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?s' Monday, September 3, 1951 Las Vegas Review-Journal 3 Larson Letter Outlines Water Problem of Valley Jess Larson, head of the gen­eral services administration, is­sued a prepared statement to the Colorado River commission, the water district and other interest­ed parties, in which he detailed the negotiations for water’ from the Basic pipeline, and outlined his stand. The letter follows: I have reviewed the entire file in connection with the problem of making water available to the Las Vegas area from BMI’s fa­cilities. Last Saturday I met in Washington with the Chairman of the Colorado River Commis­sion and members of his staff. I have re-read a so-called “State­ment of the Water District Situ­ation” dated August 15, 1951, and forwarded to me in a cover­ing letter dated August 20, 1951, by Mr. Howard F. Clark. • It is extremely regrettable that this “Statement” and Mr. Clark’s letter to me contain so inany in­accuracies. Therefore, after conferring with your Governor and Senator McCarran, I felt that it was im­perative' that I make this trip in persor^o set before you empha-tically” and in clear language the position of the United States Government in regard to this entire matter. It is my sincere hope that you of this community w ill have an exact picture before you as to what the Government must require by way of terms if you are to participate in the water facilities of BMI. I assume that you people gath­ered here have the welfare of your community, 'your State and your country, at heart, else you would not be taking your time and my time to meet and calm­ly discuss the problem before us. I have a sentimental attach­ment to this property and to this area. My official duties have brought me here several times and I have enjoyed your hos­pitality and have received en­couragement from your patriot­ic and public-spirited attitude. When Senator McCarran first called upon me in 1946 to join with him in preserving the val­uable productive capacity of this great industrial plant I was in­spired by his visibn. I have at all times gone along enthusiasti-cally-"' since that time, doing everything within my power to preserve and expand this mag­nificent installation in order that it might benefit this community, the State of Nevada and, most important of all, the National Security of the United. States. This is my official responsibility as I. interpret it. It is a respon­sibility' I can whole-heartedly carry out. I have written this statement with the record of all these ne­gotiations before me. I prefer informal rather than written statements. It is easier for me to sit down across the table and talk man to man with! people. However, in light of the erron­eous statements that have come to my personal attention in your press and more particularly the so-called “Statement of the Water District Situation”-which I have previously referred to and which is before m e now, I must, in order that I be not misouoted, confine myself to these deliber­ate words. That “Statement” calls upon me to answer certain questions which I will undertake to do at this time. First, I am asked: 1. “Who is currently in charge of the General Services Admin­istration? Now that Colonel Jess Larson, former Administrator of GSA, has been appointed to a new governmental position, to whom must the CRC and the District look for its answers, up­on which the future development and fate of the Las Vegas Valley depends?” ANSWER—I am the Adminis­trator of the General Services Administration and will continue to . act in that capacity at the pleasure of the President and the members of the United States Senate. My new duties are in addition to those I now carry. As provided in the Agreement entered into between the Gov­ernment of the United States and the Colorado River Commission, that Commission is required to obtain the approval of the United S t a t e s Government, a c t i n g through its duly appointed and qualified officials, for an£ trans­action involving the transfer of the property' interests of BMI. The Colorado River Commission, as it well knows, will continue to receive the same prompt re­plies to such submissions made to me in my official capacity. There is no legal basis upon’ which negotiations with any other public body can be carried out. Let this not be misunder­stood. Next it is asked: 2. “Why cannot the General Services Administration immedi­ately dispatch to Las Vegas qual­ified and authorized full-time representatives, with full author­ity to consummate this matter locally, where the voice of the public may be heard more dis­tinctly than in Washington. ANSWER — A duly qualified and authorized representative in the person of Mr. John Mueller has, as you well know, been duly appointed by me to carry on for and on behalf of the Govern­ment of the United States certain negotiations regarding this sub­ject matter. He will continue to be available for such time as is required for this purpose and has complete instructions as to the manner in which these negotia­tions will be carried on. Mr. Mueller reports directly to me, and has my complete confidence. I am aware of all of his actions. Needless to say that I am aware of the many sharp criticisms that have been cast at him for doing his duty as he has been authorized to do it. Time will prove to all that such criticisms were not only unjust but that Mr. Mueller has rendered a great service to his country in preserving BMI. I do not see fit to delegate the authority to