The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-04-08
FLOODS AND BILLIARDS..

northwest, especially Norm Ddkola,
it is displayed under scare heads in
the eastern press. North Dakota does
ave some severe winter storms. The
term blizzard, however. docs not Gre
ate the same impression in the pub
lie mind in this state that it docs
in other states. Here it is merely
the designation Of a snow storm ac-
companied by a wind. There it means
4. storm in which no life can exist
and that carries to destruction ev-
erything in its purse These ensa-
tional newspaper stories are in nine
instances in ten the products OF cheap
correspondents who make Il few g N
mics by knocking the state. But hat
is neither here nor there at this time.
Suppose we admit that We have
blizzards in North Dakota. What are
they in comparison with the awful
calamity thai is sweeping the Missis-
sippi valley in the nature Of floods" a
million times more damage has been
done by those foods in the last ten
billiards. that have ever swept over
North Dakota since the foot of white
man first trod its primitive sod. The
suffering and damage from a blizzard
is only temporary. From the food it
is permanent. During a blizzard the
North Dakota farmer is compelled
to stay beside his cozy fire in a COM
Portable home; he may have to con-
fine his visits with his neighbors to
talks over the telephone: he may not
be able to reach town: and he may
have to wear a fur coat and a cap
pulled we'll over his face when he
goes to his barn to care for his stock;
he nay have to give n little extra
care to the stock to keep il comfort
able. and all his may last three days.
Now look at tho condition of the
farmer along the Mississippi river
during tho last ten days. His lands
lie lower thar the natural banks of
the river. The floods soon get above
the natural banks INT the only pro-
lection against having the land over
TOWN are the lcvees. These earth
works are not infallible and the later
al pressure of tho water, together
with its scepinE into the soft parts
Of the cmbankments gives the river
demon a powerful advantage. In
stead of the farmer sitting by a cozy
fir" and reading or playing checkers
While the demon RACES as he does
during a North Dakota blizzard. he
must Join his fellow farmers and
work just as long as he has strength
to stand to strengthen the levces. His
stock will not only suffer. but if the
leNees break, will be drowned, his
houses and barns washed away and
lands ruined and his family endan-
gered.
When the levee protecting what is
known as the Rcelfoot reeion. COW
ering about ten counties. broke the
people fed to higher points of land
and later reached places of safety.
But practically all the stock in the
region was drowned, and the farms
are nov under from six to twenty
feet Of water. Homes have been sub
merged and ruined. The water is still
flowing through the break in the
levee and will continue to do so un-
til the river falls below the bottom
of the break. That will he three
weeks or a month at least. A North
Dakota three days blizzard is a day
In June compared to that calamity.
It IL said that the present flood is
the worst In the history Of the river.
But memory is a bad chronologer. In
1882 the food was just as disastrous.
There have been others nearly as bad
since. The removal Of the forests
about the ~headwaters of the tributa-
ries increases the food danger every
year when the combined spring rains
and melting SHOWS produce the spring
flood. We prefer North Dakota bliz-
yards to Mississippi valley floods.