During the above-mentioned period, the State of Missouri gained 1,160,000 people and the United States almost doubled in population, which proves that north Missouri is completely out of step with both the State and national trends. Therefore, I respectfully ask your committee to recommend for authorization the plan of the Army Corps of Engineers for the development of Grand River as a measure designed to improve the economy of this area. Mr. HULL. I have the pleasure now of introducing a very lovely young lady, Mrs. Joe Linn, president of the Mercer County Grand River Improvement Association. STATEMENT OF MRS. JOE LINN, PRESIDENT, MERCER COUNTY GRAND RIVER IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION Mrs. LINN. I am Mrs. Joe D. Linn. I reside in Princeton, Mo., which is the county seat of Mercer County where one of the proposed reservoirs is to be located. I am president of the Mercer County Grand River Improvement Association, with a membership of 132 landowners and other citizens and I represent them and their families. I also represent the Mercer County residents who signed the statements and petitions presented at the time of Governor Hearne's hearing on May 26, 1965. I believe we had over 750 statements presented to him for this and hundreds and hundreds of names on petitions. During the past 3 years the Grand River Basin plan has been endorsed by nearly every civic organization in our county, including the Princeton Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club, the Business and Professional Women's Club and the Junior Chamber of Commerce. I have with me today a statement from our mayor and one from J. Richard Thompson of our county court. Just north of us in Wayne County, Iowa-because if you will notice, that reservoir does lap over into Iowa-the county Chamber of Commerce of Wayne County, with members from communities all over that county, have endorsed the Engineers' plan. We think it is a magnificent plan. We have confidence in our U.S. Army Engineers. All of these people know that our precious land and water resources have been wasted long enough and our economy has been strained to the breaking point. On behalf of all the flood-weary people of the Grand River Basin, I sincerely urge your committee to approve and authorize the Army Engineers' plan. I thank you. Mr. HULL. Our next witness is Mr. J. Monroe Rusk. STATEMENT OF J. MONROE RUSK, VICE PRESIDENT, MO-ARK BASINS FLOOD CONTROL & CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION, BROOKFIELD, MO. Mr. RUSK. I am vice president of the Mo-Ark Basins Flood Control and Conservation Association. We are a nonprofit organization concerned in the development of water in these river basins of the Missouri and Arkansas Rivers. We endorse the Grand River report wholeheartedly. We think this, as a capital investment of north Missouri, would save the Grand River Basin and an important part of rural America. We have done many things in Missouri over the years. We have spent over $10 million by the Indian farmers in drainage districts, and so forth, to try to alleviate some of this flooding which has been of no avail. It goes on down and bothers the people down below. The Corps of Engineers, as you know, have completed these surveys and investigations on the Grand River Basin, so we request an early authorization and thank you, sir. Mr. HULL. I would like to present to the committee Judge Thomas Brady of Stanberry. STATEMENT OF JUDGE THOMAS F. BRADY, COUNTY COURT OF GENTRY COUNTY, STANBERRY, MO. Judge BRADY. I have had the honor of representing Gentry County. Mo., since 1947. Albany, Mo., is the county seat of Gentry County. During this time I have seen some disastrous floods, not only to the crops, but also to the bridges in the south part of the county. We have lost three bridges over Grand River at different locations that have cost $85,000 to replace. Some of the funds were raised by public subscription, and $40,000 was Federal funds granted in 1951. We have damage to bridges from Grand River flooding every year. All of the members of the court endorse the proposed Grand River Dam. Eighty percent of the people that I have talked with favor the dam. We would like to commend Senator Stuart Symington, Senator Edward V. Long, and Congressman William R. Hull for the work on this project. We also commend Gov. Warren Hearnes for signing the bill. I thank you, gentlemen. Mr. JONES. I wonder if we could hear some witnesses in opposition to this. If we have time left over, we will hear from you. Mr. HULL. I would like to express my deep appreciation to you and your committee for this opportunity of appearing before you this morning. Thank you very much. Mr. JONES. We have with us our colleague, the Honorable William Hungate. We are pleased this morning to hear you. You may present your own statement. STATEMENT OF HON. WILLIAM L. HUNGATE, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF MISSOURI Mr. HUNGATE. Mr. Chairman and other distinguished members of the committee, it