Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1903-09-16

ing something TO the lower Mississippi
and lower Missouri TO control the flood
water. but nothing, repeat, has been
done 10 prevent the massing OF flood
waters.
WHY NOT PREVENT FLOODS?
Every municipality In the country
legislates against destruction by fires.
In more ways than one we seek to cur.
tail the loss from that destructive ele-
ment, Towns and cities pass ordinances
against the erection OF combustIble
buildings IN the copgested districts. In
dividuals and corporations insure
against losses by fire, and a great deal
OF intelligent attention has been given
the subject of loss by fire. But nothing
has been done to prevent the annual
loss by floods, The question Isl Can
anything be done2 1t would seem, at
a glance, more intelligent to harness
the flood waters instead of trying 10
control them. We build jetties In order
to allow the Mississippi to scour out
deeper channel, and that has been sue
cessful. Can we extend the jettles up
TO Kansas city, up the Kaw, up the
Platte? No. Let US not forget that
water In motion Is almost unmanage-
able, and tiny stream of water In
motion win cut out the hardest gram
tie. Still, water can be handled and
controlled as we control tractable
steed.
Some years ago the irrigation move
ment began IN this country. The sem
timent has grown and widened until
now II embraced 20 states and
territories OF this Union and at last
that sentiment was crystallized into
law by the American congress. Why
did that sentiment continue to grow?
Because Il was great truth and the
pioneers who discovered II to be a
great truth presented It to the Ameri-
can people to be blessing to all the
generations to come.
CAN BE PREVENTED.
"Can floods be prevented? IL It
truth? lis II fact2 IL so, 1t will go on
and the American people win grasp It,
II 1t Is an Illusion 1t will fade away like
spooks and spirits in the light OF day.
It is now difficult TO prevent and con-
troll floods. Yet they can be prevented
with as little cost, aye, with Intimately
less cost, than they can be controlled.
An engineer OF Idaho once said to me
in speaking of the stream there that
he could take off enough water from 1t
TO forever prevent floods In that valley.
We must depend on the scientific men
Of this country for the solution of this
problem.
1--WE make no complaint regarding
the large appropriations made for the
improvement of the lower Mississippi
and Missouri. | am not here to con-
tend that the levee system should be
destroyed or work cease along that
line. 1t Is perfectly compatible with
the work OF storage higher up. But
II floods cannot be prevented we must
not only vote appropriations for more
levees, II that Is the only method to
control the waters, but We want pro-
lection higher up. We must have Il.
II leeves are the only method, then
extend the levees higher up wherever
we have floods, up every tributary OF
the Father Of Waters. And what will
be the cost? l contend that 1t Will
cost more than 1t would to store the
waters of the Mississippi or Missouri
and their tributaries.
I'VE can use stored water, not only
for irrigation and TO prevent floods, but
for power as well. The water should
be stored, not In one great reservoir,
nor In ten, nor IN a hundred, nor In
thousand, but In tens of thousands
of smaller reservoirs. / know and you
know that the water Will be used for
irrigation. We shall not be able to
store water anywhere but that there
viii be intelligent farmers below to use
IL.
CAN HANDLE ANYTHING.
"Now my friends there are some