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Mr. CANNON. Thank you, Mr. Beckworth and gentlemen.
Mr. BECKWORTH. Mr. Chairman, Representative Dowdy asked me

to submit this one-page statement.

Mr. CANNON. That statement will be included in the record. Mr. BECKWORTH. I want to thank you and the committee for your kindness in hearing us.

Mr. CANNON. Thank you, gentlemen.

STATEMENT OF REPRESENTATIVE JOHN DOWDY

(The statement of Mr. Dowdy follows:)

MAY 7, 1958.

I have received telegrams from leading citizens of Rusk and Jacksonville, Tex., expressing a desire that funds be appropriated for a comprehensive survey of the Neches River watershed along with the Sabine River watershed which you are presently considering. The communications have been from Mr. Hugh Sawyer, manager of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce; the Jacksonville City Council, consisting of Mayor R. C. Buckner and Councilmen R. A. Huttash, Eddie Johnson, Norman Ragsdale, and Carl Williams; Mr. Morris Hassell, president of the Rusk Chamber of Commerce; Mr. M. H. Norton, mayor of Rusk; Cherokee County Judge J. W. Chandler; and Messrs. Leo W. Tosh, J. Perrin Willis, H. F. Stevens, C. E. Baker, Bill McCluney, E. R. Gregg, J. C. Williams, and Robert A. von Doenhoff, all of Rusk, Tex.

Mr. Bob Hunt of Troup, Tex., is here representing the Neches River group, and I respectfully request that he be recognized for the purpose of including his statement in the record.

JOHN DOWDY, Member of Congress.

20

WEDNESDAY, MAY 7, 1958

MCGEE BEND DAM AND SABINE-NECHES WATERWAY

WITNESSES

HON. JACK BROOKS, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF TEXAS

D. G. BUTTS, SAN AUGUSTINE, PRESIDENT, MCGEE BEND DAM DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION

TROY MITCHELL, KIRBYVILLE, MANAGER, JASPER-NEWTON REA ELECTRIC CO-OP

HOWARD HICKS, BEAUMONT, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, BEAUMONT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

EDWARD P. HUGHES, JASPER, VICE PRESIDENT, MCGEE BEND DAM DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION

D. N. BEASLEY, SAN AUGUSTINE, MANAGER, DEEP EAST TEXAS REA ELECTRIC CO-OP

M. T. POTTS, LIVINGSTON, MANAGER, SAM HOUSTON REA ELECTRIC CO-OP

U. J. GAJAN, LAFAYETTE, LA., MANAGER, SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA ELECTRIC MEMBERSHIP CORPORATION; PRESIDENT, TEX-LA ELECTRIC CO-OP, INC.

R. E. HOLLADAY, JR., WINNSBORO, LA., MANAGER, NORTHEAST LOUISIANA POWER CO-OP

V. B. SHAW, QUITMAN, MANAGER, WOOD COUNTY ELECTRIC CO-OP, CHAIRMAN, SOUTHWESTERN POWER ADVISORY COMMITTEE A. P. WOOD, NATCHITOCHES, LA., MANAGER, VALLEY ELECTRIC MEMBERSHIP CORPORATION, PRESIDENT, LOUISIANA ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC.

VICTOR FAIN, NACOGDOCHES, PUBLISHER, NACOGDOCHES DAILY SENTINEL, THE REDLAND HERALD

E. H. FLORENCE, DIRECTOR, TEX-LA ELECTRIC CO-OPERATIVE, INC., DOUGLASSVILLE, LA.

ED EASTERLING, BEAUMONT, COUNSEL FOR LNVA

W. F. WEED, PRESIDENT OF THE LOWER NECHES VALLEY AUTHOR

ITY

Mr. CANNON. Congressman Brooks, we are very glad to have you with us.

Would you have your associates come forward?

Mr. BROOKS. Yes, sir.

Mr. CANNON. Congressman Brooks, do you desire to be heard on the McGee Bend Dam and Sabine-Neches Waterway?

Mr. BROOKS. Yes, sir.

Mr. CANNON. You may proceed.

Mr. BROOKS. Mr. Chairman, first let me say that we appreciate the opportunity to be here today. You and the committee members and staff have always been helpful and courteous ard we hope to show our appreciation by taking up only a very few minutes of your time this morning.

Mr. CANNON. I should like to say to you and your constituents that you have always been very cooperative with the committee and we appreciate your efforts when you appear before us.

Mr. BROOKS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. You are very kind, Mr. Cannon.

