Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1908-08-27
SAVING the WATER
Movement to Prevent the Waste
of the Natural Moisture
is Now Afoot.
WATERWAY C0NTROL uRGEl
Professor MCGEE Says Cooperation Be
tween Congress and States Would
Add to National Wealth.


water on an average falls on the sur
face of the United States every year
This startling statement was made by
Dr. ". ]. Niece, secretary of the in
land waterways commission and an
expert connected with the bureau of
soils of the department of agriculture.
This is not a hapha2ard statement
on the. part of one whose original re-
search has made his name familiar to
scientists the whole world over, but
was made in the course of an inter
view which had for its primary object
better knowledge of the conservation
of water and its uses for the benefit
of mankind.
1.-TWO hundred trillion cubic feet of
water said Professor McGee. sis to
the average mind but two and lot of
ciphers. To be more explicit. it equals
about ten Mississippis, and that vol
Ume of water is the entire basis of
orr prosperity.
'.The United States has an area of
100000 square miles, but that area
could be cut directly in twain. and with
the same amount of rainfall we could
sustain the same population that we
have today, conduct the same enter
prises and raise the same products, a
people appreciate. We know very
well, if we stop to consider. that the
| market price of any commodity is de-
pendent on the water supply We buy
land in the eastern half of the United
States and say that there are so many
| acres in this parcel or in that. but in
| reality we buy water. This is funda-
mental. Water is the first of our re-
sources. It is the natural resoivent.
1t is power, fertility. everything. And.
| being fundamental, values begin with
| the. water supply.
with the ten AIississippis falling
| upon the land of the United States
| every year, two Mississippis run off.
| Thus one-fifth of the waterfall from
| the heavens flows into the sea. OF the
eight Mississippis remaining, about
five Mississippis are absorbed passing
| off into the air. to be precipitated
| again and again. 4 fraction i'll part
| passes into the earth and slowly
| reaches the oceans, while another frac-
ton is consumed. passing into chem
icaI combinations, such as plant
growth. etc.
| Make the Benefits Greater.
| what we want TO do is to mini
mizc the waste OF water and max
! ilni.e the benefits which must accrue
to the citizens and country by proper
conservation of water supply. If we
/ so control the water that the rivers
shall fow in uniform stage we will
solve the problem of inland navigation
and make the United States richer By
a thousand per cent than it is to
| day. In order to do this we must
| equalize the run of the streams at the
| heads of the rivers. and this may he
| done by dams and reservoirs and sci
| entific cultivation of the soil along the
courses of both streams and rivers
| The levees of the lower Mississippi
have done a magnificent work. but the
prevention of floods is better far than
all the leyees in the world.
| what we want TO do is to get back
TO nature in dealing with water. fist
to prevent floods. and, second, to com
pei the water to run clear and pure
1t is fact that each year the rivers
OF the mainland of the United States
pour into the sea thousand million
tons of richest soil matter in the form
of suspended sediment, an impost
greater than all our land taxes com
hined and commensurate Injury to
commerce in the lower rivers, which
are rendered capricious and difficult
of control by the unstable load.
"The difference in the power value