Sacramento daily record-union., 1881-02-15

mission, the following language appears And
provided further, that indebtedness shall be Gre
ated against e her of said funds for any one year IN
excess of the amount provided to be rails by the
taxes levied for said year for said fund :: ask You
that in the face OF plain statute, which confined
them to draw this fiscal year to the amoont realized
from taxation, if they not liable to censure for
exceeding that sum over 100000 BY their own
acts they ought to be censured They have violated
the statute under which they created But
Senator Cheney tells that this is but the first cry
OF the infant, that it is its first BREATH and he asks
us to wait until it reaches giant manhood. Why,
Mr.. President, if this Of this newborn babe has
cost nearly 100000, think it is time that should
put it to sleep and its cry hushed forever.
Tell me that this is only a babe which
has drawn Its first breath Why, Mr. Presi-
de t, saw this babe the other day come stalking
into this Senate from the otter House with six
foot street contractor on its shoulders, holding in
either haud 81, 900 of outlawed Contracts When
the first cry of the infant put upon its shoulders
that burden, does it not behoove US TO strangle it.
to use the language of the gentleman, before it
draws another breath?
have made an estimate, according to the report
OF the Engineer of the amount of debris which the
waters of these rivers bring down in one season.
You take the report OF the Engineer OF the amount
of water during food season, and you take the
amount Of debris which that water holds in solu
ton and estimate the sixty per cent which he says
will settl,, and you will find from that calculation
that the Bear river will fill that dam in thirty days
and vet he tells us il viii take nearly three years
There have been great many points made in this
discussion which grated harshiy upon my ears.
regret very much that they were uttered, and !
think they were uttered in the heat OF debate
than springing from the calm reason Of the minds
of those who uttered them We have strange
array here-a strange fellowship OF condi ting in-
terest We find men advocating that this bill shall
remain upon the statute bOok-th s. who are crtat-
ing the damage and those who are receiving it. TO
a certain extent we find the men from the mining
counties opposing the repeal OF this Ct because it
will postpone their day in Court We find
the other side defending the debris bill because
they claim that this is an honest Commission, and
they should be allowed to handle the funds in the
future. There is reason, there is nc justice in
the mingllng together of these elements. They are
at with each other to certain extent, and Sen-
ator Watson the other day, IN the heat of
his debate, tells us, in alludins to the
question from a partisan standpoint that
the mining counties number 1900 votes and
that they can be used as club to break heads
Well, regret very much that he made any such
threat. | do not think he intended it. The vote of
the State at the last election 1Gi coo. Now
ask him. what would 22,000 votes do with the
$4,000 remaining? Mr. President, that, in my
Judgment, is not good line Of argument. We
heard another argument yesterday from Senator
Johnson. near the conclusion of his remarks, where
he asked that the bill might be retained upon the
statute books because, he said, If you repeal II YOU
ignore Sacramento; that Sacramento mad not re-
ceived but little from the hands Of the people OF
this State | rejoce as much ne does in
the enterprise and prosperity OF Sacramento city
I rejolce that | have witnessed the pluck, and
the genius, and the energy displayed BY
watery elements, and | believe ! can
truthfully say to-day that Sacramento has not been
prosperous for ten years as she IS this very day.
Notwithstanding that she Is Threatened Oy iLunda-
ton Sacramento ignored When he accused the
Senator from Alameda that Oakland harbOr had
been the recipient Of more bounties than Sacra-
mento, have but to look around at this beautiful
structure, this monument OF architectural genius
and mechanical skill, to witness the three
millions of dollars which the State Of California has
poured into the lap OF Sacramento and in glanciDg
over the RECORD UNION OF August 80, 1880, when my
friend was candidate before the people for the seat
which he occupies the Sacramento UNION, in
advocating his candidacy gave this plea as reason
why he should be elected in q column Of figures,
that when he was member OF the other house ne
secured the enormous sum OF S323,0S6 for Sacra-
mento in appropriations. The UNION goes on TO
state that the tax levy of that year was ST. 900
1t says II will be seen that Sacramento received
nearly one-fourth OF the entire amount, and yet
Sacramento is ignored | respect the zeal with
which he advocated those measures and secured to
his people those benefits Why, Mr.. President,
what becomes of the assertion that Sacramento is
ignored when during one session, she received ore
quarter of the entire tax levy of the State | ON
only surprised that he did not get away with the
whole of 1t. | can now the blush OF pride COM
ing to his cheek he looks back at that record,
and he has not as much cheek as have. can see
the hue rising to it the blood crculstes through
his veins. 1t is the color OF the crimson under
garment OF which he ilaunted IN our faces yes
Z.
