Boys camp or the dam

Soon after Smith finds out about the dam, he makes a comment to Paine, saying, "there are hundreds of other places in the state that really need the water", implying that the dam will be detrimental to much of the population. So, the dam might not actually have been best for the state. Maybe that's part of why Smith fought against it, in addition to his boy's camp.

I disagree. He did the right thing--sort of. He would have done a lot better to raise the money for his boys' camp privately and completed the construction on his own, without involving the Federal government in any way, shape or form. But as it was, he proposed that the government *lend*, not grant, the money to acquire the land and build the camp, and the boys would pay the money back.

The reason: That camp would teach good sound citizen's values, of a type that is sorely missing today.

Besides: Didn't Smith notice that there were a hundred other places in the State that could use a dam a lot better than Terrell Canyon in Ambrose County? Wasn't that the key, other than any conflict with his camp? Even if you grant the premise that the Federal government ought to be involved in State water projects (which I don't), Smith's point was that locating a dam on Willett Creek didn't make any sense. And he should know: he was the leading expert in forestry and wildlife in the State.