Maintenance and improvement of existing river and harbor works, Corps of Engineers, Department of the Army-Continued

INACTIVE AUTHORIZED PROJECTS-Continued

Senator KERR. Has the Chief of Engineers yet advised the Budget Bureau with reference to your recommendations on the Keystone project in Oklahoma?

General PICK. Senator, I think that is with the Bureau of the Budget at the present time.

Senator KERR. Mr. Chairman, it will be our purpose to request the committee to consider that project. We hope that the letter will be here from the Budget Bureau. We think it will. We think it will. And if not, we may seek the cooperation of the committee in securing that letter. Senator MCCLELLAN. Senator, these hearings are already scheduled up to July 20, and they may have to be continued on after that date. So there will be some opportunity at least.

Senator KERR. Thank you, sir.

General PICK. That letter was sent to the Bureau of the Budget on the 20th of May.

Senator SPARKMAN. I want to ask one question.

General Pick, I was very much interested in the general questions that were asked by Senator McClellan regarding the usefulness of these projects not only in our national economy at all times, but particularly in times of unemployment and recession. And I was just wondering how big a backlog and that is the reason I suggested in these lists of projects Senator Kerr asked for the estimated cost also be put-how big a backlog you have. How flexible is this program? Or, rather, may I say how does it lend itself to acceleration in construction in the event we did need such an accelerated program for employment purposes?

General PICK. Senator, we have a number of projects which have been authorized. We have a number of projects that would be ready to go now. We could start construction on them in a very short time if we had the appropriations.

We could increase that number of projects ready to go if we had an additional sum of money to do the necessary planning. That is, suppose we are taking up this year 25 projects. We work close up. Now, suppose we want to take up 125. Suppose we want to take up 500. Then we would have to do the preliminary planning. We know where the projects are, we know the locations of them, we know everything, but we just have not done the preliminary planning on them yet.

Senator SPARKMAN. How long would that take, just roughly?

General PICK. In these projects it does not take but just a little while to start the preliminary construction.

Senator SPARKMAN. In other words, it is a program that lends itself very well for making useful work and employment? General PICK. You can take it up very quickly.

I think, Colonel Potter, you had a figure of about $15,000,000. Colonel POTTER. We figured if we had $15,000,000 appropriation to work out the plans and specifications for the work that we would consider asking for in the 1951 budget, say, we would be able to put that money to work very promptly.

Senator MCCLELLAN. Is that for preparing the preliminary plans, this $15,000,000?

Colonel POTTER. Yes, sir. The preliminary plans and the first definite plans and specifications.

Senator MCCLELLAN. In other words, you could bring them up to a status where you could immediately let the contract and start work?

General PICK. Yes, that would allow us to get part of the work started.

Senator SPARKMAN. That is all, thank you.

WEST PETERBOROUGH DAM PROJECT, NEW HAMPSHIRE (S. 1147)

Senator MCCLELLAN. Senator Tobey, we are glad to have you here and will be glad to hear from you.

STATEMENT OF HON. CHARLES W. TOBEY, A UNITED STATES SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

Senator TOBEY. Mr. Chairman and friends, I will be very brief. I appear here in favor of a bill, S. 1147, to designate the dam now under construction near Peterborough, N. H., as Edward MacDowell Dam.

I hold in my hand a letter from Gordon Gray, Under Secretary of the Army, approving the bill.

Senator MCCLELLAN. The bill and the letter will be made a part. of the record.

(The bill and letter are as follows:)

Hon. DENNIS CHAVEZ,

Chairman, Committee on Public Works,

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY,
Washington, June 13, 1949.

United States Senate.

DEAR SENATOR CHAVEZ: Reference is made to your request for a report on Senate bill 1147, "To designate the dam now under construction near Peterborough, New Hampshire, as Edward MacDowell Dam."

The purpose of the bill, S. 1147, is to designate as the Edward MacDowell Dam the flood-control dam heretofore known as the West Peterborough Reservoir project, under construction near Peterborough, N. H., as a part of the floodcontrol plan in the Merrimack River Basin.