that Sacramento is ignored 1t is true that last win
ter advocated the enactment OF this statute. Wlun
the bill came to the S-nat3 from the Assembly IL
was measure to reclaim the swamp land in certain
portions of the State. 1t not measure to give
relief to these parties who suffering from the
overfowing of mountain debris: but an amendment
was tackled to it which confined the expenditure Of
money TO rivers through which the debris flowed .
in other words it applied the plaster The disease
gave it but little examination. / regret very
much that did not serutinize more
closely, and now acknowledge my error
and mistake, and sorry for the
vote which then cast, and | feel in duty bound
to do all that lies within my power to wipe that
law from the statute books of this State. ! say
without fear OF contradiction that that statute con
tains less checks upon those who are to manage
this scheme than any other statute IL all the law
books. 1t gives to this Commission absolute con-
troll to put their hands into any money that may be
found in the State Treasury, and without any check
or any one audit their accounts other than
themselves. Such a law is unheard of,
and its provisions are so against the
laws which we should enact, that it de-
serves to be repealed, and trust that this Sen
ate will before the gave Cf the President falls this
afternoon so far the vote Of this Senate is
cerned say: " We have tried this statute we have
found it wanting; it has proved failure, and we
wipe il from our st ltute books Senator Davis
has dwelt at length upon the recommendations Of
the engineers. have read these reports over care
fully have read that addressed to Captain kads
and colonel Meudell, this memorandum sO-c3lled,
entitled " improvements on the Sacramento River
which is approved Of by Mr.. Hall, the State Eugi-
netr They indorse the system therein contained,
but there is not word in it regarding the building
of the dam quckslnd or mining debris. Why
was that left out Is it not fair inference
that they would not indorse it Therefore he has
coLfined this pamphlet TO the reclihcatlOn 0f the
channels of the river below Sacramento The re
port of Mr. Eads is one of the mo simple to be
OF any have ever read There is a
strong eOmmon-sense sentiment which peTvades il
from beginning to end. He says in this report
tI,a oI 81
the beds of the Feather and Sacramento rivers from
Oroville to Consyie, a distance Of l63 miles, to
be Is feet. The average filling OF all the river beds
is about Is feet Don't every man Of comInen sense
know that the the rivers filed with debris
the less water they will hoid-the more they will
ovt rhowf The more brush dams or other dams you
build, The their bejs ave filed? l. this plan
lies the injury. The reverse of this is what re-
quire. Remove distractions, increase the current,
scour out the channels, and let the debris 90 on
The teds of those rivers have been filled until they
have been raised from 10 to 20 feet high; that is
what is the matter and that Is why they flood these
valleys. They have raised by the deposit of
debris from the farms and the mines
until they can't carry off the wafer And what was
the p ooOsed system Of brush dams. Why it was
to hold the debris in the river channel. 1t to
fill the Iver channel IL was to do the very thing
which Mr.. Eads tells you is destro il the property
OF these people Suppose, by way OF Illustration,
you take quart measure and fill Il half full OF sand
and when you pour quart of water into it one half
of it will run over. You remove the sand and il
holds its full quart SO it is with these rivers They
are filled three-quarters full of debrs, and the
only relief which you can obtain is By he
process recommended by Engineer Eads, :" to scuur
out the river channel, take out that debris which
has settled there and restore them to their original
carrying capacity" That is common sense. Again,
he says "No Improvement is worth considering
which will not result in permanent relief. | ask
you if the brush dams have afforded any permanent
relief? Everybody knows they have not and mo
improvement can afford such relief unless it be con-
sstent with certain well-knowu natural laws con.
trolling the action of all sediment bearing rivers
Again he says The high water sope'-speak-
ing of Steamboat slougb-"oi OF this slough
IS ffty-seven one hundredths OF a foot per
mile while the slope Of the river above and below is
only forty three one .hundredths. When the entire
volume is made TO flow through Steamboat slough
a lowering Of over twenty inches In the foods at
Sacramento can be confidently looked for from this
improvement alone"
gauge stood here the other day at 26 feet and o
ncbes-a point higher than ever known befOre-what
would ttey not have given IL that water cOu have
been lowered twenty inches at that time And yet
the expenditure Of the same amount OF money
to turn the water of the Sacramento river
into Steamboat slough-that it cost to build
those dams-would have reduced the food here
twenty inches in front of Sacramento These
things are what Mr. Eajs recommends To thSpeople
OF this State ans, he goes ON TO the ind OF the
chapter Now, 1t seems TO me common sense view
to take OF this question, is that 1t becomes OF
national inportance-it becomes one of commercial
Importance. The nation IS interested, and we lave
passed resolutions here calling upon representa-
tlves in Congress 10 ask the Government 70 take
charge OF this question, and appropriate the money
necessary giye this DegDle ralIqf end restore