The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1913-04-18
FEDERAL CONTROL OF RIVER
UNDERTAKING IS STUPEN-
DOUS.

UNDERTAKING ID olIFEN-
DOUS.
Washington. D. c., April IA COM
~prehensive and logical plan for national
care 0! the Mississippi River was pro-
posed to Congress this afternoon by
Senator Ransdell Of louisiana and Rep
resentatiye Humphreys Of Mississippi.
1t involves the expenditure Of $50, 00O,-
900 by the United States government,
extended over a period Of five years.
Each year 50. 600. 900 is to be expended
on the Mississippi between Cape Girs-
deau and the head Of the passes.
The bill. after reciting in the pream-
bic that the control of the floods of the
Mississippi River is q national problem
with which the states unaided cannot
cope. and which causes such enormous
loss of life and property that an obi
CATION is imposed which al be dis
charged only by the national govern
! ment, provides for an appropriation of
s12. 900. 900 for the next fiscal year and
a like sum for the four succeeding
years, making q total of $50. 000, 900, Of
which SO. 200, 900 per annum shall be
expended by the Mississippi River
! Commission in the protection, repair
and construction of levees south of Cape
Giradeau. Mo, and the remainder in
the construction and repair Of bank re-
yetment and works in the interest Of
navigation below Cairo. This would
make a total for levees in five years Of
45. 900. 600 and Sl5. 900, 900 during the
same period for maintaining the eleya-
ton Of the river, making the banks
thereof permanent.
Section three of the bill provides that
no money herein authorized to be ap-
propriated shall be expended in any
established levee district in the con-
struction or repair of levees therein,
! unless and until assurances have been
| given satisfactory to the commission
that local interests protected thereby
will contribute for such construction
and repair a sun equal to one-third of
such sum as may have been allotted by
the commission for such work; provid-
ed that such contributions shall be ex-
pended under the direction of the COM
mission and in such manner as it may
require or approve, but no contribu-
tons made by any state oil levee dis
trict shall be expended in any other
state or leyee district, except with the
approval of the authorities OF the state
or district so contributing.
If this bill be passed by Congress, it
would provide a sum for levee con-
struction on the Mississippi of 50, 000,-
600 per annum for five years, aggre-
eating s45, 900, 900, conditioned upon the
contribution from the local authorities
of three million dollars per annum for
the last four years of the period, ag-
gregating $l2, 900, 900, or a total for
levee construction in the next five
years of $57, 900, 900. In the opinion of
the Mississippi River Commission, this
sum will so enlarge and strengthen
the levees as TO give protection against
any food which may reasonably be ex-
pected. 1t will be noted that the local
communities and states interested will
be required to contribute one fourth of
the expense of levee construction after
the first year. They have in the past
been contributing a larger percentage
towards levees than this, and the
friends of the river in Congress believe
that a continuance of local contribution
at least to the extent of one-fourth is
necessary to insure the passage of this
act.
Every friend of the valley can sup
port this bill, for it promises immediate
relief and levees are an essential part
of every plan to control floods on the
Mississippi that has been suggested.
If future investigation shows that ad-
ditional security can be given against
these awful disasters by source stream
control, forestry, reservoirs, or in any
other way. it will be gladly welcomed.
For the present, however, levees
must be relied upon, because they have
been practically the only means of
food prevention not only on the Mis-.
sissippi. but on many other rivers in
the old world for ages, and the situa-
ton is so grave that resort can not be
had to experiments which may or may
not be successful and which ever if
successful will require a great many
years to be worked out and tested.
nDTrTrTcT I'VE MpNIL'V pArU