The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-03-23
IMPROVING THE RED RIVER.

~ 10 10 nc nOpC0 inc government
will be induced to push to completion
the work Of constructing dams in the
Rcd river so that it will he made
~navigable once again. River improve
ment has abundance of rcd tape and
the process is slow, yet if North Da-
kota and Minnesota should unite in
the demands for improving the Red
river. it is not Improbable that con.
gross would give heed. The chairman
of tho present river and harbors
committee of the house is Represent
tativc Sparknaan of Florida. a DEM
ocrat. he has loaded up the pres
ent river bill with expenditures for
improving every swamp. lagoon.
bayon. river and lake in his state.
aud the democratic house passed the
measure.
There wore not a dozen items in
the entire bill that had as much mer-
IL as the proposition for improving
the Rcd river. We arc spending
hundreds of millions of dollars in
constructing The Panama canal, the
greatest engineering feat in the his
tory of the world. We arc doing IT
for the good of the world in Il way
but primarily the benefit to us as Il
nation will he in affordinC cheap
transportation facilities between the
two extreme borders of the nation.
That water transportation is cheaper
than rail transportation is an aca-
demic problem. That's why we are
building the canal.
The Red river offers the greatest
return in proportion 10 tho lost Of
amy navigation problem in the en-
tire country. The depth Of tho river
channel is such that navigation depth
can be secured without overlooking
or even filling the banks, SO that the
construction of dams would not make
as in the case in nearly every river
improved with dams, in order to pre-
vent the raised river from overflow
ing tho adjacent territory. Then
again, the exceedingly slight fall in
the river bed. about four inches to
tho mile. secures the greatest result
in improved mileage Of the river for
the dam height. Every foot in height
of a dam would create a reservoir
three miles long. and a sixteen foot
dam would create a reservoir forty
eight miles long. There is not anoti,-
- iiNtI III lut tIlllTe country except
neal the mouths of those that flow
int" the Gulf of Mexico where the
fall is so slight. Many of the dams
constructed by the government do not
create q reservoir moro than Il mile
long for each foot height OF the dam.
Vet the government puts large sums
of money into these rivers merely be-
cause pressure is brought to bear on
congress. Tho Monongahela river in
West Virginia is an example. The
late Senator Elkins of that state be-
came financially interested in large
coal areas along the river \ rail-
road followed the course of the river
from above those coal fields to Pitts
burg. but the people who owned the
road were hostile to the Elkins inter-
ests. and made his companies pay a
heavy tonnage rate. l:llins sidestep-
bed them and got the river improved
by dams and locks so that he could
get his coal down the river to- Pitts
burg cheaper. The lower part of the
river was already improved. but the
upper portion had such Il all that
dams We're necessary every few miles.
In fact. 1t was said in criticism of the
scheme that the government was con-
structing the locks so that the fish
could get up stream. But the inn
provement of that river. despite the
pecuniary politics involved. has op-
cncd of the richest sections of the
state that before was only a grazing
country. Cities and towns flourish
where before were only villages or
farm lands. Glassworks. wood man
ugacturers. iron foundries and kind
red industries now make it a tenn
ing industrial region.
The improvement of the Red river
compared with the illustration above
will produce more benefits i'm propor
ton to the cost. There the improve
ments covered less than one hundred
miles: here it would cover more than
two hundred miles. our industries
effected would not hc coal and iron
and glass. hut agricultural ones, lust
as great of their kind rs those along
the Mononeahela.
once the river is improved tho traf-
tie will begin to grow. the towns on
it's banks will feel the influence of
the increased business and the people
on both sides Of the stream will be
benefited by the development of a
splendid waterway through the rich
est agricultural region on earth.