The San Francisco call., 1904-12-07
JUDGE is MISTAKEN.


II left to itself river tends to correct this
in flood times by overhowing its banks and de
posting fresh soil upon the adjacent lowlands.
How little Judge Sawyer and Colonel MendelI
appreciated this factl In decision Judge
Sawyer said.
The evils resulting from occasional overflow
of pure water water deteriorated only by
natural erosion and causes and which leave
no deleterious sediment behind to permanently
destroy the land trifing compared with
those resulting from the enormous amount
from hydraulic mining"
Ask the managers of the Southern Pacific
and the Santa Fe what they think of this
statement. In decision of January T. 1854.
Judge Sawyer. quoting Colonel Mendell says:
The preservation of river beds and routes of
drainage requires that effective restraint be
imposed upon mining detritus. Otherwise the
drainage lines may be expected to suffer the
fate which overlook their prototypes, the PHO
Gene rivers which obliterated by enor-
nous deposits brought down by their own cur
rents"
Here are the bane and the antidote Did
Judge Sawyer and Colonel Mendell charge the
rivers? If not, is the existence of 300 feet of
gravel answer to the charge that the hy-
draulic miner is the culprit?
Professor Christy then read state
ment that he had prepared from data
supplied by Biologists Chamberlain
and Salisbury, who have recently is
sued work on geology from the Uni
versity of Chicago, which showed the
annual deposits of sediment due to ero-
sion to be as follows in a number of
rivers, per square mile: Potomac, 4;
Mississippi. 214.4; Rio Grande, IS; Uru-
quay 1916; Rhone, 311; Pc, 59 Danube,
93.2; Nile, 3S.S: Irawaddy, 2O9. These
figures do not include the great cones
in torrential streams.
There were no figures relating to CAL
ifornia in the publication referred to,
but, taking the same proportion, Pro
fessor Christy found that the Sacra-
mento River deposits in sediment by
erosion annually 1886 feet to the square
mile, and that, in fifty-five years, since
1S49, the Sacramento River has depos-
tied in sediment by erosion $50. 8 feet
to the square mile. Engineers variously
estimate the area destroyed by hydrau-
lie mining at twenty five miles. five to
ten feet deep. THE figures show" re-
marked Professor Christy, that at the
same rate per square mile of the water
shed of the Mississippi River, the Sac
ramento and San Joaquin rivers would
have detroyed with sand and mud fifty
eight square miles, ten. feet deep, or
116 square miles, five feet deep"
LAW is DOUBLE EDGED.
Another quotation from one of Judge
Sawyer's decisions was given and Pro
fessor Christy said regarding it and it's
consequences:
Restraining hydraulic miners from discbaIg-
ing powders. gravel, sand detritus clay or
other material in suspension if taken literally
would close down not only the business of
drift, quartz and other mine in this State:
also every cattle, sheep and hog ranch and
ter The Anti-Debris Association has been
interpreting the letter of the law. How
would the anti debris people like a dose of
the same mud2
The human agencies that augment erosion
and injure the navigable waters OF the State
include the cutting of roads and railways.
cutting of timber. forest fires, cattle, sheep
and hogs blowing and tillng the soil, hy-
draulie and other kinds of mining where tall
ings not restrained, building of evees and
reclamation Of tide and overfowed lands. the
Oakland, Alameda and Key Route moles
Shall all these industries cease?p
asked Professor Christy. Literally ap-
piled, Judge Sawyer's decision would
! stop farming as we'll as mining and
anti-farming associations could appeal
to it to stop plowing and cattle raising.
spies could show that clay or other
substance was discharged by these on
erations into the navigable waters of
the State"
/ An editorial that appeared in The
San Francisco Call on November %
was praised for its clear showing con-
cerning erosions.
Rufus P. Jennings was quoted by the
speaker as saying that the river i'm
provement movers have no intention to
interfere with the interests of the min
ers. This" said Professor Christy. is
/ too important to trust to chance"
Those who are interested in the riv-
ers and other navigable waters of the
State were mentioned as follows: The
miners in the mountains, farmers in
the valley, the mercantile interests of
I San Francisco, the United States Navy
Yard at Mare Island. not only the peo-
pie of California, but also the whole
! United States, depending on San Fran
cisco Bay as naval center on the Pa
cific Ocean of great strategic fmpor-
tance- Figures had been supplied by
Professor Davidson from the coast