is certainly a privilege to be allowed to present these witnesses here today. I realize the time of this committee is quite valuable, probably one of the hardest working committees of the Congress. We appreciate your consideration and attention to this problem. I feel I am introducing today an attorney who represents persons in opposition to this measure. What with two Senators and Governor's representative and these numerous representatives, I feel a little like David before Goliath here. But these people I feel are entitled to a hearing, and I think they have some good points to bring to the attention of the committee. I want to say that I certainly do agree with our distinguished Governor on the proposition he is working on tomorrow, his right to sueceed himself. He has made an outstanding record and one reason I am here, I am following in his footsteps in ignoring large odds. Gentlemen, the persons who are concerned in opposition to this primarily in my district center around Trenton. The area I represent as the last word from the Supreme Court was the Trenton area, the Mercer area, and the area around Milan, Mo. That [indicating] is where I was elected. Under the last term of the supreme court, they are removing Mercer County. I want to address you to that fact. It would be most presumptuous of me to speak on behalf of areas represented by Mr. Hull, so ably represented by him and represented for a long period of time. He has studied this whole problem and is familiar with it. Those are the areas of primary concern to me as being in my district. The gentleman whom I shall introduce, Mr. Andereck, is an attorney from Trenton, Mo., and he is speaking for people throughout the entire area. These people advised me that this matter was approved for authorization in the Senate without a hearing. They also advise me that at the meetings conducted in Missouri no engineers were present to discuss the technical aspects of this project. That is why we are most concerned to obtain a hearing here. I do not want to put myself in judgment of two Senators, the Governor, and the distinguished Representative like Mr. Hull, but I believe if you decide without hearing, you are wrong even if you decide correctly. I am most anxious for these people to be heard. They do have here a statement—it is somewhat lengthy-of their position on this entire program, and it sets forth some of the technicalities involved. This involves some 53 pages. Ordinarily, I would not be so urgent about getting it put in the record as opposed to merely being filed, but under the circumstances it is my strong belief that those in opposition, regardless of the ultimate merits which you gentlemen will determine, they are most certainly entitled to be heard. I would like to submit this statement, if I may, through their counsel. I might say, as has been developed in previous testimony, seven dams are proposed. The one of primary concern to my congressional district would be the one affecting the Trenton area. As I have said, it apears Pattonsburg is the one the Engineers said would be the first project. That project would not be primarily in my district, and I would not be commenting on that. But the one at Trenton I am suggesting might considered as to whether it is desirable to include that in the entire project. Once again, I want to thank the committee for your patience and your attention, and I am very confident that whatever the outcome, his committee will handle it justly. I would like to present Mr. Eugene Andereck of the firm of Picken, Anderson & Hauk. He will make a statement and present the delegation. Mr. JONES. We are anxious to hear the opposition as the proponents for this proposal. We will indulge as long as you have good men to put it out. STATEMENT OF EUGENE ANDERECK, ATTORNEY AT LAW, CHILLICOTHE, MO., ACCOMPANIED BY WILLIAM BENDER, CONSULTING ENGINEER, GRAND RIVER BASIN ASSOCIATION Mr. ANDERECK. In the interest of time, what we would propose to do after talking with some of your staff members, where possible, to introduce by written statement the postion taken by our people. We thought the committee would consider it just as carefully as if it was given orally. I would like to state to you, previously I presented to your staff packets of these statements. We tried to keep them in an orderly fashion of persons who are preparing statements in oppostion to the authorization of the construction. This group of persons-I have their names and addresses listed, and I would like to give it to the reporter and have him incorporate it into the record without taking valuable time from discussing the merits of the project without reading names and addresses, if agreeable with the chairman. Mr. JONES. That is agreeable. (The list referred to follows:) STATEMENTS IN OPPOSITION TO THE AUTHORIZATION OF THE CONSTRUCTION BY THE CORPS OF ENGINEERS OF THE SEVEN PROPOSED RESERVOIRS ON THE GRAND RIVER IN THE STATE OF MISSOURI Broyles, Jerry, Chillicothe, Mo. Bryan, Waldo, Princeton, Mo. Coulson, George