The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1894-07-15

spurs to produce the desired effect. Or,
it may be found they are all too long
and must be cut off Or 1t may be me-
cessary to lengthen them some, and
shorten others"
Longitudinal walls, especially If high,
interfere more with the tidal reservoir,
the retention of which in full is Of
much Importance"
1.-THE due regulation OF the height Of
/ the works is a most important matter.
If too low, they control the currents too
little. If too high, they obstruct them
too much, especially in time Of freshets." :"
when the river is tidal, and more
over is subject to considerable freshets
, the problem Of the location Of one jetty
becomes more complicated. When more
than one, q whole set, must be put in,
the thing is still more difficult"
There is always some uncertainty
as to che effects Of regulating works"
Such is the testimony Of a veteran.
cult shoal Of the Columbia river: "The
process by which one channel deteriOr-
ates and another is bettered, have not
been clearly established. 1t is by no
means certain that the sand which OBJ
structs the channel is brought FROM
above, down stream; nor is it establish
ed that the sand is brought from below
by the flood tide"
Tha f.ft- tee
immense width, it's vast quantity Of
suspended material, (unequalled in
amount except by such rivers as the
Mississippi it's excessive floods, its
quickly shifting sands, would certainly
be approached by the older engineers
with caution. Major Handbury, how.
el err attacks 1t with the ready assur-
ance that securing the 25 foot channel
is a matter of very easy engineering
attainment"
AS to the methods proposed, the en-
gineers themselves are not of one mind.
At Swan Island bar, Major Handbury
advocates closing the chute behind
Swan Island, causing all the low water
to pass north of the island by this
means maintaining at least 20 feet Of
water. Col Mendell pronounces this "a
sanguine expectation"
Major Handbury recommends spur
dikes or groins at Postoffice bar. Col
Mendell says that experience has
fully demonstrated that the general use
of groins is injurious" The board OIL
engineers decided upon the use Of groins
here.
Martins Island bar. Major Handburyi
recommends a dixie 1000 feet long. Thel
board says 'the dixie proposed is notl
sufficient"
Walkers Island bar Major Hand
bury recommends a. dixie 1880 feetl
long. Col. Mendell says better results
would follow if the upper 1000 or 3OOOI
feet were omitted" The board agrees
with Col. Mendell.
Cathlamet bay. Major Handbury rec
ommends dredging curved channel
$50 feet wide Col. Mendell says the
dredged channel should be straight and
wider than 15O feet. The board agrees
with Col. Mendell.
Col. Mendell says the constructions
proposed by Major Handbury are tenn
porary and will have life of a few
years. He and the board of engineers
recommend q "better and more costly
construction"
AS for securing the 25 foot channel at
an early date, or at all, no one need look
for this. The United States engineers
have good dozen years Of expert
menting before much could be accom-
plished, even if the project were feasible
If appropriations come as slowly as US
ual it will be twice as long. Nor need
those whose interests would be adverse
to such an inland movement of COM
merce be uneasy. If the channel were
made as deep and broad as the Hudson,
it would scarcely be used when a port
is opened to transportation lines lower
down and great towage systems are or
ganized. But there are two ways in
which all the residents Of the Columbia
watershed are deeply interested. One
is from the distractions noted. The
other is from the diversion of appropria-
tons from securing an open river at
the Cascades and The Dalles, in favor
of this purely speculative and uncertain
project that favors only very few
persons comparatively