The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1912-05-25

A NATIONAL PROBLEM,

Il lBhl lljllHL r1UDLEM,
: Louisiana Reclamation Club ThinL
J. Fedora! Government Should a
Q sumo Control Of Mississippi Riv4
/ Levee System and Guarantee pr
lection Against Overflow.
4 A nationwide campaign to Undue
+ the federal government to buiIt
: control and permanently maintai
T the Mississippi river levee syster
l vas launched at q recent meetin
IN New Orleans of the Louisiana
tReclamation Club Sentiment RAJ
nigh at the meeting in favor of al
outlet system in addition to tht
levees, and George H. Maxwell, il
stirring talk, exhorted the supper
of all loyal citizens of the Missis
slppi valley in getting the New1ands
/ river regulation bill enacted as q
law.
/ sThe levees," Mr.. Maxwell said
must be made as strong as they
can be built. The river must be kept
in it's channel by reYetments and
| bank protection work, and all @caying
OF the banks must be stopped; but
When all that has been done, the
leyees must be supplemented by a
! system for controlling the floods at
heir source. Floods in the Missis-
slppl river must be prevented by irri-
eating millions of acres of arid lands
from great flood water canals, and
| floods in the Ohio river must be pre-
| vented by the reservoir system advo-
| Gated by the Flood Commission of
P1ttsburg.
Whenever that has been done,
and it is all provided for in the New
lands river regulation bill, then, and
not until then, will a home behind a
leyee in the Mississippi river be
safe from the. floods
The following resolutions, offered
by Mr.. Maxwell, were unanimously
adopted and will be given wide
distribution:
Where's, throughout a wide ex-
tent of country that is comprised
within the trade territory Of New Or
leans the great flood of 1912 in the
Mississippi valley has made thousands
homeless, ruined crops, drowned live
stock, destroyed buildings and i'm
sproYements, and will seriously retard
the advancement and development of
that territory; and,
Whereas, every business man and
property owner in New Orleans will
feel the loss from this great disaster
"a deereas
deferred collections, educed property
values. stagnation of trade and less
ened demand for real estate; and,
Whereas, the danger of a recur-
renee of such disasters is a menace
TO the prosperity, growth and devel-
opment of New Orleans, and such
danger can only be permanently re-
moved through the adoption by the
congress of the United States Of a
broad national policy under which
the federal government will in fu-
ture guarantee protection against
overflow by taking over and main
tanning the 1evee systems as nation
al Notifications against invasion by
the destroying forces of nature, just
as 1t now maintains military and ma
val forces and builds Notifications
as defenses against foreign invasion;
and,
Whereas, the construction of |
the great engineering works and res
ervoirs that would store the floods
Of the Ohio river and thereby aid |
in affording protection from overflow |
in the lower Mississippi valley, is
warranted by the benefits therefrom
10 the Ohio valley alone in flood pre-
Vention, Incidental power develop
ment AND navigation, and a SINH
lar policy is likewise justified in the
Missouri valley for the same reasons
and also because the water there
may be used for the irrigation of mil |
lions of acres Of arid lands; and,
Whereas, in no possible way can
the construction of such works for I
headWater control of the floods in the
territory of their origin do otherwise
than benefit the lower Mississippi |
valley by regulating the flow of the
river, thereby improving it for navi-
gation and giving additional security
and protection against floods; and,
Whereas, the steadily increasing
volume and rising flood plane Of the
floods in the lower Mississippi val
ley has been largely caused by the /
changed conditions Of the water
shed in the states comprising the
drainage basin of the Ohio, up-I
per Mississippi and Missouri rivers,
and those conditions and causes
are beyond the control Of the
states bordering the Mississippi river
from Cairo to the gulf ana can only /
be controlled by the federal govern
ment; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the federal fovern-
ment should Immediately extend such
temporary relief as may be necessary
10 repair the broken levees and to
maintain them in future, and to con-
srol the river In its channel by reyet-
nents and bank protective works
which will safeguard against the de-
struction Of levees by caying banks
md shifting channels.
Resolved further. That in working
tut plans for flood prevention and
he protection OF the loWlands Of the