The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-09-25
CONTROL. OF THE RIVERS.


The idea Of laying out a general
system of waterways Improvement
which will lead to the control of all
the main streams of the United States
has taken form in the introduction of
two bills in Congress, one in each
House,
Senator Newlands of Nevada Is the
author of the bill which is pending in
the Senate. He would have general
system Of surveys Of all the streams in
the country, and he would provide at
the headwaters Of all the tributary
streams, reservoirs where flood waters
could be held back and used for irriga
tion and power, and later on in the sea-
son the reinforcing of the channels in
all the navigable streams OF the coun-
try. We have taken occasion hereto
fore to commend this proposition as
one that is not only excellent in itself,
but that is inevitable, and the sooner
it is undertaken the better. We say
inevitable because the flood losses are
so very great that the cost Of the work
be far less than the loss involved by
the floods. Therefore, in the applica-
ton of business sense and Judgment in
economic values, the people of this
country must come to the conclusion
that it will pay them to impouud the
waters and restrain the. floods, The
great floods in Indiana and Ohio last
year caused tremendous loss and made
a powerful argument in favor Of hand
ling the floods in this country to eco
Domic advantage In the matter of
causing this handling to pay, it is only
necessary to say that the electric ener-
gy that could be developed by the
storing Of the water and the release of
it would in itself probably pay good
interest on the investment
In the House, Speaker Clark has in
troduced bill for the control of
floods and the handling of the streams
Of this country. The bill appropriates
$20.000,000 to establish special flood
aud drainage fund, for the construction
Of drains, canals. holding basins, reser-
voirs, levces, dikes, pumping plants,
and other works needed for the control
of floods and the drainage Of over
flooded lands. The measure contem-
plates the taking charge Of operations
their floods into the great river sys-
TENS Of the country. Vast sums have
been expended and very considera
BILE portion of them wasted IN the eff
forts at flood control. The building of
new levees and the strengthening of
old ones is All annual drain upon the
resources of large communities
throughout the country. But all this
has been done by piecemeal and at
random. What is here proposed is a
scientific, systematic control, that will
in fact control.
II is to be hoped that through the
action Of Congress upon these meas
ures, both Of which appear to be prac-
tical and sound-but either would re
| quire a very large sum of money for
the complete safeguarding of tbe coun.
! try against floods-thc worl; can be
done, and that they viii receive the
favorable action OF Congress Perhaps
! the consolidation of both measures with
! the elimination Of redundance would
give us an ideal system of handling
the rivers of the country. The an
cionts handled the Nile, the Eupbrstes,
and the 'Tigris, in way that made
gardens of their valleys. But nc Brit
| ish improvement Of the Nile shows
how much more effective the handling
/ OF the Nile is now by modern methods
than was the primitive handling Of the
ancients. The Euphrates is about TO
be handled in q manner that is sure OF
like effect. The United States, in the
building Of the Panama Canal, in the
construction Of the great dam in the
Mississippi River at keolcuk, and in
various other hydraulic engineering
projects, has shown that it is not be
hind any other country in the world
in science and administrative ability
for this sort of work, There can be nc
doubt Of the practicabjlity of handling
the river systems of this country and
making them serviceablc TO the vurious