The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1913-04-10
LANES PLAN TO
PREVENT FLOODS
Would Have All Streams Made
Deeper.
BIG RECLAMATION PROJECT

Secretary of the Interior Explains How
Channels of Mississippi Valley Wa
terways Might Be Greatly Improved.
Too Great a Task For Individual
States to Undertake.
Franklin *. Lane. secretary of the
interior. recently detailed to a CORE
spondent a plan for preventing such
floods as devastated Ohio and Indiana.
The plan, which presents itself to the
head of the department of the interior
chiefly as an enormous reclamation .
project. hinges on the deepening and
widening of the channels of all .
streams liable to food conditions.
Mr.. Lane hopes to see the idea car
ried out through the cooperation of .
the federal government. with the aid
of the states Immediately endangered. /.
The engineering in connection with
channels is directly in the hands of
the war department, and Mr.. Lane
takes no exception to that. But be I
cause of its reclamation features the
plan be outlines falls within the juris-
diction of his department
Aside from the perpetual protection
against food which he believes his
plan would give to settlers in low re-
gions. there are widespread districts
along. the Mississippi and many other
rivers that would be thrown open to
settlement The land thus reclaimed
from the swamps might go a Tong
way. in Mr. Lanes opinion. to REIN
burse the states for the appropriations
they would be called upon to make.
What Constitutes Reclamation.
1.-The reclamation service" said the
secretary Of the interior. usually is re-
garded as relating 10 the arid lands of
the west which are reclaimed by bring
ing water from the mountains. but in
another way reclamation is n great
problem in the Mississippi valley and
the east Here. Of course. the land is
not arid and there is no scarcity of
water. But the water is to be removed
from the land. and that is as fit subject
I for reclamation work as that now be
ing carried on in the desert lands out
west.
ed lands, however, to be of real value.
! must be preceded by systematic work
on the channels of the streams drain
ing the areas to be improved. The dis
aster at Dayton illustrates the point
The trouble was simply that the neck
of the bottle was too small for the wa
alter to run out The rain fell in tor
rents, and with no unobstructed chan
mel to the sea the water simply backed
up over the river banks. The rain
storm. l know, was phenomenal and
even with the system l have suggested
would have doubtless resulted in ma
teriaI damage and the loss of some
lives. But flood conditions reappear
every spring in some noticeable way.
and my plan would obYiate most Of
the resulting damage.
A National Problem.
1T will not do for Ohio or Indiana
or even the two states together to
spend their money generously In clear
ing the beds Of the streams within
their boundaries. That would merely
carry the dood more swiftly TO the
state lines to the south. and the water
would back more anErily than ever
into what would quickly be great
lakes. The thing is too large for the
states alone a harmonious. scientific
system must be worked out by the fed
eral authorities. and the states must
then make their contributions in the
way that will do the most good to the
whole valley affected"
How this cooperation between the
federal and state governments might
be effected Mr. Lane Illustrated by
plans now pending before his depart
ment for cooperating with the state
of Oregon in retaining 10000 acres OF
arid land The land is under the gov.
ernment's ownership-as the rivers
would be under the governments jul
risdiction-and the government enGi-
neers of the reclamation service are
asked to do the work. The state OF
Oregon supplies the water and contrib
utes S450.000 to the work. A similar
sum may be put forward by the recla
nation service. but on the understand
ing that the sale of reclaimed lands
will liquidate the obligations assumed
by the United States.
Use of Panama Machinery.
In one of the many tentative plat
forms at the first Chicago convention
last summer there was a strong plans
. for the protection of the settlers along
the banks of the Mississippi river. II
called for the utilization of the ma
chinery now in use on the Panama ca
nal for the great work of dredging the
Mississippi, Missouri and Ohio rivers
q
the Panama machinery would be found
quite fit for the work. The machinery
is designed chiefly for dry land work
while the plan he outlined calls fol
much dredging in running streams.
A comprehensive plan for treating
the river problem is that of Senator