finally consummate any matter in connection with the responsi­bilities I have under the Agree­ment by w h i c h this property was transferred. Therefore, I shall continue to require that such matters be finally present­ed to me for my personal con­sideration and action. Insofar as the “voice of the public” is con­cerned I can say that this prop­erty is governed by the specific terms of the Agreement between the State of Nevada and the Government of the United States and there. w ill be no deviation from that Agreement. My ac­tions in carrying out the respon­sibilities under this Agreement are governed by the statutes, laws and regulations w h i c h normally govern the actions of the public officials. So I ask you to please understand me at this time when I say to you emphatically t h a t these docu­ments represent my guides in fulfilling my duties and not the alleged “voice of the public” of this community, regardless of how sympathetic I might per­sonally be. In any event, pray someone tell me by what right does this community have a prior call on the property of the Amer­ican taxpayer? ‘ / The third question submitted in this statement does not per­tain to me. The fourth question, however, does indicate that some com­ment on my part might serve to clarify unfortunate misunder­standings. This question is as follows: “What has occured to so com­pletely change the initial under­standing t h a t the General Ser­vices Administration would trans­fer Basic Magnesium water fa- DRIVE OUT TO NASON'S AND SAVE 4 Blocks South of Charleston on Main ODD CHAIR SALE PRICED BELOW COST TO CLEAN-UP There is always a need for that extra chair in the home and yon may find just whai you are looking for at a great saving. • Dinette Chairs Some with Arms • Rockers (Maple) • Office Chairs (Solid Birch) . . • Chrome Chairs 'M ap le 'B lo n d 'M ah o g an y * Chrome M a n y, Many Styles to choose front - - - MASON FURNITURE CO 1404 SO. MAIN PHONE 2000 cilities to the District at' $l> Str'j lowing appropriate credit to thej CRC for this concession? What has held up tnis tran fer which our senior Senator said , last week, In a letter to the Chamber of Commerce, should have been consummated long ago?” ANSWER—In Mr. Clark’s let­ter of transmittal of this “State­ment’ to me he stated: “The District has your letter, indicat­ing that the facility can be trans­ferred under stipulation, for $ 1 ” I have written no such letter to the District. On May 2nd, 1951, I wrote to my representative in this State, Mr. John V. Mueller, the following letter which ! quote in full: “You have represented to me that a transfer of the water sys­tem at Henderson, Nevada to the Las Vegas Water District would be of advantage to the General Services Administration, provid­ed the interests of the Govern­ment were protected. With the above assumption in mind you are authorized to begin negotiations for the transfer with the definite understanding that water w i l l be supplied to the Henderson area and to the area commonly known as the'Three Kids Mine on a cost basis fol­lowing closely the letter of intent dated September 16, 1947, be­tween the War Assets Adminis­tration and the Colorado River Commission of Nevada. . The necessary papers are to be drawn by the Colorado River Commission and submitted to me for final approval with the consideration being one dollar.” You will note that I have under­scored the following' words: “....provided the interests of the Government were protected.” That was niy position then, that was my position when I appear­ed before the Colorado River Commission in 1949 at the Thun-derbird Hotel, and that is my position today. It is important to bear in mind that every state­ment and every comment that I have made has contained a sim­ilar provision.1 I cannot repre­sent the taxpayers of America without such a reservation and I do not intend to recede from that position nor do I believe those fair-minded among you would have any, respect for me or my office if I did so. As a result of that letter, Mr. Mueller opened negotiations with the Colorado River Commission and in due course, that Commis­sion did transmit to me a pro­position or leasing to the Las Vegas Irrigation District the wa­ter facility of BMI for a period of 40 years. Such leaselwas ir­revocable and extending far be­yond the term of the agreement between the State of Nevada and the United States. The , general provisions provided, after full utilization of the facility by the Las Vegas Water District, a cer­tain amount would be available to Basic Magnesium Plant. Ob­viously, I could not protect the future expansion and develop­ment of the tremendous invest­ments of BMI if I approved such a plan. Therefore, I turned it down in a letter to the Chair­man of the Colorado River Com­mission dated July 24, 1951, and went into some detail as to the conditions that would have to be m et before I could legally ap­prove such a transaction. I fur­ther stated in part in that letter as follows: “I will not approve any trans­fer or use that does not in my opinion benefit the Basic Plant. I will further require evidence from the major lessees, through the Commisson, that they ap­prove your actions whatever it may be. The General Services must be fully convinced that all commitments for water, implied or otherwise, can be filled before any change is m ade.” That was the condition imposed on the date of that letter and that is the condition that will continue to be imposed so long as I have the responsibility of approving these transactions un-; der the instruments and statutes heretofore referred to. C e r t a i n newspaper articles were forwarded to me by various interested organizations in t h e Las Vegas area in the early part of July. In a sincere effort to clarify these matters I wrote a, letter to Mr. Thomas A. Camp­bell, President of the Las Vegas Valley Water district, on July 2. 