The record-union., 1891-02-12
THE RIVER COMMISSION REPORT.

The Board of Government Engineers
| appointed as commission to examine
the Sacramento and Feather Rivers and
report what is needed to be done to pro-
tect their navigable channels and prevent
their being filled up and rendered use
less, has reported. The board made what
most people believed to be very hasty
examination, and the speed with which
it has arrived at conclusions is rather
surprising. 1t would seem as if the en-
gineers did not take time to examine all
or even half the data laid before them,
while their river trip was apparently
flying one. However this may be un-
charitable, and it is possible that the
board acted to the full extent of it's in
structions. The summary of its report
as telegraphed is not, however, encourag-
ing.
The work recommended is little, and
the appropriations advised for the
Sacramento not commensurate with
the importance of that river and the
interests of the valley, and are not
adequate to accomplish the beginning of
what all local engineers are agreed should
be done. Nothing is said about setting
back the levees and properly building
them SO as to give the river capacity to
carry the water flowing into it; nothing
is said of what it was understood the
Government engineers agreed ought to
be done-the enlargement of the delta.
The board was understood here
as holding that the river, if properly and
widely leveed, will carry the full volume
should he opened, and systematic and
uniform method of treatment be adopted.
What the board advises, according to the
telegraph, is that 5000 be used to run
the snagboat, $4,000 to close Jacob
Slough, 100000 for treatment of the Yuba
River above Marysville, and $4,000 "a
channels of the Feather River.
Possibly, therefore, when given in full,
it may be found to be more liberal and
comprehensive. Let US hope SO. But if
it is as reported, very little has been
accomplished by the long labor and
earnest effort of the River Convention.
1t is something, however, to get an Off
cial report before the Government ad-
mitting that the rivers need treatment,
since heretofore the War Department has
replied to all petitions, 1--WE have no off,
cial knowledge that anything is wrong
with Californias navigable streams.'
THERE has been popular belief that the
negro population in the South is with
startling rapidity outgrowing the white,
numerically. The census returns thus
far published, in detail, do not support
this belief. Thus, Alabama in 1880 had
6S2, ,lS5 white and 600, ,103 colored people;
in 1890 she had $50, 796 whites and 6SI ,431
blacks, practical decrease of more than
3 per cent. on the part of the blacks, in
comparison with the white increase. In
Louisiana, in 1880, there were 454,954
whites and 4S3,655 blacks; in 1890 that
State had 562.l13 whites and 55O,122 ne
groes. South Carolina, in 1880, numbered
39I, Jos white people, and co., ,322 blacks;
in 1890 that State had 5l2,369 whites and
6S4, ,7SS blacks. Taking the three States
in the aggregate of these showings, and
we have this result: 1880, !, sos, IA whites,
and !, ,6SS, ,0S0 blacks; 1890, ,9O5,27S whites
and /, ,S46,3 81 blacks. So that the white
population in the three States has in
creased 1904, while the negro popula-
ton has augmented but 1885, ,26l. OF course
emigration of blacks and immigration
of whites may account, in part, for the
result, but if there shall be similar totals
in the other Southern States, the conclu-
sion must be reached that the negroes
are not increasing as rapidly as the
whites. The fears of domination by
negroes are not, therefore, justified.