Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1910-10-11
CAPT. THOMAS
TELLS OF; RIVER
OLD MISSISSIPPI PILOT SHOWS
SOME KNOWLEDGE Or WHAT
HAS BEEN DONE.
DIS CHARGE sufFiCiENI
Says There 10 Plenty Of Water 10 eaUpt
ply Six Foot stsamboat
Channel and PoWsrby Is
Storage.

Capt E. H. Thomas OF South OF
tumwa desires that the public shall
know the real situation rs to the I'm
provement of the Des Moines river.
and has contributed few notes for
the benefit Of the reading public about
what has been done thus far with the
stream, in the following letter:
Editor Courier:
will you please allow me little
space to correct some erroneous state
| ments which have gone out among the
people in reference to the improve
/ ment OF the Des Moines river?
Plenty OF Water.
| Il The reports OF Majors Meigs and
Richie to the powers at Washington
clinched the matter. The board OF
! engineers and the war department de-
cided that the discharge Of water In
the Des Moines river was amply sum.
cient to Great q six foot steamboat
channel and great and valuable
water power. They fully endorsed the
project.
2. The Title Of the. river Is in the
government and has always. been.
| SO. Major Rowse and his thirty meT
have nothing to do with the reporting
for or against the project. That par
of it was settled by the first or pre-
liminary survey.
"a. Major Rowse and his party ar,
now preparing complete plans for tn
dams, locks, canals. bank protection
| etc, and also an estimate OF the cos
Of the same. They were sent here f0l
this purpose and this only. The plans
and estimates will be- forwarded to
| Washington about January J.. The Ell.
gineers now making the permanent
survey fully endorse the reports Of
Majors Meigs and Richie than even at
this low stage OF the river, the dis
charge is amply SUFFICIENT for the six
foot steamboat channel and great
water power.
| Can 0uaoe Quantity.
IS. While the engineers take the
rise and fall Of the river, they do not
base their opinions and decisions Gu
this. They figure the discharge and
flow Of the water with its great fall Of
eighteen inches to the mile and swift
flow. The engineers can tell the num-
Der OF hours required to store against
dam, sufficient water to create q
depth of six feet ten miles above the
dam or at the next storage point.
They are not only capable of tell
! ing the time necessary to store the
water between the dams but can give
the number Of cubic fest Of water as
| we'll The depth Of water at any given
time is not material with an engineer II
lis the discharge and flow that is I'm.
| portant. Major Richie said. Give me
a small stream OF water one.half the
size OF the Des Moines river, with the
same discharge and will agree to
Great q navigable stream anywhere
out in the corn fields OF lows.
May Beginsin Spring.
sc. Let the people understand that
all the preliminaries have been ar
ranged for the Improvement Of the
Des Moines river. The next step IL
to secure the first appropriation. The
boosters with the cooperation and as.
sistance Of the people OF the valley.
expect to get the first money during
the next session OF congress 80 that
the work can be started at the mouth
of the river next spring. The U. 8.
engineers say that they will have all
of the plans completed and be ready
to start the work at that time