the members of the Bath County Planning Commission, of which Mr. Fay Ingalls was chairman, they made the following observations with regard to Bath County: "There is no manufacturing, mining, or other industry other than the resort business, at the present time, located in Bath County. This business at present is of course largely concentrated about the Homestead Hotel with a revenue of between 21⁄2 and 3 million dollars gross per year.

"The Homestead caters to a luxury clientele and does not appeal to more than 5 percent of the potential number of vacationists, either because of financial restrictions or because a large percentage do not like to go to a place where vacationists concentrate."

The recreational benefits would be enormous if the proposed Gathright Dam was constructed as it would lie largely in the narrow valleys between the mountain ranges of Bath County and the land it would cover that is fit for farming is now to a large extent growing up in briers and underbrush and is owned by one of our public utilities.

The total acreage that would be covered with water by the proposed dam that was once crop and pasture land would amount to less than 1,200 acres. In 1943 this entire area of so-called crop and pasture land was estimated by the operator