Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1903-09-03

Forecaster Frankenfeld Tells About
the Recent High Water.
LOSS At KANSAS CITY AND TOPEKA.
The Flood Distributed Its Ravagss with
Impartiality Among Farming. Railroad
and Commercial Intsrcsts-An Area
Of $500 Square Miles Flooded.

submitted by the weather bureau has
been sent to the public printer. 1t
was prepared by DR.. Frankenheld, fore
caster for the department, and dis
cusses in its practical. as well as its
scientific phases. the floods In the
Kaw. Missouri and Mississippi. Hisl
report will show that the spring foods
Of 1908 In the Missouri and Kaw rivers
and upper Mississippi were the most
destructive in the history Of the coun- |
try and were the greatest in the vol
ume OF water. with the exception OF
1874. The fact that lesser volume OF
water in 1903 created greater havoc Is
due to the narrowing Of the channels
Of the river by the march OF civiliza-
ton up and down the water courses
and the reclamation Of lowlands. DR..
Frankenfeld corrects an erroneous
popular impression that forests make
rains. He says that while they do not
make rains, they are valuable In that
they retain the moisture. In recent
years the denuding Of the forests
makes 1t possible for the water to reach
the water courses much quicker than
when there were extensive forests.
This causes quicker rises in the water
courses and enlarges the possibilities
of destruction.
In support Of the assertion that there
was a greater volume of water In the
food of 1874 than In that at Kansas
City of this year, Dr. Frankenfield says
that the water was two feet higher at
Kansas City than this year and 3zs
feet higher at st. Louis. Recent years
have seen the river at Kansas City re-
duced in width from 1000 to 1,10O feet.
This illustrates the contraction OF the
water course and the resultant increase
in the speed of the current. There
we're 16 bridges swept from their
foundations by the Kaw river during
this years food. The report says that
the Rock Island bridge at Topeka
formed q perfect dam, over which
there was a two-foot fall Of water
The contention that the Melan bridge
was responsible for the food in North
Topeka in part was investigated by
the government and, while 1t is con-
cluded that 1t perhaps brought the
| flood quicker and held 1t longer, the
destruction would have been great
even II the bridge had not existed.
The report asserts that the total loss
from the foods in the upper river was
in round numbers $4O,0OO,0O0. This Is
neither speculative nor an estimate,
but is based upon actual investigation
| BY the observers Of the weather bu-
reau. The loss In the vicinity Of To
peka, Des Moines and Kansas City was
largely to crops, railroad rights-of-
| way and bridges and to the commercial
interests along the river. A loss Of
S11 800, 900 was sustained between Han
nibal and st. Louis on the Mississippi
and between Alton and Kansas City
on the Missouri. The loss in the i'm
mediate vicinity Of Kansas City was
$15, 1000.
| Usually the agricultural interests
suffer greatest from the flood, but Dr.
Frankenfield remarks that the higf
water Of this year distributed III
ravages with impartiality. The farm
| ing interests sustained about q third
of the loss, the railroads another third
and the balance was to the commercial
interests Of cities and the loss OF per
i sonal property. The loss from the De
y struction and damaging Of bridges
|, alone amounted to s75O,0OO. The to
tai area overlooked by the spring food
was $500 square miles. As large a
area has been overaowed before, bu
with less disastrous results. This yea
100000 acres Of land In the Amer
can" bottoms opposite st. Louis from
Alton to the Kaskaskia river wer
overfiowed.
In the state Of Missouri alone abou
: 1000. 1000 acres were submerged. tn
foods were severe tests to the leve
system. On the Mississippi side tn
ievees were badly broken from abou
Warsaw to Hamburg. The Hum
Lima, Lake. Indian Grove and Sn
levees suffered severely. The tire
Arst run from Warsaw to the blum
at Quincy and the Sny continues tn
chain to Hamburg for about 30 mile
> The severe test applied to the sn
levee demonstrated Its superiority Il
that sort Of engineer construcuo
work. It had serious break In onl
one place and that was where the Alto
railroad uses 1t az . right-of-way
q get into Louisiana.
The Skunk river levee broke, putin
1900 acres Of land under water. D
Frankenfleld says that good porto
I Of the water was drained on the lar
= in time for late seeding and raising
. fair crops. He comments on the gre
y commercial loss because Of the owe
flowing Of large portions Of the ciu
: Of Kansas City, Topeka and d
= MolneA While this 10 not general
= known, he asserts that In the city
n Des Moines seven square miles We
y a~.~aouanf