The record-union., 1897-04-16
THE MISSISSIPPI FLOODS.

1t will not have escaped attention that
the scientific experts now examining into
the flood conditions in the Mississippi
Valley have thus early expressed their
belief that the sudden and early rise OF
the waters in the greater rivers and their
feeders is due to denudation of hills and
source-lands of sheltering timber.
Never before was there known so early
a rise. Always before this eventful
year the high waters were known as
''the June rise Now we have the floods
in March and April. The reason probably
is that the forest lands on source soils
have been so cleared away that the
ground is no longer protected, and has
therefore no power Of retention. The
rains fall and the SHOWS melt and the
waters run off over the hard soil to the
rivulets, the creeks and the streams
and the rivers The tramping of stock
also cuts out all soil vegetation, beats
down the ground, and thus the waters
rush to the streams instead of being fed
to them easily, slowly, gently during a
long period.
So it will be found that while we would
have had very high waters in the rivers
because of heavy snow deposits, heavy
rains and unusually early warmth, still
the floods would not have been so early
nor so astoundingly disastrous as they
have been, and by no means SO wide
spread and calamitous, had not the arts
of man changed natural conditions and
thus have stung nature to revenge her
self, as she always does when offended.
We apprehend that when the actual
truth is known, it will be found that the
disasters are to be attributed infar larger
degree to denudation of forest lands. and
to the operations of stock in such lands,
than to mistakes in engineering as to
levees, and securing systems, or any
other causes.
We observe in the Eastern press a
good deal of criticism of what is termed
the blundering of Government treat
ment of the rivers. This is based on
the assumption that Government engi-
neers on the Mississippi have made a
mistake in either or both of two direc-
tions, namely clearing the streams of
distractions and deepening the channels
so as to conserve cutting out and scour-
ing and in the construction OF exten-
sive levee systems, high and strong so
as to confine the river waters and COM
pei them by increased velocity to carry
the flood waters and thus cut the chan
nels broad and deep.
The truth is that either and both of
these systems are right under varying
conditions. It may be that at certain
places or reaches the waters can be re-
strained and trained by levee systems,
best and that at others wisdom demands
that the river be cleared artificialIy and
the waters trained into cutting and
securing channels. Still another theory
is that of artificial outlets for surplus
waters, but as a rule that plan finds
little encouragement on the Mississippi
and generally it is not considered bene-
fetal for the stream in reaches be-
low the outlets.
The truth is that while the people of
the Northwest have made no provision
for storing waters they have at the same
time been pursuing a policy that sends
the waters swiftly and lin a bunch" TO
lower reaches, stripping the wooded
lands and beating the soil TO hard
pan that cannot hold back the waters,
We are getting the natural result OF
such practices in early high water, phe-
nomenal large streams and the demon
stration that no levees will withstand
such terrible floods, and that provided
overfiows would not afford any ap-
preciable relief.
The Chicago 'InterOcean" thinks
that it will be possible to provide gates
to take care of the surplus waters and