A., St. Catherine, Mo. Cullers, George A., Trenton, Mo. Edgar, W. J., St. Catherine, Mo. Freeland, Glenn, Browning, Mo. Gardner, Frankie, Pattonsburg, Mo. Grundy county court, Trenton, Mo. Grundy County Industrial Development Corp., Trenton, Mo. Harrison county court, Bethany, Mo. Hawkins, Harley, Browning, Mo. Hoffman, H. Frank, Trenton, Mo. Hullinger, Arlo, Leon, Iowa. Hutchinson, Gilbert L., Pattonsburg, Mo. Ingraham, L. L., Browning, Mo. Jones, Eldon, Brimson, Mo. Kelly, Senator James P., Trenton, Mo. Kelso, John L., Bucklin, Mo. Lautz, Mrs. Maurice, Browning, Mo. Larason, Lloyd, Mercer, Mo. Powell, William A., Sr., Princeton, Mo. Spalding, Don K., St. Joseph, Mo. Sullivan county court, Milan, Mo. Summers, Gordon, Pattonsburg, Mo. Tipton, Robert, Trenton, Mo. Warford, Walter L., Pattonsburg, Mo. Williams, O. H., St. Catherine, Mo. Witten, Alfred H., Trenton, Mo. (The statements will be found in committee files.) Mr. ANDERECK. Also, I would like to present some of the persons listed here. I would appreciate it if the record would show their presence at this hearing and their opposition to this hearing. Mr. JONES. You may introduce them and have them stand up. Mr. ANDERECK. Mr. Chairman, also, as a bit of housekeeping, I should like to formally, in accordance with the statement of Congressman Hungate, request that the committee print as a part of its record the statement of the Grand River Basin Development Association, a copy of which we have given to your staff and a copy of which you have on your desk, because this is the only effort by engineers outside the Corps of Engineers to examine and evaluate the merits of what they are presenting. We think it is quite important that it be made a part of the record rather than to Mr. JONES. Without objection, the statement will be received and printed as a part of the record. (The statement referred to follows:) STATEMENT OF GRAND RIVER BASIN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION, INC., TRENTON, Mo. In opposition to the authorization of the construction by the Corps of Engineers on the Grand River and tributaries of Missouri and Iowa, of the Pattonsburg, Trenton, Mercer, Linneus, Brookfield, St. Catherine, and Braymer Reservoirs in lieu of the Chillicothe Reservoir as previously authorized by the Congress. Grand River Basin Resource Development Association, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as the "association"), is a nonprofit corporation organized under the "Not for Profit Corporation Act" of Missouri (ch. 355, Revised Statutes, Missouri), on April 11, 1956. Its membership is made up of municipalities, county courts, chambers of commerce, civic and fraternal organizations and many thousand indviduals residing in the Grand River Basin of north Missouri. The association is the only incorporated association in the Grand River Basin devoted to research of water resources and agricultural development. The association is the only organization within the Grand River Basin that has made an independent study of the seven-reservoir plan of the Corps of Engineers. The association is the only organization within the Grand River Basin that does not rely entirely on the Corps of Engineers for engineering and economic data with respect to the proposed plan of the Corps of Engineers. The association is the only orgnization within the Grand River Basin devoted to the research and examination of the current plan of the Corps of Engineers. Article V of the articles of incorporation filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Missouri asserts the purposes of the association as follows: "(1) To assert the rights and acknowledge the duties, for the promotion of the prosperity and welfare of all of the people residing in the area of the Grand River Basin, lying in north Missouri and southern Iowa, by sponsoring and promoting through research, science, conservation, education and development, the improvement of all of the industrial, agricultural, horticulture, wildlife, crop and livestock production of the area; and, through the practice of conservation, the preservation and conservation of the soil, minerals and natural resources of the area; on a nonprofit, nonpolitical and nonsectarian basis with the unselfish purpose and aim of contributing to the general welfare of all of the people of the Grand River Basin; and "(2) For any and all other purposes not contrary to the laws of the State of Missouri, which would tend to assist or aid in the furtherance of the aforesaid corporate purposes." The opposition of the association to the proposed seven reservoirs stems from the fact that the construction of these reservoirs will conflict with the stated purposes of the association. Their construction would remove from economic utilization 349,200 acres of highly productive land. Hundreds of millions of dollars would be lost to the area in State, county, and local taxes, agriculture production, business losses, inundation of natural resources, highways, railroads, |