The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1908-12-18

a.
terday afternoon was the largest yet
held, the attendance being between 25O
and 800, and coming from all along the
valley. The attendance from MankatO
and vicinity was the highest. licuten-
ant-Governor Eberhart was the only
one present from Mankato, bit from
North Mankato there We're present
County Commissioner Wendall Hodapp
and Alderman F. w. Lossow and Jo-
seph Kroeger. New Ulm was represen-
ted by dozen men, and other points
had good sized delegations.
The meeting was an excellent one.
The league has gained experience since
it was started, and has abandoned its
untenable propositions and yesterday
confined itself to what was feasible
both in acts and expressions. A move
to secure legislation along rational lines
was advanced materially. The league
will present two bills to the legisla
ture seeking assistance to have the riv-
er channel Strengthened. the sand bars
removed and other Instructions taken
out.
The meeting was held at the Nicol-
let county court house, and was pre-
sided over by President J. H. Diers of
Blakely, who called it to order at one
o'clock.
Mayor Philip Dick of st. Peter gave
an address of welcome. in which he eX-
tended the freedom of the city to the
visitors. .-
President Diers read an address, in
the course of which he said: "The
object of the Minnesota River Improve
ment league is not to hinder or in
any way interfere with the state drain
age law. but to influence legislation to-
wards protecting the bottom laiias,
sive overflow of the Minnesota river
and that of its tributary streams.
1.-The state Of Minnesota having au-
thorlZed the construction of bitches SO
rs TO carry water by artificial means
INTO these waterways, thus abnormally
increasing their valume so as to cause
an o .rfow, it should take the respon-
s'hp.ty of deepening or widening the
n..tural warehouses;, SO as to carry
off such water. 1t is proper enough to
charge the adjacent land owners with
the cost of constructing bitches which
improve natural conditions: but when
the natural conditions along these
streams are interfered with to the in
jury of adjacent owners by means of
bitches constructed to drain other lands,
it would certainly be contrary to alb
stract Justice to ask those whose rights
are invaded to bear the expense of
diking or deepening the river so as to
carry off the water so produced.
The state legislature, at it's last
session, enacted law empowering dis
trict judges to establish judicial bitches
where streams had become swollen and
damages had resulted from the extern
ton of county drainage systems. The
Rush river is one of the first so i'm
proved. Rush river is small stream
which empties into the Minnesota river
near Henderson. Not many years ago it
was little better than creek, frequent
ly drying up in the summer, but so
many county drainage bitches were led
into it that in recent years it has been
kept at flood stage practically all of
the time. Sand and earth, washed down
from the lateral bitches, filled the orig
inal channel in many places, with the
result that the stream overfowed its
banks, inundating lowlying farms and
destroying the usefulness of hundreds
of acres of valuable land. Endless an
noyance was caused by the repeatedly
recurring floods, and few years ago
the situation became so acute that the
flood sufferers petitioned the several
county district courts for a judicial
e u-hi FRO ~
for the Strengthening and deepening OF
the Rush river for a distance of twelve
miles was let. When the drain is com
pleted, property owners along the val
ley will be able to reclaim loo
acres that have been lying idle since
1907 The lateral bitches drain and re-
claim a tract of fully 10000 acres. To
meet the expenditure, the State Drain
age Commission has appropriated $780,
600, and the county of Nicollet $1,000
The remainder will be assessed in the
usual manner.
TO my mind there are three propo-
sitions open for consideration. The first
is for the state Of Minnesota to buy
the lands subject to inundation and
convert them into timber reserves, the
Soot VI WHICH, WOulu 10 ABOUT
three million dollars.
"The second proposition is for the
state to pay damages for the amount
of crops destroyed each year, based
on the natural earning capacity OF
lands damaged by the overflow of the
several streams.
"Third proposition would be wing
dam and levee system; the cost OF
which would be much less than that OF
any of the other schemes mentioned
"a levee six feet high and eighteen
feet at the bottom with four foot
top all leveled off and sodded, at six
cents per cubic yard, will cost $6336(
per mile. In other words, $275,0OO will
build 400 miles of levees averaging {
feet high, eighteen feet at bottom AM
four feet at top and sodded. Add tc
this 100000 for wing dams; $4,000
for bridges and highways; $4,000 fol-
dredges; $37 500 for engineering, and
the total cost will not exceed $4,000
i'In an opinion rendered for this lea
que by O'Brien & Stone, of St. Paul
Mimi, the present drainage law of this
stateSin the second paragraph is sum
married as follows:
"Ths validity of the drainage laws