The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1905-12-22
ARE AFRAID OF HIGH WATER.
Report That Mime sofa May Be Ute-
lized to Take Care of Red River
Valley Overflow.
From Mondays Daily.

NOfln ManKatO residents are stirred up
over a reported movement in the north
ern part of the state to have the sources
of the Minnesota river and the Red
River of the North connected so that
shall come down the Minnesota river in
stead of flooding the Red River valley.
They say that it would mean that the
Minnesota river would be four feet
highter than it gets at present and that
great damage would result all along the
river, in low places. They fear that it
would have an injurious effect upon
North Mankato, rendering the chances
of frequent overflow much greater, be-
sides having tendency to eat away the
land on that side of the river
The matter is one that will bear in
vestigation, if there is any serious
thought of trying to get the two lakes
united.
The dispatch that has stirred up the
residents on the north side is the fol-
lowing in Sundays Minneapolis Tr
bune:
Crookston, Mimi, Dec l6.-How to
take care of the spring freshets in the
Red River valley, carry off the surplus
of water during the closed season of the
Red Lake and Red River of the North
is a problem which confronts drainage
engineers of northern Minnesota and
North Dakota at this time and promises
to become very serious question.
The fact that the Red Lake river and
Red River of the North do not open up
clear of ice for the free passage of the
vast accumulation of spring water I'M
til after serious floods and enormous
damage to the entire farming commu
nifty along their banks has been wrought,
makes the question of handling spring
freshet and thaw water most serious
one, particularly at this time when there
is so much ditch work just completed
and so much in prospect for another
year.
The Red rivers have all they can han
die at this time without any additions
to their streams through ditching opera
tions.
State Ditch Engineer Ralph of this
city advocates a Strengthening of the
channel of the Red from Grand Forks or
Fargo to Winnipeg, the expense of the
dredging and cutting to be borne of the
government, assisted by the Canadian
government. This proposition has not
been received favoraby by legislators of
the nation, it being considered somewhat
extravagant with the present straiten-
ed condition of the public treasury in
evidence
Another proposition has been brought
forward by drainage enthusiasts which
may bear fruit and become an active
realization, and the means of conveying
to the walters of the Mississippi through
Big Stone lake, Lake Traverse and the
Minnesota river, large portion of the
water which is now carried northward
by the Red River of the North. The
idea is to dig canal connecting the
head of the Minnesota with the head OF
overcome the rise in the elevations be.
tween the two sources converting por-
ton of the Red River into a southern
instead of a northern stream.
The scheme is not mere fantasy of
imaginative engineers, but is feasible all
he way through and with much less
expenditure of money than would be re-
quired to straighten and dredge the
course of the Red, would take care of
the surplus spring water fully as well or
better than the northern route.
The fact that ice is out of the Min
nesota many weeks in advance OF the
time when the foes begin to move in
the Red makes the matter all the more
practical as at the time of the ice con-
gestion in the north country, the Red
River valley is most suffering from high
water and floods, and with the new con-
ditions formed by the southern outlet
for the spring waters, no danger from
devastating floods as have swept this
section in years past, need be feared
There is considerable sentiment
throughout the northern portion of Min
nesota and throughout North Dakota,
among people who live along the river
10 have the connecting canal between
the sources of the Red and the Minneso-
Ia cut and the waters of at least por-
ton of the former diverted to south
ern course.
The proposition is, however, in its in
fancy yet. Shipping interests along the
Red River from Grand Forks to Winni-
peg NAV raise strenuous objections to
The movement, because of the conse-
quent lowering of the water in the