1951. I think it is well to quote this letter in its entirety at this time: “I have just received a clip­ping from the Las Vegas Morn­ing Sun of Friday, July 6, 1951, attached to a letterhead of your organization. There is no indica­tion that your organization sent me this clipping but it would be logical to assume? that someone who had access to your letter­heads did send such clipping. The undisputable inference giv­en from this so-called news story is that Mr. Mueller is acting in­dependently of this office. I just want to take advantage of this opportunity to clear up any misunderstanding in t h i s matter. Mr. Mueller has been in constant and daily communica­tion with the writer of this letter as to the details of making avail­able to the Las Vegas Valley Wa­ter district certain facilities that were originally built by t h e federal government out of the taxpayers’ money for the pur­pose of furnishing water to the Basic Magnesium plant in order to assist in winning World War II. If the State of Nevada and the federal government are to derive any benefit for the taxpayers of the United States, there must be assurance that their original in­vestment w ill be protected to the maximum possible extent. There­fore, this administration has in­structed its representative, Jphn Mueller, to take such steps as will assure the operators at the Basic Magnesium plant that they will at all times have an adequate supply of water. Mr. Mueller’s actions are in keeping with the explicit direc­tions from the writer and he has the utmost confidence of t h i s organization.” You w ill note that I stated in that letter that I instructed Mr. Mueller to take such steps as will assure the operators at the Basic Magnesium plant that they will at all times have an adequate supply of water. I wrote letters to the chamber of commerce set­ting forth in general this same subject matter and I notified the Colorado River commission that I was available at any time my official duties would permit to discuss this matter. A meeting was requested of me on Friday, July 27th, at which time I was deeply involved in very impor­tant official business and w a s leaving the next day for an of­ficial trip to Europe. I said then that I would be available upon my return or that during my ab­sence my deputy was qualified and had sufficient authority to take any action necessary in this matter. There has been no time in the history of these entire ne­gotiations that I have not been ready to drop whatever I was doing if at all possible and de­vote my time and energies to try to work out this difficult prob­lem. As each week goes by the im­portance of preserving the pro­ductive capacity bf this plant is more apparent in programs in­volving the security and welfare of the United States of America. Work is being carried on in this plant that is of vital importance. Many of you are aware of some of the plans for the expansion of these facilities in the interests of national security and you cannot but be aware of the great bene­fits that will flow to this state and this area from such indus­trial development. As each week goes by and this situation be­comes more serious, the require- DO YOU KNOW. THESE FACTS ABOUT VISION TESTS? Tests of Texas school children showed that 59% of the Anglo-American children in the elementary schools have refractive visual problems or various disturbances that are af­fecting or distorting their visual sensation. Only 19 states have laws requiring the ad­ministration of vision tests in schools. In many of the states requiring no vision tests by law, up to 90% of the children re­ceive no attention to their visual apparatus at all. A thorough visual examination i n c l u d e s near-point tests taken at the reading or working distance. Visual skills necessary for adequate vision at distance Vary from the visual skills necessary for efficient vision at near; There is little or no correlation between vi­sion tests given at 20 feet and those given at near-point. The validity of the Snellen chart as a means of testing vision in school children has been questioned by a number of writers. SOUTHERN NEVADA OPTOMETRISTS FISK, WALTER, O.D. BOWERS, H. L., O.D. ROBINSON, R. E., O.D. DIXON, H. M., O.D. ments for water at this plant be­come greater and the necessity for the absolute assurarice of a dependable and adequate water supply becomes even more im­perative, Those of us who had worked for the establishment of a per­manent and sound industrial op­eration on this-site can take pride in our accomplishments. I am sure that you of this community share in that pride. You know that housing developments have been approved that will increase the population of this area in or­der to bring the additional work­ers needed to service this expand­ing facility. I tead felt that if a public'body such as your water district could assume the responsibility for op­erating this facility with an un­equivocal guarantee to m a k e available to this plant, now and in the future, an adequate and dependable water supply, that such an arrangement would re­sult in benefits to all. I felt that acquisition of the water facilities by such