This committee approved the initial money for the construction of McGee Bend Dam in 1955. You were intimately familiar with the merits of the authorized project at that time and I know you have kept up with the construction that has been going on since that time. One point of particular importance which has developed since the last time we talked together about McGee Bend Dam is the Corps of Engineers' reevaluation of the benefit-to-cost ratio.

You will remember that when the project was considered for construction, this ratio was 1.39 to 1. I understand that each year since the Corps of Engineers has continued to reassess the benefits and cost and that the current ratio, as evaluated by our impartial Army Engineers, is 1.79 to 1.

This has doubled the desirability.

Mr. CANNON. Would you briefly explain to the committee the nature of the McGee Bend Dam project? This is on what river? Mr. BROOKS. On the Angelina.

Concisely, sir, it is a multipurpose dam which has flood control, recreation, power, conservation, and all of the advantages of maximum utilization of this great natural watershed. We in my district and throughout the area have felt that it was essential

Mr. CANNON. The river has a stable and dependable flow?

Mr. BROOKS. Yes, sir. The engineers feel that it is quite adequate to keep that dam full in the drought years.

Mr. CANNON. Proceed.

Mr. BROOKs. The benefits over and above the estimated cost of the projects have increased 100 percent. I believe we all would agree that this increase speaks directly to the point of the critical importance this project is to the continued economic growth of southeast Texas and our country. It is our hope that construction be continued and that the committee consider possibilities of expediting the completion of McGee Bend Dam with any additional appropriation for fiscal year 1959 that can be economically utilized.

The second point I would bring to the committee's attention is the continued overwhelming support of the authorized project among the people who themselves live and work and own businesses in the watershed. The record has always been clear on this point since before the multipurpose dam was authorized in 1945. I have a list of the names of civic leaders, public officials, and organizations from throughout the watershed who have wired and written me in the past 2 weeks forcefully supporting continued construction of the full-sized MeGre Bend Dam with power benefits.

In an effort to save the committee the expense of printing all these communications, I would ask that only the list be included in the record and that copies of the telegrams, resolutions, and letters be received for the committee's file for your reference.

Mr. CANNON. Thank you, Congressman Brooks.

Mr. BROOKS. I have received telegrams, resolutions, letters. statements from the following urging continued support by Congress of full-sized McGee Bend Dam with power benefits as authorized by Congress:

San Augustine County Chamber of Commerce.

Kirbyville Lions Club.

Groves Chamber of Commerce.

County Commissioners Court, Jasper County.
Woodville Chamber of Commerce.

Nederland Chamber of Commerce.

Nacogdoches Chamber of Commerce.
Port Neches Chamber of Commerce.

Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce.

Jasper Chamber of Commerce.

Silsbee Chamber of Commerce.

Judge Fletcher Richardson, county judge, Hardin County.

W. H. Hoffman, president, Neches Butane Products Co., Port Neches.

Henry Flynn, works manager, the Texas Co., Port Arthur.

R. A. McAlister, member of Neches River Conservation District board of directors,

Nacogdoches.

Donelson Caffrey, manager, Gulf Coast Division, Sun Oil Co.

R. G. Sanders, vice president, Magnolia Petroleum Co., Beaumont.

Silsbee Lions Club.

W. R. Bateman, plant manager, Goodrich-Gulf Chemical, Inc., Port Neches. City of Silsbee.

L. R. Strawn, manager, Jefferson Chemical Co., Inc., Beaumont.

Silsbee Kiwanis Club.

J. C. (Jake) Smyth, publisher, Liberty Vindicator, Liberty.

Max Robinson and R. W. Hunley, publishers, Jasper News-Boy, Jasper.
C. B. Locke, KFDM-TV, Beaumont.

Pipefitters Local 195, Beaumont, L. L. Morrison, business representative; Pat
Sapaurx, business representative; and Vernon W. Evans, financial secretary.
R. E. Bob Roberts, Beaumont, president, Beaumont Building Trades Assembly.
Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers, Local 4-228, Port Neches, L. L. Crane,
secretary.

Oil, Chemical and Atomic Workers, Local 4-243, Beaumont, Ernest C. Byerly, secretary and treasurer.

David Read, publisher, Silsbee Bee, Silsbee.

T. T. Hunt, managing editor, Beaumont Enterprise, Beaumont.

Victor B. Fain, publisher, Daily Sentinel, the Redland Herald, Nacogdoches.

Bob Sanders, Jasper News-Boy, Jasper.

T. A. McCoy, manager, Texas-United States Chemical Co., Beaumont.

Roy S. Nelson, president, Gulf States Utilities Co., Beaumont.

H. C. Bailey, manager, Beaumont Works, Du Pont, Beaumont.

Ray Ward, Gulf Sulphur Co., Beaumont.

