The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1913-04-15
PROBLEM OF NATION
IS TO BUILD LtvEE
Proposed Mississippi Levee
System Will Cost
$58,ooO,oOo.

CAIRO. Illinois, April 15.-Extend-
ing from Cairo, Illinois, at the mouth
of the OHIO River. to the Gulf of Mex
leo, is the main trunk of the Mississ-
ippi River Into this main sewer are
led the waters from $4,000 miles OF
tributary rivers. bearing the floods
from 81 states and a part of Canada.
The states of Illinois, Missouri, Ar
kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, Miss1ss-
ippi and Louisiana lie adjacent to this
main body of the river and parts OF
these states comprise the 10000 acres
that constitute the alluvial valley OF
the Mississippi River. This alluvial
region is about 700 miles in length,
extending from just below st. Louis,
Missouri to the Gulf of Mexico, and
averages from 40 to so miles in width
Through this alluvial valley the chan
mel of the great river meanders in
tortuous course with total length OF
1865 miles, depth of from so to 100
feet, and widths varying from one to
two miles between banks When a
flood like the one that is now coming
down, is poured into this lower river
precipitately, because of the rapid run
off above due to advanced methods OF
drainage now in effect throughout the
81 states comprising the drainage ba-
sin, the natural banks are overlooked
by the water and it must be held with
sn the channel by earth embankments
or levees.
These levees now hold back the riv-
er throughout it's entire length, from
Illinois and Missouri to below New
Orleans. They are by no means COM
plete, although they have been con-
structed to their present height and
cross-section at a cost of about $780,
900, 900, two-thirds of which has been
furnished by the lands protected and
one-third by the National Government.
If they We're now completed to the
height and cross-section prescribed by
the United States Army Engineers
when the problem of flood prevention
was undertaken, there would be no
fear of these floods in this lower re-
gion, but two hundred and thirty-two
million cubic yards of earth must be
put in place before they will be COM
pleted according to the plans of the
Mississippi River Commission of En-
gineers. | mention this because so
many people, without knowing the
facts, are prone to condemn the plan
for controlling the floods by levees as
a failure. We might just as we'll con-
denim the Panama Canal as a failure
If We tried to pass ships through it
with 232,000,000 cubic yards of earth
still to be removed from Culebra Cut.
The plan to hold the flood waters in
the main channel by levees is not only
the best method of solving the prob
lem, but it is also the cheapest and
most practical.
1t is estimated by the Mississippi
River Commission that the entire
1evee system can be completed for
$5s,000,000, and that for about $780,
100000, in addition the banks can be
reverted and a permanent navigable
channel established for commerce.
Much has been spoken and written
of late concerning flood prevention in
this part of the river by the construc-
fion of reservoirs at the headwaters
of the numerous tributaries, but if
anyone will take the trouble to make
a few simple calculations, they will
soon realize how utterly impractical
this is, however strongly it may ap-
peal to them on first thought.
A volume of water is now passing
Memphis at the rate of 100000 cubic
feet per second, and it will continue
10 pass at this rate during the next
thirty days. This means S,2S0,000,OOO
cubic feet in an hour 19S.720,000, 900
in a day, 1851 500, 900 900, 900 in thirty
days, There are 27,91S.400 square
feet to the square mile. If we should
attempt to hold just half of the flood
in reservoirs. it would require LOT of