The San Francisco call., 1904-11-29
THE RIVER PROBLEM.

HERE is preliminary outgvng by one OF the official eng1
effect that hydraulic mining caused the floods in California
and that echcaon requires the raising of artificial banks
to compel the eon of the whole securing force of the
upon deposit Of scens channels The of this work
put S2oOoooo time fully comment
plan proposed until the engineers have published their report
but probable that this preliminary expresses the con-
uson that will be reached probable because most OF the
gneers employed work of the Mississippi
River and familiar that plan of river control.
The statement of the of California foods promises to
form the contention between the miners and the
valley andhoders To the forehadowed conclusion VIII be
disappointment since it will the issue single and a
narrow basis IT, however the rivers formerly carried all the hoods
in their channels and between their banks before hydraulic mining
down seD the stated be accepted as correct
the solution Of the trouble will require merely the deepening OF the
channels to their former depths
that before hydraulic mining?
photography indeed remarkable There no disagree
that mining aggravated the foods by raising the bottom OF
the channel Volumes OF that the rivers carried between
their banks their primitive condition oveaxed their capacity when
the channels raised compelling the corresponding OF
But formerly carry within their banks such
foods that of last spring the question We think they did
do think they will when their channels secured to
% and 1I % care Of fesbets that now snI over hut there
draining considerable watershed that holds all flood
Rivers are land builders The Mississippi in its primitive state
builder The silt carried built all the land from
Ear above New Orleans the present shore of the Gulf of Mexico
Rivers where there mining alternately fill their chan
silt they carry until finally they
jump off the ridge formed by their action and flow through
build up The mining ickens carried into
land building and inflicted such injury the permanent in
tsts Of agriculture justify the legal steps taken to force its
dscontinuance.
But there floods before slckens and there will be floods
after deposit taken from the channels To therefore, that
such removal will end the trouble be optimistic in the face OF
facts older than hydraulic mining the determine to
clear the channel by raising the banks it should not be left the
slow process Of securing Pump dedges transfer the scken
from the channel the banks converting it into levee that will
require the of other material Or the pump dredges
take the cns from the channel and spread the low land
building up distance from the river This ia
ar all who have the filling of the salt marshes around
the bay with material pumped from its bottom
Some plan of that would the banks cheapy than
be done by taking the material from the dry land had be
done the Of the evees Feather River But for
the the of the foods and the whole
considered known before they
be removed may prove futile conclusion if hydraulic mining
accused of the whole trouble That be blamed for
Of notorious but when that Of the trouble is corrected there
will remain large sized problem, bequeahed maybe the
fessonal successors OF the present engineers.
There engineering opinions the efficacy raising
the banks Of compel cleanse channel There
engineers who contend that the bottom of the Mississippi River
has steadily with banks, and that these have be
tnualy raised higher the In spite of all that
dees control by evee and from the Sny
levee Ncsbug breaches onnng walls and makes havoc
millions Of of titled land We glad that something is
doing and the whole partial reached by the
commission VIII be supported know by public sentiment and
hope by adequate appropriations, Federal and State.