Lower coast gazette., 1913-06-21

larger.
The River Problem.
The high river of 1912 and the unexpected
high water of 1913, have made the problem OF
river control an extremely serious one in the
~alluvial sections of Louisiana. A few weeks
ago we attended an editorial meeting at Shreve-
port, Louisiana and went there by the Red
River Line of railway. At Angola, above
Bayou Sara, the train was run on to a steel
barge that ordinarily transfers the train across
the river at that point. In this case the barge
entered the mouth Of Old River at Red River
Landing and went into the interior something
over twenty miles, a considerable part of which
was over a public road, wherein the water was
some 6 feet deep, and the barge with it's ac-
companying tow boat was propelled over this
road to a point on the railway where the trans
fer to the track was conveniently made above
the line of submergence. The water that over
flowed that part of the state was what was ex-
pected to flow in front of New Orleans, but it
seems to have gone down the Atchafalaya and
lIlSCCdu Ol 1dVlllS d lUOl llSllCL WoCCA A "
Orleans than previously, the water did not at
tain tie height of last year.
These floods are exciting the interest and,
perhaps we may say, the sympathy OF the
whole country and it is manifest that extra
ordinary efforts should be made to prevent such
inundations. The suggested remedy proposed
by those we believe who have not made a very
serious study of the case is the retention OF the
water at it's sources far up in the Rocky Noun
tains in the arid country and its utilization there
for irrigation and water power and its subse-
quent discharge when it can safely be sent out
to sea in it's ordinary channel.
We have no desire to enter into an elaborate
argument against the t~so-called NeWlands bill.
We may come to that some time later on. We
are led to this present writing from what we
now see and that is that the retention of all
the water Of the Mississippi Valley within its
levee system has this very season been made a
practical success within the limits of the Mis-
sissippi Valley with fewer crevasses than ever
before. This shows that the water can be re-
strained and retained within, the limits OF the
leyees and that such retention has so accelerat-
ed the discharge of the water of the Mississippi
Valley that we now On the Lower Coast are
failing to have a competent supply OF water
with which to irrigate our rice crops. Scores OF
our planters are driven to, the necessity of pur-
chasing ilrigating machinery and are Jumping
water from the river on to the lands and for
crops that may not pay these increased exper-
SEES. In the older days when we had high wat
ers, as in 1882 and 1884 in particular, the water
devastating much of the country above, it's dis
charge to the sea was prolonged to the autumn
and we frequently reached October with the
river sufficiently high to irligate the low land
and only in October, November and December
would we have a low river. We are now in
June and the water las fallen nine feet at New
Orleans and on the Lower Coast the irrigation
CT cur low lying rice fields is becoming very
difficult ard irrigation apparstuses are being
put in in many places.
An incident of this irrigation is the utiliza-
ton Of the gas engines as the motive power for
driving the irrigating pumps. This Is quite a
step in advance. The wonderful improvement
in gasoline engines has rendered them suitable
for such use and the steam boiler, the neces-
sary adjunct of all irrigation hitherto, is thus
dispensed with entirely. AS long as our old
steam apparatuses are on hand we shall doubt
less use more or less Of them, but the introduce
ton Of gasoline promiser to gradually super
sede the use of steam for this purpose. Let US
hope that those who are spending their money
for irrigation in this unexpected low water
! season will be reimbursed by a bountiful crop.
E -r~m~r~un@w
The effort to prevent the evasion Of state
wide prohibition laws by interstate commerce
in LIQUOR has met a long series Of obstacles. The