Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-02-07

Ing
with it as it flowed through the valleys OF fy, the
same flowing tide of mud and sand that to-day IS
filling up the valleys Of the Sacramento and fu6a
1t carried it out to its estuary. 1t filed INTO the
Adriatic sea- Ii covered farms and inundated
dwellings and to-day had it not been for the work
OF scientific men, who did precisely what we want
the Engineer Of this State and these Commissioners
TO do, that process would still be gong on ana tle
fruitful fields and vineyards OF the farmers OF Italy
would again be covered up as are those OF our Sac
ramento valley farmers, with tallings and detrtus
from the mountains There another city,
Ravenna II stood also upon the seacoast. Today,
five miles in the interior 1t was the place to which
one OF the greatest poets OF ancient times, Dante,
fled ON his enemies There he sang, as he looked
out on the inspiring sea, his grand old poems,
that Will live fOre-er. But the same debris and
detritus came down there and pushed back the
city of Raveuna into the interior. The river Pc
had been rising up, and rising up until now, us 1t
flows through OF the vaeys-the valley of Fer
TeTa-it thirty-hye feet above the surrounding
country and the valleys and dwellings, Of the
people. It has been many years since you
have heard of severe inundation in
Italy. What is the reason 1t Is because
they are not like OF the people Of California,
afraid to spend money to stren- then the very land
that made the money. They went to work through
their evil engineers. They built up their dams and
their bikes and their levees until to-day, crossing
over the plains Of FeTrara, YOU viii find those q
gantic levees standing up thrtyive feet above you.
IL may have COS. millions to DO 1t, but 1t is accom-
pished. But if you go along the river YOU Will
ma q system Of ans aloiS Jile various portions
the river in between these levees which hold in the
current OF the river. Then they have what they
call - bolenas or farms between the eyees. The
Government Of Italy gave permission to farmers
who live the banks OF the river to build tempo
rary dams, slight DAMS across the river, not sutti
cient to check the flow of the water, but sufficient
check the detrtus that came with the water; aud
these farmers had permission then to cultivate the
soil which they had in this way spread ont
in the area iBcosed by these dams.
they went to work, until to-day as you travel up
and up towards the source If the river you viii find
farms and cultivated gardens aud that has all been
done by the very processes which We want to carry
out IL a sys EN- OF drainage in the valleys Of the
Sacramento, and Yuba and Bear. This system OF
leyeeing has not only been adopted on the Pc, but
on the River Arno From 1400 to 1861 they had Il
fl DDS, which fully as terrible in their results
those in the State OF California, sweeping away
dwellings and villages, aye, even making their
inrOads into the portals Of cities They went to
work then the Tuscan engineers. They arrested
the river; they brought the channels again under
control. They located the debris in proper
places. They damned and diked, and built
levees, until from that time, from 1851 to 1885,
there was not single flood of any Importance in the
present time Of any Importance. Now, speak of
these only show that what want to do here has
been done in other countries. They did not strange
the law which passed by the Government be-
fore they commenced to do anything They did not
take away from the engineers all the power to go
ahead when they had their works ready TO lay the
foundation. They did not say, because you have
not damned back the detritus of the river Arno
within four, OF five, or six months 5, you shall not
have any more OF the peoples money, but they
said " If you don't carry the detritus back VIII
have no money, because all the lands viii be de-
stroyad."
Now, Mr. President, the State Engineer admits
can get the page-he admits in Volume OF his
port OF last year. page %, that the natural wash OF
the mountains may have as much to do rs aught
else in elevatinE the channels Of the rivers and
causing these overiows upon the plains. Why
doesn't he give us any figures? Indeed, he says
in terms OF his own &c have not exam
med into it. l have not the time, nor the
means, nor the proper appliances, TO go
ahead and examine it." He has simply directed his
attention to the mining and the detrtus, and there
fore say that is all there is in it. But if you 90 to
that engineer he VIII tell You that the farmers who
are complaining here upon these valleys, going to
work 10 reclaim their swamp lands by leveeing
back the waters and holding the river back from
their private lands, have done nearly as
much TO flood this country with these per-
ennal floods, as has the de5ritus which has been
sent down from the Mines He saws in volume
No. :, page II. Now, if we can look at this ques-
ton, We viii find that there is more than the
figure in it. There are q great many questions
which are raised by this, and il looks to me like
little one-hCrse job Tor people to come
up here and make only single
point against a great question of internal
Improvement like this, one upon whose success or
failure millions of money depend, and /, Tor one,
propose to look at it in such light, If the peoTl3
whom represent from the mines desire me TO DO
otherwise they must send someone else here to take
my place propose tn look at the question from
all stand points and from all sides. | know
that the answer will be made to
this, and presume will be made by
the honorable Senator from Marin, with his calm
majestic and cold, sarcastic manner, that we are
living in too intelligent age to have valleys
destroyed by any such slow processes of nature
as l have spoke Of. | anticipate the OBJ
lection Of the Senator, and l reply to it
..fV-,Tiy
lied, scientific opportunities unimproved, are
formid bic antagonists to the operations of
nature than the ignorance and improvidence which
the fault Of cur forefathers in ancient times.
