Sacramento daily record-union., 1881-02-15
SPEECH OF Hon. w. II. SEARS.
Delivered in the Senate OF California
EehruarY s. 1881.

f0ll0W-.
Mr.. Sears-I do not intend to say much upon this
subject, because the subject has taken very wide
range from the subject at issue. Senator Davis,
who has Just taken his seat has spent about hall
hour in defending the Commissioners under this
Act, when he tells there is not color of any
charge against them. hardly think he is justified
in spending that length OF time defending Board
of Commissioners when, as he asserts, there are
no charges against them The inference might
be that there is little fire under all this smoke;
so far as that is concerned / shall leave it to
the Judgment of the Senate. | have very little to
say in regard to the Commissioners, but shall con-
fine myself to the work which has been per-
formed under that Commission, and the
bill under which they were created. The
bill is entitled an Act to promote drainage
What drainage has that commission promoted?
What great system of drainage has it undertaken
The only successful system of drainage which it has
carried out is to drain the treasury of this State Of
about half million of dollars. In that respect the
drainage system has been success, and the State
Engineer tells us that it will only take about ten
millions more to complete this enterprise We
aware that the estimates OF engineers often fall
short, and if they are permitted to continue under
this Act, have no doubt that there would be
large deficiency from the estimate which they have
made. Last year followed the advice of the State
Engineer, as | said in my remarks, which have been
read by Senator johnson. He was our doctor-I
was willing to take his medicine After taking the
| first dose, and examining the patient, | became
satisfied that the medicine had worked injury,
and therefore think it is time that the medicine
niZe, with other Senators, the vast Importance Of
this damage and the magnitude with which it has
stretched itself these valleys, and am willing
to give the parties such remedy as believe will
bring relief to them. Under the operations of this
bill am satisfied that no benefit has been derived,
but that positive injury has been worked upon the
people that reside along these rivers | was willing
| then to try the experiment, because ] took TIE
ground that it was a State measure and not one
local in its character and then declared that it
the duty of the State to try this experiment before
calling upon the general Government, in the inter-
| eSts OF commerce, to carry II to successful
| cluson. 1t has changed, in my judgment from a
| State question 10 National one, because the ex-
pertinent tried by the State so far it is
concerned, has proven most miserable failure, ana
any business man will tell you that when he en-
| cages in enterprise that proves q failure the
he places it to the account of profit and loss
the better it will be for him. Therefore say in re-
! gard to this sO-called "debTis law that tue sooner
we place it and the money which has been experded
under it to profit and loss, the better it sill be for
| the people of the State. | was glad of the oppor-
tunity to visit the dam, which was erected under
| this Commission. There were so many conflicting
stories in regard to it, did not know whether it
was forty feet high or four feet. We did not know
whether it standing there intact whether it
had been swept away. We did not know whether
it had settled not and during the last Storm
the greatest flood which this valley has wit
messed while there was twenty feet of water where
the dam formerly stood, the news came to that 1t
solid as rock II became the duty OF the Leg
isature TO visit that work and examine it for them
selves. 1t was the judgment Of all those who
looked at it impartialy, who looked at it from
disintsrested motive; it was the common sense
judgment of all, that the scheme of brush dams
failure, an injury to the parties TO whom
it attempted to give relief. found that the farmers
in the vicinity and those who had watched it during
its construction, those who were directly in
terested and who saw the work upon that structure
testify to that fact. 1t was the laughing stock of
those people. l have conyersed also with some of
the owners OF the largest hydraulic mines in the
Ar-lra af
county. They told me, in their judgment that they
deemed the system OF brush dams failure and an
injury. We dealing with work which has
been carried on by this Commission What evidence
have we that it is q success? Look out of these
windows; look upon this deuged valley, stretch
ing like from mountain to mountain. That,
SIR attests the failure of any work performed by
this socaed debris Commission Look. Mr. Presi
dent at the raised lines of nundation around this
city; look at the submerged homes: see the
fertile farms transformed into lakes and
this beautiful valley into sea- These are
tests that the work of this Commission has
afforded relief. have these valleys in years
gone by swept by other floods. ! have seen these
cities swept by fire, and to-day we witness them
swept by brush dams-and this last sweep is more
disastrous than all OF the others believe it is our
duty to sweep from the statute hooks law which
has proved so grand failure. Mr.. President this
capital stands here today oasis in this desert sea-
She is walled with waters all sides, like the path
way of Moses across the Red Sea. Talk about these
brush dams being able to control the elements of
nature, as they exist to-day 1t is foly-folly in
the highest degree. We are not dealing with the
rivers of Italy. We are not dealing with the Po or
with the Nile, as the Senator from Plumas would
have us believe. followed that gentleman in his
flights of fancy. | followed him through the various
geological periods OF the world. | watched him as
he wound up the mountain trails on his mule, foam
ing and painting, switching the mosquito. | saw
him flying through the air on his snow-shoes, and
thought to myself-"What has all that to
do with the brush dams on the Yuba
and the BearT The farther he wandered
from the seat OF operations the more
eloquent he became Now, sir, we must deal with
these things to-day we must deal with these over.