By provisions of the Flood Control Acts of June 22, 1936, and June 28, 1938, Congress approved a comprehensive plan for flood control and other purposes in the Merrimack River Basin. Included in said plan was the West Peterborough Reservoir project on the Merrimack River near Peterborough in New Hampshire. The project has been referred to in the past as the "West Peterborough Reservoir' merely because of its geographic location and, therefore, the Department of the Army is in favor of the enactment of S. 1147.

Attention is invited, however, to the apparent omission of the word "to" following the word "refer" in line 2, page 2, of the bill.

This report has been coordinated among the Departments and Boards in the National Military Establishment in accordance with proecdures prescribed by the Secretary of Defense.

The Bureau of the Budget advises that there is no objection to the submission of this report.

Sincerely yours,

GORDON GRAY, Under Secretary of the Army.

[S. 1147, 81st Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To designate the dam now under construction near Peterborough, New Hampshire, as Edward MacDowell Dam

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the flood-control dam (known as the West Peterborough Reservoir project) under construction near Peterborough, New Hampshire, as a part of the flood-control plan in the Merrimack River Basin, as authorized by the Food Control Act of June 22, 1936, and the Flood Control Act of June 28, 1938, shall be known and designated as Edward MacDowell Dam. All records, surveys, maps, and public documents of the United States in which such dam is referred to under the name of West Peterborough Reservoir project, or by any other name, shall be held to refer such dam under the name of Edward MacDowell Dam.

Senator TOBEY. I cannot see, Mr. Chairman, that there could be any possible objection. Edward MacDowell was one of our leading American composers of music who, as you know, has now passed on.

I had a letter from his widow, Mrs. MacDowell, who is still living in Peterborough expressing the hope that this action might be taken while she is still with us on this earth, she said, in memory of her beloved and saintly husband.

I would express the hope that in view of the fact the Department of the Army approved of this bill, and it is now designated West Peterborough Dam only for geographical purposes, that it might be known as the Edward MacDowell Dam for posterity and a worthy project of a worthy man.

You are familiar with many of his writings in music, beyond question, and I do not think we have a more outstanding American

composer.

This is a very simple project to rename what is now called the West Peterborough Reservoir project.

Now it means nothing, its present name. It is only to localize it. So I bespeak the favor of this committee in naming this dam Edward MacDowell Dam, which is approved by the Army, and my bill is S. 1147.

Senator MCCLELLAN. Senator, could you say that local interests up there would generally favor this?

Senator TOBEY. Not only that, but the whole State of New Hampshire, and in fact the music loving world throughout the country are in favor of it. They have so testified to me. The State is keenly interested. It is such a simple thing

Senator MCCLELLAN. There could not be objection?

Senator TOBEY. Everyone is for it. It means a great deal sentimentally throughout the State of New Hampshire and the Nation, honoring a man who has given great spiritual values in his fine music. So many will testify.

You know his writings, his hymns. Possibly his best known work is the woodland sketches-To a Wild Rose, and Ode to the Water Lily.

Here is a man now gone. Mrs. MacDowell is an eminent composer herself. She is still living, although blind, and she wrote me in her own hand expressing appreciation of what we are trying to do. It means so much to her.

Senator MCCLELLAN. You would just like to have your bill made. an amendment to the pending flood control bill? Senator TOBEY. Yes, sir, exactly.

Thank you for the courtesy, Mr. Chairman.

Senator MCCLELLAN. General Pick, we thank you for your presence. Senator Holland, who had to leave this morning to attend another committee for some official duty, said he would like to question you some and hoped you could return in the morning. Can you be here in the morning?

General PICK. Yes, sir.

Senator MCCLELLAN. Then we will recess hearings until 10 o'clock in the morning.

(Whereupon, at 11:50 a. m., a recess was taken until tomorrow, Wednesday, July 13, 1949, at 10 a. m.)