Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-02-02
FALSE ECONOMY IN 1EvRE BUILDING


There is an old and pithy saying that
it Is no use crying over spilled milk,
and this applies to broken levees as well
But it may be Of some use to point out that
in nine cases out of ten these disaster:
are brought about by false economy, and
that this IS especially the case in regard tc
The breaks in the ievee below this city, or
the Riverside road. And this false ecouomy
has also prevented Sacramento from having
that wisely planned levee system which
was proposed 20 the people two years ago,
and the adoption of which would have pro-
tected us against the extensive injury to
which we ere liable now through the stop
page of our only drainage outlet. The
fact is that when it is fine the public think
it will never rain again, and so they re-
fuse to tax themselves for necessary i'm
provemeuts And when the rain comes and
they find themselves IN danger it is too late
to do anything or if anything can be
done it costs them three or four
times rs much as it need have done
ii undertaken az the proper season.
at this moment we have no doubt that
plenty Of people who opposed it at the
time are willing to declare that the So
called outer system of levees is what
the city ought to have had two years ago.
But if we wait until the winter is over, and
the floods have subsidized, these same PEG
pie will very probably change their minds
again, and resist any protective measures.
1t would be easy to show that this kind OF
vacillation isproductive of ruinous extrava-
gance instead of economy Whenever
the drainage and surface water of the city
is backed Up, and accumuIates in the
southern portion, it causes heavy damage
to all kinds Of property, as well as to the
health of the people. There may
be those who are willing that
the property nj their neighbors should be
destroyed so long as they are not called
Cpon to pay ior it, and who are opposed to
any taxation but that which confers di-
rect benefit apon themselves That such
people are not rare in any community, we
know by the present opposition to the gen.
eral tax principle of the debris BILL Both
in the one and the other case, however, the
most selfish and narrow-minded have much
to lose and nothing to gain by resisting
this principle. Whatever injuries property
south of X street, for example, must in
jure property all over the city, since it
gives the city bad name, and both repels
settlement and creates insecurity. Sacra-
mento will never be efficiently protected
until her lowest parts are as safe from
flooding, either from inside or outside, as
her highest parts. The outer system
of levees would have given us this
equal and comprehensive protection. 1t
is not too late to adopt it now, but iudgin
from past experience we are of opinion
that if anything is to be done in the way
of gaining the public consent to further
protective works, the appeal should be
made with as little delay as possible.
While the danger is present we have some
guarantee for the enlightening influence
of self-interest. If we wait until it has
passed away, it is to be feared that the
old procrastinating and apathetic spirit
will show itself again, and that some
feeble and futile compromise will be
adopted, such as that which has just re-
suited so disastrously.