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\ <* The Chairman called on ME, A, E, CAHLA.N, Managing Editor of the Las Vegas Evening Review Journal, a member of the Colorado Eiver Commission and a person close to this question from its very inceptions MRb CAHLANg "I wonder if the people of this community realize the importance of this project and I sometimes don’t think that they do0 I don’t know how many of you have read the discussion in the Los Angeles papers regarding bringing water from the Columbia Eiver to the Los Angeles area, That sounds fantastic, but sooner or later it will ha ve to be done if Los Angeles is to go ahead and develop,, "That is a far cry from Las Vegas and yet illustrative of the problem with which we have been faced, I don’t think we have conceived the possibility of the expansion of the BMI plant. The only break that could occur in plans is the amount of power Nevada is able to get from the facilities of Boulder and Davis Dams, It has been impossible for the Colorado Eiver Commission to advise the public what is going on at that plants because these big outfits don’t like premature publicity — they want to make their own announcements at a time that suits their needs. The problem we are trying to resolve it into is to bring the largest number of people into the area per kilowatt of power available, "Yesterday*, out of a clear blue sky*, a letter came to Mr0 Mueller from a very " large West Coast outfit that wanted to talk in terms of four units at the plant*, 1100 houses*, additional railroad track facilities*, additional acreage outside of the plant. There are two or three similar outfits which will also bring develops ment to other sections of the state, "’•Dupont is in very good standing and news may break on that at almost any time. Bearing on this subject is that the major portion of development and growth will be in Las Vegas, They are not particularly interested in housing their families near the plant. There is a very definite possibility that any new housing development in connection with that plant will be built in Las Vegas and not in Henderson, That means you have to solve the problem of water supply, ’"The matter was discussed with the Union Pacific as to whether they were willing to take expense of bringing that water in from Henderson and their answer was 9No’» So there is no alternative other than the one brought up here today. That is the answer to every question that has been asked*, no matter what the cost. The railroad company has done a magnificent job*, but they are not interested in expanding the water supply beyond the present one, ,9I don’t offer this as a proposition^ because it has not been discussed in the Colorado Eiver Commission formally*, but it is my opinion that if this district goes ahead, all of the water facilities of the BMI plant would be turned over to the district to operate, "This is a must -- not a question of whether we want to do it. We h ave to do it. Sooner or later we are bound to reach the end of the artesian water resources and we have to be prepared for it, "As the result of the war, you have laid in your laps the water and pipe line and mechanism to do the job, and we have to get to the people of the community the