Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-03-04

The State Engineer, in his report, OBJ
serves: ''The restraint of the sands in
g the canyons, and in the deposits along
and in the tributary streams below The
canyons, admits of no delay. 1t is the
First objective point in the restoration
"and improvement of the carrying capac-
"ity of the valley streams. If this desir-
able result were rIeasurably secured if
the flow of sands into the Feather and
:" Sacramento rivers was stopped-the nat
"ural action Of the rivers, relieved in a
"great degree from the load they now
''have to carry, would be to excavate their
+" beds, and gradually to work back to the
regimen OF twenty years ago. The &C
complishment of this latter result can be
greatly hastened by engineering devices
and works, and subsequent management
thereof; and, under any plan, this
9 treatment Of the natural drains must
form the chief feature Of the scheme fer
providing rapid passage for the water"
In these sentences may be found CON-
plete justification of the Parks bill, which
aims at carrying into effect the recon-
mendations Of the State Engineer in the
most direct and practical manner. The
folly of piecemeal experiments, such as
have been proposed as substitutes for the
Parks bill, is significantly pointed out in
the following remarks of the State Engi-
neer: "The interdependence OF works for
''the prevention of overflow throughout
"the valley has been so completely
demonstrated by the mishaps and dis
'asters of the past, that the solution Of
81 the problem of drainage here presented
" can only be hoped for when the work is
carried forward with the one object Of
- disposing of the waters as whole, and
not, as heretofore, for purposes of recla
nation of separate parcels or districts Of
land, and therefore it is essential that
these operations should be under ore
''head." This is sufficient answer to
the suggestions of more partial expert
ments. Every attempt made in that direc-
ton has failed ANONYMOUSLY, and Science
now tells us that every such attempt must
necessarily fail. The problem cannot be
solved that way, and the sooner this truth
is realized, the Boomer shall We arrive at
some practical conclusion in the premises.
1t is no doubt desirable to secure what
ever assistance tho General Government
may be willing to render. We are de-
cidedly of opinion that it ought to make
an appropriation for this purpose, and it is
quite possible that it viii. But whatever
it gives can without any trouble be ap-
Piled to the carrying out of the compre-
heusive scheme OF relief and restoration
provided for under the Parks bill, so that
there can be no conflict upon that point
As TO the question of outlay, it should be
only necessary to remind the public that
it is not optional with the inhabitants of
the Sacramento valley to undertake or to
decline this enterprise. The penalty of
apathy and inaction is ruin ; ruin, not par
tial and figurative, but widespread, general
and absolute. In five years from to-day, if
nothing is done, the Sacramento river will
in all probability have left its banks,
the tule lands on the west bank will
have been converted into per-
manent marsh, navigation will have
been utterly destroyed, and the city of
Sacramento will be surrounded by DESC
late region OF sand-covered waste. The
beds of the rivers once filed with coarse
debris, they will never be secured out.
The precipitation in the mountains viii
then rush down the canyons in the form of
torrents, which will spread all over the
valley, carrying debris further and further,
excavating capricious channels here and
there, putting stop to agriculture, and
wiping out scores of millions of property.
That is what the engineers assure US must
happen if nothing is done. They also tell
us that when we resolve to do something
we shall throw away cur time ard money
unless we adopt comprehensive plan,
and carry it out under one head until
the whole great work is accom-
plished And no matter what this
works costs, it has to be done if we are n t
prepared to abandon the valley to desoia-
ton. If 1t cost twenty millions of dollars
we should be warranted in spending the
money But it need not cost one-fourth of
that amount, and, therefore, there ought
to be no hesitation about the course to be
adopted. Those who whine about the bur-
den of extra taxation, and protest that the