The Waco daily examiner. [volume] (Waco, Tex.) 187?-1888, 1885-06-09

slhte government Is tlle rcllcl III lills
vast and fertile region not rs worthy
of the benefactions of our national,
state and county governments Us any
other matter ofinternal Improvement
Why has il then been so long over
looked? Is IL because in this mighty
valley of the Brazos, the heart of
Texas, where probably one-fourth of
her population toll, and third OF her
exports are produced, there is not to
be found the residence OF single
one of our eleven congressman, and
that hence our interests are neglected?
We think not, for Coke ener-
gciic and as influential with our rep
resentatives as he is in the senate, is
one of the sufferers from these an
nually recurring floods. 1t is more
probable, that the only trouble, is that
the matter has never been pressed
home 10 them, or feasible remedy
suggested In looking to our
waterways, congress has con-
sidered solely the problem OF
navigation, and work on them has
been in the hands of West Point en-
gineers who are proverbially n goner-
alton behind the times, enete systems
are chung to with tenacity which
does more credit to their obstinacy
than ability. But to recur to the
main question, can we relieve the
overflow and howt | would answer
yes, but it eau be done only by lower
ing the bed of the river. This can be
done to n great extent by the actions
of the waters themselves. tits II well
known fact that the bed of the river
is generally filed to the depth of from
ten to twenty feet with soft, yelling
sands that are easily shifted and driv-
en- about by the rivers current. This
sand is the deposit banked up against
several rock walls or dams that in va.
rious places cross the stream. Tear
down these walls, break down the
dams, and the current carries away
the shifting sands, and the bed Of tn,
river is lowered to the hard clay OF
rock bottom. AT such points as N
unyielding obstinaey is displayed, o
all inclination to fill up exhibited,
system of cheap brush jettics may b.
used to direct the current of tn
water which, when properly directed
nothing on earth can withstand. Tn
points at which dynamite woul
have to be used to bloN
out the rock walls probabl
do not exceed five, the only really 81
rious one being the falls opposite t
Marlin, in Falls county. In the all
scence of definite data, it is hard I
say how far the scheme is practicable
but there is no doubt but that il coul
be carried, and at comparatively tr
fling cost, up to the falls, and tn,
u rock dam could easily he turno
out, this would greatly relieve all II
valley up as high as TO wash.
An appropriation was once =
: cured bp our congressman for u su
vey of the Brazos, which if properl
'. expended might be made profitable
!, the discussion of this question, but Il
:, survey looked merely TO the probe
of navigation, n comparatively N
nor question in this day of railroad
and the engineers took n boat ri,
from Waco down the river son
r twenty miles, we suppose expend,
Il the appropriation, and made n repo
g which we surmisc will be of little va
& lie. But however much of this pro
: osition may be experiment, so far rs
II applies to the mouth oftheBrazos,it HI
C been demonstrated beyond pcradyel
q ture that the bar can be cheapl
: washed out. If this is done aud the bi
: is cut five feet lower than the cham
u of the river above. the who
bed will be so lowered as far up
" Richmond so rs to give such relief
10 that entire country as to make
&c worth more to Texas than all the to-
u age that will cross either that bar ,
&c Galveston for the next hundred year
l. Better were il, il il is necessary
u save Galveston, that the building
/ city at Valasco be prohibite
u or the landing of Il pound of freigI
there forbidden than that Il
mouth Of the Brazos be allowed
remain stopped up. This is
question in which every river COUNT
q is interested and they should unite
, demanding the solid support of OF