Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-04-22
THE SAFETY OF SACRAMENTO.

1t is very difficult thing for either men
or cities to outlive the memories of the
past. Sacramento years ago suffered every
thing short of absolute destruction that
could be inflicted by inundation, and all
her expenditures upon precautionary meas
pres since that time have failed to eradi-
cate the recollection of her misfortunes.
Whenever a storm of unusual severity
visits this valley, whenever high water is
apprehended in the American or Sacra-
mento rivers, inquiry begins to be made
from all parts of the State as to the prob
ability of another food in Sacramento.
So determined are some of our neighbors
that we shall not escape that when an
overflow occurs like that from Burns
slough two years ago, it is at once magni-
fed into flood, and sometimes the San
Francisco papers have undertaken to main
tain that we must be flooded, even though
we were not aware of it. And though
there has been a great deal of misplaced
and uncalled-for anxiety and fear in this
regard, outside of the city, and though in
fact our levees have thus far done their
whole duty, it must be admitted
that our own public has not
been altogether free from apprebensions
when, as recently, the skies lowered, and
the windows of heaven seemed opened to
their widest capacity. Nor at such times
does it appear to us to be the highest wis
dom or the best policy to ridicule and
pooh-pooh all these expressions of fear, or
to set up the assertion that there is no
danger whatever. Cases have been known
in which communities, by thus persistently
ignoring the signs and indications held out
by Nature, have built for themselves that
unstable kind of confidence known as a
"Foops Paradise" and in such cases the
awakening has always been painful. We
take it that there is only one plain and GER
tain way by which the safety of Sacramento
can be SO assured that neither her neighbors
nor her citizens will have cause to enter
tain anxious apprehensions for her in times
of high water, and we submit that as prac-
teal business men we ought, all of us, to
recognize the necessity of following this
course. There can be no doubt that
the fears which have been and still are
felt in this connection are injurious
to the city, and this is so whether they are
well or ill-founded To get rid of them,
and to put Sacramento beyond the posi-
bility of danger from floods, is the CON-
nonsense policy, and this policy ought to
be taken hold of forthwith, and made the
central purpose and object of our munich
pal government. The way to obtain the
reputation of safety is to be safe. If we
were entirely safe at present there would
not be the doubt that is unquestionably
both felt and expressed so frequently by
many of our citizens. The case stands
now in this way: We have a strength of
levee which is generally believed to be
sufficient for all ordinary emergencies
but when extraordinary emergencies arise,
nothing but actual test can determine
whether we are sufficiently protected.
Now this is not satisfactory condition
A satisfactory condition would be a
strength of levee sufficient to meet any
conceivable assaults, and that is the only
standard of efficiency with which Sacra-
mento should rest content.