The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1883-02-23
WHERE Is THE ENGINEERING TAI
ENT?

Il
week or so have been Unparalleled IN I'd
history of that region, in extent and az
structiyeness both of life and propert,
Great cities, such as Pittsburg, Cincihha'
and Louisville, have been literally sur
merged, and thousands Of people have bee
driven from home and liie's necessaries b.
the pitiless waters. The business portion
of the cities and towns having been hoode'
the laborers in the warehouses, whoiesa
houses and mills and factories have beef
deprived of employment, aud all. thei
household effects and little savings haV'
been swept away at the same time. INT
loss of life, too, has been large ah'
appalling, and the disaster coming
upon prosperous section SO une1
pectedly and reaching so widely Out
in its devastating effects, will rank with
any or above any of the great calamities IN
this country for years past, being equaieu
possibly, only by the great floods last year
on the lower Mississippi, in Arkansas MIS-
sissippj and Louisiana. These tremendous
uprisings in our great water courses in the
Mississippi valley, are becoming OF ire
ouent recurrence, appearing annually IN
some portion thereof, nearly every fall or
autumn. and invariably find the people
living along the streams and in the country
subject to such overnows, unprepared to
resist the sweep of the great waters as. they
rpsb ON with their destructive volume.
The matter is therefore one demanding
more attention than has ever here
tofore been bestowed upon it. So
often has the flood happened Of
late in the Mississippi and its
tributaries that it may nationally be an
ticipated yearly. The country cannot af-
ford such catastrophe annually as the one
of week since, and that of last year. HUI
man life and human habitations are too
valuable, and the dangers to the country at
large through possible epidemics engen-
dered by the overllows, are too great to per-
nit these things to occur, if human en-
can prevent them. The overflow
of the Nile is well known occurrence, TAX
ing place at regular seasons OF the year, but
il is made the basis OF the wealth and health
of Egypt. This great volume OF water, COM
ing from away ND in the Soudan noun
tains, would, il left to itself, as are the
waters Of our streams in cases Hood, sweep
the life and property out oil Egypt
Human ingenuity has, however, prevented
this by providing multtudcs OF irrigating
bitches and canals that serve to iertilize and
bless Egypt, while they operate as channels
or pipes to draw the water from the Nile
and guide IL safely over the country, instead
Of allowing it to sweep unbriulcd over
With us, on the other hand,
the dependence has been placed entirely
upon the levees, attempting to compress
the mighty waters into q narrow channel
rather than skillfully draw them of and
distribute them. So far the levees have in
variably failed to meet the ends for which
hey were constructed. Whether it is the
ault Of the system or faulty construction
hereof is an open question. The fact re-
mains that any considerable rise in the Mis-
,issippi or its tributaries carries dismay and
destruction into thousands of homes and
generally results in much loss of life. 1t is
lime, therefore, that something were being
done, either by congress or concert of action
between the states, that will prove of prac-
tiCal value in this matter, and lessen the
chances of a recurrence ever again of such
wide-reaching floods as those referred to.
Practical men and competent engineers in
this day and time should be as capable of
handling our great rivers and preventing
destruction thereby as were the ancient
Egyptians to chain the great Nile and rem
der it their most useful slave. II our sys-
tenn is not good one lot another one be
adopted. There is means OF reaching the
difficulty, undoubtedly, and most elfectu-
ally. The great states along the Missouri,
Ohio, Arkansas and Mississippi rivers are
powerful enough in or out of congress to do
whatever is requisite in tho premi-
SEES, and the safety of the lives
and property of their millions of
citizens demand that they should act now
more vigorously and in concert than ever
before. While the various legislatures of
the states referred to are in session now and
in view of the two great floods mentioned
following each other 80 closely, no time is
so op perfume ~ the present for memorial
izing their rcpresentative at Washington on
the subject. Let the representatives OF such
states in caucus devise plan such rs their
sections of the country need and put II
through. five must turn our attention TO
Egypt and Europe for light. so be it, but at
any rate. let check be placed upon the
great annual destruction of life and prop.
erty by floods in the Mississippi, Arkansas
and Ohio valleys.
GENERAL HAzEN, Old Probs, has got into
as much trouble by tamperipg with tn,
weather rs tho public have had from
the weather recently. The Chicago Time.
thinks that he is n guilty man and has NJ
earthly chance for an escape lie has, Il
seems, been creating false hopes ant
furnishing an inferior article of weather
just rs his humor pleased. The old mar
would have been all right ifhe had stuck tC
the weather, bad rs it Is, and not have per
mitted other matters around his depart
meut TO stick to him, But the Times SAYS