Arizona sentinel and Yuma weekly examiner., 1912-12-12

legislation necessary to put an end to the stupendous annual damage done by floods, and to provide for the bene- ficial use, for irrigation, water power and dry season navigation of the waters that now run to waste in de structive floods.
 "The watershed of the Mississippi river drainage basin alone embraces fl per cent of the area of the United States, and the control of this natural drainage system and the labor oi keeping it in order are clearly obli- gallons of the federal government.
 "The federal government should maintain an adequate levee and bank revetment system in the low states, and should supplement this protection against floods by a system of source stream control so devised as to check and minimize the formation of floods in order that flood pressure will nev- CT again be great enough to break wellbuilt levees. In controlling the source streams, the federal govern ment should utilize the freshet waters for useful purposes.
 "The national policy advocated by the Association has been embodied in the Newlands-B -Bartholdt River Regula- tion bill, which appropriates $50, 0,000- 900, year for ten years for forest preservation, river regulation and flood prevention in all it's phases. That amount may seem large, but the preventable floods in the drainage basin of the Ohio river alone is es- timated to be at least $50,800, 900, and that is every year, year after year. The damage caused by the great flood of 1912, in the Mississippi Valley, has probably exceeded $250,O00,Q00 and that damage, though felt first by the local merchants and bankers is, in the last analysis. distributed back to every business, manufacturing and banking interest in the United States.
 Therefore, in urging every finan- cial and commercial concern in the United States to bear a hand in en- larging the influence and membership of the National Reclamation Associa- tion, the organization is merely sug- gesting plan of universal benefit to those concerns. The initiative in such great movement must originate somewhere.
 "The plan submitted for considera- tion, and which after revision has re- ceived the absolute approval of the leading merchants and bankers of New Orleans, and of many leading manufacturers of other states, is that those financial and commercial con- cerns which are interested in direct ly expanding the trade and investment opportunities of the valley country, and, indirectly, in eniarging the na- tional commerce, become members of  the National Reclamation Association, paying an annual membership of twen- ty dollars, and cooperate to secure the indorsement of the Newlands- Bartholdt River Regulation bill by chambers of commerce. boards of trade, financial organizations. etc, pIeq eq ol eousIeJuoo eq1 2B eougpaea -lB eAnBlueseIdsI slomoId ol pUB at New Orleans, January and 3, 1913, to carefully consider every suggestion that may then be presented for the modification or improvement of the Newlands-B -Bartholdt River Regulation | bill.
 ''This most important matter direct | ly affects every jobber and manufac- turer, therefore practically every bank CT and financial institution in the | United States, For this reason. the of every business man and banker is solicited"