public body might make the excess supply available for the purpose of serving the com­munity, but neve# once have I even dreamed that I, in my of­ficial capacity, could give away this property and thus endanger the production of thi.s great plant. BMI must have a prior call on the water and pumping capacity when and If needed. Pray, how could a transfer for one dollar have been approved without these safeguards? It has been brought to my at­tention that it would be neces­sary to make these facilities sub­ject to the bonded indebtedness that Would be required in order to complete the project contem­plated. It is my opinion that such a commitment on my part, even if I were inclined to make it, would not be legal unless there were an unequivocal guarantee that the Basic Magnesium plant would have a prior call on water furnished by such facilities. It is my understanding that the Las Vegas Water district could not offer such assurance. If such a condition is necessary, I think it is important that the people of this community not be further led into believing that they can participate in the water facilities here at Basic under conditions other than those which I have outlined. Since it does not seem practi­cal for a local public body to' as­sume the responsibility of fur­nishing . water - to this plant it must obviously continue to be the responsibility of the Colorado River commission. If it becomes necessary for the government to e x e r c i s e the provision in the agreement with your state to re capture this plant in order to insure its operation in the in­terests of national security, then the federal government would operate the water facilities. However, I do not want you to believe me unreasonable or unsympathetic to the require­ments of your community. I honestly hope that some ar­rangements can be worked out and | if my representative and I representatives of the Colorado River commission together with lessees at the Basie Magnesium plant can agree upon a fixed amount of water that will def­initely serve the needs of this plant and assure its operation in the interests of national se­curity, I would approve an ar­rangement for making (he re­mainder of the water available to the irrigation district. But I must repeat that the Basic, Magnesium plant must have "a prior call upon an adequate supply from the facility. I am one of those individuals who j believe iri free enterprise and I think that a public body is not an appropriate organiza­tion JEor operating an industrial facility. This plant was sold to the state of Nevada for $1 in or­der that industrial utilization of Nevada’s power interests in the Hoover dam could be brought about for the benefit of this state and bf this area. The agreement under which title was transferred provides that this plant must be offered for sale. The carrying out of that policy remains to be ac­complished. Until it is. accom­plished, this property is not con­tributing directly to the cost of government in this community. No one will deny, however, the fact Ihat this industry brings many economic benefits to your community. It is riot- going to expand in the manner in which it could and shoyld. In the hands of private industry these things could be corrected and private capital would push the expansion of this property to the limits of economic possibilities. That is the goal toward which we must work. I hope you are in agree­ment. So long as la m officially connected with this plant,, I will not only be sympathetic but I will be enthusiastic in doing that which is necessary in order, to accomplish the goals that I have referred to. I do trust that as a result of this ineeting there has been an honorable and amicable under­standing between us as to what we can expect from one another. New Teacher Rita Donwen, above, w ill teach;- business classes in high school? this year. She came here from Jackson, Minnesota. Born in Minneapolis, Miss Don-wen attended the TTniversity o f. California in Los A n g e 1 e s for; about one year and then enrolled-in the University of Minnesota.' She received a BS degree from' the institution three years later. LIFE GOES ON FORT JACKSON, S. C. (UP)— Thirty-four members of one com­pany of the 31st “Dixie” division in training here were given leaves at the same time. When they returned, 10 were married and four others were engaged. . _ _ ——o—— -— • FROM WAR TO PEACE ! WILLISTON, Vt. (UP)—Isabel- C. Leary, a woman Marine in-! World War n , was'the first nov­ice to enter the new cloister of; Carmelite nuns here. 1 1 3 4 0 Announcing new office-hours, 11 A. Ms — 5 P. M. Dr. Levon G._ Kassabian. 319 Fremont. Phone 1929 or 3132-M. Adv. Sept. 1 The ’Right Place to Buy Rugs and Carpetin 1502 S. Main Phone 5441-M. JOHN M. BARBER H ?? - M ft This TUESDAY and WEDNESDAY At Your Friendly Downtown Food Store, THE MODERN MARKET RITZCRACKERS One-Lb. Box _..!.... CRISCO1-Lb. Can Libby s 46-Oz. Can * JS TON. JUICE 31 HAMBURGER Good Ground Beef .....V.;..,...... ilb P p a c B»ras Eye O l - jreas 12-oz. pk 451c Beans ,C,^ GF?£ 21c FRENCH FRIES SB \ Book Matches Carton of 50 1 5 c Eastern Sliced BACON Cello Pack 10-Oz. Pk. ... MINUTE MAID Orange Juice . i . 21c Lemonade . 2 for 29c UPTONS TEA Utah Elberta PEACHES Lbs. Western Beer 6 cans $1.00 14-Lb. Pkg. ... 14-Lb. Pkg. ... 16-Bag Pkg. 48-Bag Pkg. ;... 19c 49c LETTUCE Firm Crisp Large Heads lb Franco-American SPAGHETTI No. 1 1 Cans Borden’s Chateau ^ ^ CHEESE 2 ^ 7 0 ° Campbell’s Tomato ^ . s o u p 2 c™’ 1 9 ° MODERN Free Parking 121 N. 5th MARKET *