That is 10 say, you may nave the best colleges and
schools and scientists and the most capital and the
most intelligence, and the best education, and de-
spite OF it all nature will go with
It's operations, and we VIII go
assist nature in its operations. When
man is sick the first question is to find
out what IS the matter, and when we find that out
there is only one OF two thing to do either let him
alone, let him die 90 to work. bring into opera
ton the appliances OF science aud help nature in its
operations. Upon this question there is only
OF two things to do, either look for
ward in the future TO the utter desOatOn Of the
Sacramento valley and the utter destruction of our
farms, vineyards and cities, to use the APP
planes of science in assisting Nature in her oper-
atoms We can chain the lightning, and it obeys
the touch OF the finger; we can send sound in
visible for thousands OF miles, and we can
harness the watery steeds OF the mountains
if would give % the engineers the
in the mountains if you let tine engineer
have the money and the appliances to do it with.
stand day and you sitting to-day in a Capitol
that cost probably about three millions Of dollars,
and get nobody found any fault when we built this
Capitol nor the taxes which resulted from it. Sac
ramento has the presence and the benefit
of it. But here three millions Of dol
lars put into building and yet the good
So o 80 s4Ea oil Il j
put it at the highest figure, to the very capital
in which they have sunk three million dollars and
the people OF Sacramento, with only ten millions Of
property in their city have been compelled to save
their households TO put into successful operation
their dikes and di,ches and leyees around the
city to the tune OF over two millions
OF dollars | believe, and vet the whole
State to save the valley, cannot put into
operation scientific provisions that would cost possi-
bis eiEth ten millions OF dollars. Now, the gen
tleman talks very eloquently about his experience
with mining, and what beautiful and grand results
would come il hydraulic mining were discontinued,
from orchard or farm, aud from the garden vine
yard and how many millions Of property would be
put in our foothills and valleys, by Simply stopping
the mining. want to direct your attention TO the
question in another light. | cite the same author
ity Recus OF Paris Hs says that when the noun
taus have become denuded Of their forests auG the
rivers are rushing to destroy the valleys there
two or three things which may be done to retain
the water IN the mountains. He says q system Of
reservoirs put up in the canyons OF the mountains
would do much towards retaining the sur
face water which has been TUNED loose
by the uprootug Of the trees and the verdure Of the
mountains He says, furthermore, that system
OF bitches having become extended over the noun
taIns the wat is precipitated more rapidly. Now,
If YOU 90 up into the Sierra Nevada Mountains
along our hydraulic mines, these much-abusod
miaes that sre doing much damage to the
State you viii find scattered from one end
Of the mountains TO the other, IN the
forests and valleys and canyons, reservoirs, holding
thousands upon thousands OF gallons OF water.
Stirring up here by the railroad and going month
you VIII see them from the summit Of the high
mountains glistenTug in the all over the noun.
tain chain. What they there for: They are
there to catch the melting snow as II comes down
from the highest peaks and into them,
aud retain the water from going into the valley that
it may be utilized during the spring mining
months for the purpose OF mining. The consequence
is that instead Of the melting SHOWS coming down
with a rash, they distributed all over the mount
aims and come down in riguiets into the valleys
stretching through the summer months Now if YOU
stop that debris mining you call it, YOU also stop
this system OF reservoirs, because the reservoirs viii
no. be kept up for any other process. They cauuot
be kept up for any other purpose. They cannot be
utilized Tor any other purpose and furthermore if
you stop the mining the engineer states, and your
own experience will tell yoU, that there is already in
the canyons mining detritus and gravel enough