Otis E. Fullen, president, Security State Bank and Trust Co., Beaumont.

E. L. Lawrence, superintendent of

D. D. Boyett, Kirbyville.

of schools, Kirbyville.

Lum C. Edwards, J. S. Edwards & Co., Beaumont.

Myron Metteauer, San Augustine.

Kirby McGown, executive vice president, Security State Bank, Beaumont.
O. B. Archer, vice president and dean, Lamar State College of Technology.

Hon. W. A. Venissat, mayor, Vinton, La.

H. Newton Hopkins, Kountze & Silsbee Ice Co., Silsbee, Tex.

Bill Thames, Beaumont, Tex.

8. A. Carter, Nacogdoches, Tex.

Charles Lee Bass, Nacogdoches.

G. H. Słay, Nacogdoches.

Roger Witt, Nacogdoches.
Ernest K. Daniel, Nacogdoches.
Clyde Means, Nacogdoches.
Mrs. E. K. Daniels, Nacogdoches.
Robert Henry, Nacogdoches.
F. B. Watson, Nacogdoches.
Howard Gilbreath, Nacogdoches.
W. A. Gilbreath, Nacogdoches.

A. C. Gilbreath, Nacogdoches (Mr. and Mrs.).
Ernest Cochran, Livingston, mayor.

Fred Roguemont, Nacogdoches.
James E. Daniel, Nacogdoches.
Charles Coats, Nacogdoches.
J. W. McIlwain, Nacogdoches.
John L. Koonce, Nacogdoches.
T. W. Ray, Nacogdoches.

Herman Weber, general contractor, Beaumont.

Joseph Vincent, superintendent South Park Schools, Beaumont.
L. M. Thrash, Nacogdoches.

Annie Garrett, Nacogdoches.
Claude F. Sigler, Nacogdoches.
J. E. Stephen, Nacogdoches.
Bill Miller, Nacogdoches.
G. D. Long, Nacogdoches.
W. O. Rogers, Nacogdoches.
I. D. Garrett, Na Nacogdoches.
R. Jacobs. Nacogdoches.
B. P. Blake, Nacogdoches.
L. B. Sitton, Nacogdoches.
B. F. Beard, Nacogdoches.
Jack Hand, Nacogdoches.

Roy Molandes, Nacogdoches.

C. C. Pool, president First State Bank, Jasper.

W. D. Norwood and W. D. Norwood, Jr., Beaumont.

D. C. Proctor and more than 200 associates, Beaumont.

Frank E. White, Beaumont.

P. L. Robison, Fresh Water Comm., Port Arthur Chamber of Commerce.

J. D. Rulp, Nacogdoches.

Richard Collier, Silsbee.

E. I. Rice, Nacogdoches.
Harold Sparks. Nacogdoches.
C. C. Bane, Nacogdoches.
C. D. Pierce, Nacogdoches.
W. E. Bane, Nacogdoches.
F. P. McBryde, Nacogdoches.
H. B. Parrish, Nacogdoches.

M. Choate, Nacogdoches.

E. A. Hill, Nacogdoches.

W. M. Simmons, Buick Agency & Appliance Co., Silsbee.
N. A. Cravens, president Silsbee State Bank, Silsbee.

W. P. Crockett, Crockett & Gilchrist Merchants, Silsbee.

E. V. Costlow, Nacogdoches.

H. D. Shoup, Nacogdoches.
T. G. Tilford, Nacogdoches.
Jack W. Reeves, Nacogdoches.
A. W. Fletcher, Nacogdoches.
Matt B. Tucker, Nacogdoches.
L. L. Jasper, Nacogdoches.
H. B. Tucker, Nacogdoches.
J. P. Choate, Nacogdoches.
Robert A. Williamson, Nacogdoches.
John Lemons, Nacogdoches.
C. B. Watkins, Nacogdoches.
R. O. Stringer, Kirbyville.

R. N. Stripling, San Augustine.
C. D. Thomas, Sr., Nacogdoches.

F. W. Patrick, Nacogdoches.

Fred Jafle, Nacogdoches.

Mr. and Mrs. Richard Thomas, Nacogdoches.

Mr. and Mrs. Earl Holland, Nacogdoches.

Jack E. Pearson, Kirbyville.

CW. Cooper, Beaumont.

Mrs. C. D. Thomas, Nacogdoches.

Hon. Jep Fuller, State senator, Port Arthur.

Do iglas Patton, Nacogdoches.

Lipscomb Norvell, Beaumont.

E. A. Hill, Nacogdoches.

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