burdened rivers as they are, filed with mining
DEBRIS and not with distant coun tries The Senator
from Yuba tells us that the operations which have
been carried on the last year were those which
recommended by the engineers. He censures other
Senators here for representing the interests and the
sentiments of their constituents and yet in the
next breath he tells us that he was opposed to the
repeal OF this measure because his people are OPP
posed to it. Now | say that this idea OF brush
dams was one which was conceived by this Com
mission after this law passed. 1t was not
recommended by the State Engineer. have his
report OF year ago, in which he says, in speaking OF
the control Of mining debris-he says "This table
shows the results of the estimates made of the stor
age of sand by the dams projected for location on
the Yuba river. Three sites are exhibited one for
a dam located about quarter OF a mile below the
junction of the middle Yuba to be called the Bridge
Fort dam: to be erected at the junction of Deer
creek, to be known as the Union Br
dam another at Tinlbucktoo or Smarts-
vile, on the lower Yuba" Then he says that
these dams were estimated upon total hight
OF 30 feet each He says further: g Each Of the
proposed structures spoken Of ss dam, is really
series of dams in succession. The upper series are
projected to be built fifty feet high at first then
four forty feet dams top Of that, which makes 2l0
feet high that each dam to be-. He was to erect
an artificial Yosemite in the Yuba canyons of this
State. What material did he propose TO build them
with? He says: " At this proposed site the can
yon is about 800 feet wi on the present level OF
sand and gravel, and the slopes on the side are
about thirty degrees, with cliffs and rocks stand
ing back above. 1t is proposed to quarry the rock
from these cliffs, transport it down the hillside
and use it in their construction. Then he goes on
and gives you the dimensions OF these dams. The
only material he proposes to build them out Of is
stone taken from the mountain cliffs What was the
result? From stone dams $50 high he down
to brush dam Of only four feet Great heavens,
what fall was there. Therefore say, in reply to
the Senator from Iuba, that the plans OF the dam
proposed by the State Engineer year ago were
not carried out, but were changed in most remark.
able degree Inregard to this present dam, when
the Legislature first met and the news came TO us
that the dam was completed, the State Engineer
had his report in manuscript, but not printed After
the first pressure OF water came on these dams he
had occasion to issue second edition OF his report
"a isort of coiicl to his report-in which he tells
us that it is expected that these dams will settle;
but he says these calculations made upon the
theory that the dams will remain intact. He denies
that the dams had even settled until the water re-
himself that they had settled. With other legisla-
tors, made careful examination Of the dam from
shore to shore There were about dozen Of us that
crossed over 1t, and believe that there was not
dissenting opinion but what the dam had sunker to
that extent that it offered resistance whatever to
the waters OF the river. We found on the north
side OF the dam place where it had sunk for 300
feet in length and, going across, there we're nine
points where it had settled and Of these settles
was over 400 feet wide We found where it had
settled four feet below its base-t had settled four
feet below where the original foundation was laid
Why it would seem, Mr.. President, as though this
dam, according to the report OF the engineer, was
constructed for the purpose of only standing in the
summer, when there is no water and settling down
in the winter drawing its head in, like mud
turtle, out OF the wet. | remember problem that
was once giTen to schooboy to figure how long
ii would take frog to get out Of well so feet
deep by jumping up six feet and falling back eight
and when the boy had figured over both sides of his
slate, he was asked how he was getting along, when
he said " II | had half side more Of slate
would figure that frog into the internal regions
Mr.. President, If the same boy was to figure over
this dam where 1t was constructed four feet bipb
and settled down in the sand eight feet he would
figure tie Bear river dam into China before he cot
the frog into the internal regions. The Committee
on Drainage have presented report "that the
State tax under the debris Act amounted to s293.
423 AZ that the district tax amounted to a H,tIe
over $4,000, and the water tax over $50 GEO." Now
what are the facts in regard to the amount Of taxes
paid INTO the state treasury? sent these figures
TO the Controller and he sends me back tn; [ there
mas only been paid into the State treasury at tbe
present time the amount of SIsS, coo instead of
s-93,O00-the balance he may get in some time
that the district tax has only been paid in to the