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! Of course it was not in Uncle Srm’s plans at the time, since he ji engaged in winning his- war ( with the Axis, but once that goal- ‘ was reached, Sam didn’t much care what became of the tools | of victory. As had happened to I war plants in countless locations throughout the country, Basic Magnesium—and the water faT | cilities—were turned over to Ne-j vada at a cost favorable to a lim­ited state budget.' Once more the water district plans were taken from the moth­balls, and this time with some hope of success for efforts of those who had worked so long toward realization of the project. >, I However, the plan had* changed •*» (from its original conception of merely an agricultural program. With the great increase in pop-j ulation, and a decided interest in. jthe area for industrial develop-* I ment, it became vital to consider usage -of lake water for three j prime purposes: ( l ) ?to augment, the domestic-'water supply; (2) [for. industrial use, and (3) for ag­riculture. . ' With these potential benefits awaiting fruition of the plan, the j state legislature readily passed t the Baker bill, introduced by I State Senator C. D. Baker, ohel M . - 1 °* the-e’arliest civic" promoters of i Hake water for Vegas valley. . j (I The bill v/Ss drawn up by p , Baker only after a series of stu-il dies and surveys of water .jjiij?' tricts in other semi-arid 16'cali- ; ties, including that of the met-, i ropolitan .• Los Angeles system, ] which draws water hundreds of (miles -from Owens valley and ifrom the Colorado, river, i The bill authorizes a Water ?•district only if it is able to pay for itself; no obligation bonds against property in the district \ may be issued. To administer the ; [district-—composed of seven divi­sions— directors are elected by the people themselves, so that no ! man may- continue -to serve if ‘ !the public is dissatisfied with him.- • i Arphje "Grant; until . recently chairman of the chamber’s in­dustrial development committee,- : ;and also a pioneer - battler for' the water district,, cites the Lin­coln county power district as an ; exam pleo'fsuch aproject when : properly managed. In the power district’s 11 years of existence, it has made almost enough money ' [to. retire the 20-year hoods which : paid for its creation. ", IS The proposed water, district tentatively plans to tie into the;; 42 inch water main at the Basic;1 [plant, and k n a 30-inch line tp.; the edge of Las Vegas. From that point, feeder lines -will reach; [south £§ the resort hotels and the;; fnew county airport, and north to; j and the .gici | corps r ' owner's of artesian wells-in the j ‘ valley •' are " anxiously | awaiting 1 '? completion of the project,, since \ ? it will protect their underground | < supply from further drains by! large commercial psers. ? I Developers of. the Water dis-f -trict have also scouted the possi- 1 bility of purchasing the Las Ve-i gas- Land aind Water- company, now owned by the Um°n H8- ’ cific railroad. “The Union Pacific railroad and the Las Vegas Land and Wa­ter company Were pioneers in, the development of this area,” George F. Ashby, U. P. president, has declared. “They are vitally* interested in the future here, and jwill cooperate in any program, mutually agreed upon in the best •interests of the community.” i Officials at the air corps base are watching the. district’s devel­opment with great interest, since they have already asked for [ 5 000,000 gallons of water daily, declaring it is absolutely essen- 1 dial dor maintenance of the ex­pensive. program planned. Their j * engineers have surveyed the sup- j iply available in the valley, andj - have- Stated flatly dhat L a k f ^ / they did not own property w ith-. fh the division. ? Hyde explained the absence of f anyone from Henderson on the. list by citing this same provision. Since no Henderson (reMdents-are property owners, "they were: not eligible to . rim as division candidates. E The old timers—the pioneers’ who battled the elements to de- , velop Vegas valley to its present;} state—know that the area is at;' the crossroads. It must either! stand still and slowly decline, or ' continue on to the greatness and j prosperity which have become | the lot of such similar desert ! areas as Phoenix. It’s up to the voters next Tues- I day. . ' ______ I .! % S-