MEMORANDUM OF TRANSMITTAL UNITED STATES SENATE, COMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS, To Members of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs: Here is the report of Michael W. Straus, committee consultant, on the relationship of river and related water resources development programs of the United States, Soviet Russia, and Red China, noting major and rapid changes. Because a number of Senators, including myself, had alluded with considerable concern to various individual items embraced in this subject, I directed Mr. Straus (instructions appended) to collect and assemble, on a more comprehensive basis, this material in the form of a report to the committee permitting appraisals. The result of this inquiry reveals a situation requiring immediate attention if our country is not willing to be eclipsed, as it has by other nations in other fields, in their major area of our assigned responsibilities having to do with river development. As some matters in this report involve the responsibilities of the Senate Committee on Public Works and the Senate Committee on Appropriations, I am furnishing the chairmen and members of those committees, and others, with copies of this report with the proffer of such assistance and cooperation by this committee as may be desired in evolving a joint endeavor to correct the situation here revealed. I propose to bring this subject before the committee at the first appropriate meeting. In the meantime, I will appreciate by January 15, 1958, any comments or suggestions my colleagues may have as to procedure in cooperation with the Committee on Public Works, should it desire to take joint action, which I am proposing to its distinguished chairman (Mr. Chavez). JAMES E. MURRAY, Chairman, Committee on Interior III RELATIONSHIPS OF RIVER AND RELATED WATER RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS OF UNITED STATES, SOVIET RUSSIA, AND (RED) CHINA DECEMBER 18, 1957. (Responsive to direction of chairman of Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs (dated November 21, 1957, and appended) to Committee Consultant Michael W. Straus) Russia and (Red mainland) China are driving forward river and water resource development programs that are overtaking those of the United States. The Soviets are climaxing this continuing endeavor in the proclaimed belief that results will assure that these Communist nations surpass the United States in any competition existing in this major economic field. The Communist countries' realistic effort and emphasis in executing these irrigation, hydroelectric, flood-control, and water-transport functions the four categories of river development to which relative examination was directed-are more powerfully and longer sustained and exceed in volume and sacrifice involved all their missile and satellite performances currently evoking widespread interest, analysis, reexamination, speculation, and emotions. REPORTS IGNORED AND UNHEEDED Unreflected and unrecognized in any executive department submissions to the Congress, this relatively changing river and other water resource development picture is, and long has been, recognized and regularly studied by a number of departments and bureaus in Washington. Their periodic internal reports and projections are more ignored and unheeded than suppressed. In drawing this material together and putting it in focus for the Congress, for the first time as far as is known, the instructions to confine its collection to existing, unrestricted, and unclassified information were faithfully complied with. The assistance of many units of the executive department is hereby acknowledged and specified by name and citation in appropriate instances. Most authoritative information shows that in most of the four basic areas examined, the United States still leads the Communist countries in whatever competition exists to assure survival by economic strength. For example, in the fundamental electrical energy field, a 15-country list of leading nations on the installed overall electrical power generating capacity, prepared by the Federal Power Commission, is currently topped by the United States with 136,996 megawatts reported. Russia had climbed to second place with far less capacity, with Great Britain third in rank. When the problems of comparative velocity, scope, and rate of development are considered, the sequence is reversed with Russia already on top. The Federal Power Commission study on the basis of increase in overall power-generating capacity, which reflects velocity and scope, shows the United States increase as 96.8 percent in the years 1948 to 1956 (last available) with the corresponding Russian increase for the parallel period 137.8 percent. TREMENDOUS INCREASE IN 27 YEARS Still farther narrowed to the single year 1955-56 and restricted to hydroelectric power only (ignoring thermal power in an inquiry restricted to river and related water-resource development) a Department of Commerce, Bureau of Foreign Commerce, routine listing places the 1-year listing of Soviet increase at 25 percent. A further study of the same agency over a wider 27-year period, 1928 to 1955, embracing overall Soviet generating-capacity increase, lists the increase at 3,402.0 percent. All these and other figures are from official public reports, none calculated for the purpose of this appraisal. It is significant that all sources consulted, inside and outside the United States Government, are in substantial agreement that in rate and velocity of accomplishment, in contradistinction to absolute totals attained, the Soviets are now outstripping the United States. This applies to the four principal areas of water-resource development examined. The verdict from all sources as to trend and direction is unanimous. There is a wide variation among the sources as to degree and measurement of the accepted trend, and even more dramatic disagreement as to details and their significance. In fact, the chairman's forecast, made in requesting the study, that— While there is a wealth of ill-assorted and uncataloged information on this subject available, it is anticipated considerable will be conflicting, out of date, or incomplete has been fulfilled in the revelations of the actual survey. INDIAN GOVERNMENT AUTHORITY CITED Just one human in the world was found who qualified on a competent, personal eyewitness basis to make "such distinction between promise and performance as is possible" as stipulated in committee instructions. He is Konwar Sain, a recognized international authority and technician who is the chairman of the Nehru Indian Government's Central Water and Power Commission. That office combines in India many of the river-development functions scattered in the United States Government through the Bureau of Reclamation, the Army Engineer Corps, and the Federal Power Commission. He has hauled this reporter all over India exhibiting that land's vast and increasing irrigation programs (that waters approximately three times the irrigated area of the United States) which he supervises. In turn, he has personally inspected most of the major United States developments. Further, he has recently completed multiple-month, multiple thousands of miles of inspection trips, accompanied by his own trained staff of experts through Soviet Russia and Communist mainland China, emerging as the only known man who, by virtue of recently |