Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1913-04-16
LESSONS OF THE FLOODS.


Indiana, bringing terror. death and
Wholesale destruction of property,
reach only our sympathites, persuad-
dng us to give to the unfortunate
sufferers great object lesson will
nave been lost The fouds should
bring d message to our intelligence.
For they are not purely arbitrary
phenomena Of the old earth like a
earthquakes or the eruptions of
volcanoes. They are chiefly due to
man and bis works. Man has cut
down Wholesale the forests that pro-
1ected the headwaters of the rivers;
gnan bas barred and drained the soil,
97ntil melting snow and heavy rains
sare carried off so rapidly that we
suffer from floods which all the time
grow worse, entailing the loss of mil
Aions. Beside that IN summer many
of cur rivers fail or almost fail, in
volVing loss Of water power and in
corruption of navigation. The govern.
Qnent is spending millions in the effort
80 maintain a ninefoot stage in the
Ohio T1ver. Last week the Ohio rose
80 Z Feet a6 Cincinnati.
Nor is she destruction that we have
witnessed the worst that we have To
expect. In the history of China we
have an example of tremendous de-
vastation by flood. of loss of life be-
side which that of our recent disasters
as inoonsiderable, of fertile land wash
ed away and rocks laid bare-alI be.
cause of the complete deforestation of
anpc3a of the empire which has gone
on Gor centuries. Prof Ross in a
recent book says: If the Yellow
River is more and more 'China's
SORROW as the centuries tick off it
is because the rains run off the
edeforested slopes of its drainage basin
like water off the roof of house and
IN the wet season rolls down terrible
Hoods which burst the immense and
costly embellishments, spread like
lake over the plain and drown whole
populations. = On the possibility of
restoring this country be comments:
A policy of national conservation
wonld have availed if begun five
centuries ago. Now, however, moth
ing will meet the dire need of China.
but along scientific, recuperative treat
ament Ear more extensive and thorough
going than the most enlightened
European governments have attempt.
FD0 in
want 80 meet or to leave to our
descendants the horrors of Chinese
Hoods. Yet we are not taking enough
care to avoid them.
We are doing a little in this conn
brVe The government has certain
forest reserves, some of which are
designed to protect the head waters of
Important streams. But they do not
begin to meet the need. Among the
states Wisconsin has notably
advanced policy in her forest re. |
serves and reforestation project in
ehe northern part of the state. But
Wisconsin needs to do still more and
ut cannot be done too soon, Mr.,
Griffith, the state forester, says we
ought to have at least 1, 900, 600 acres
of forest reserve, or more than twice |
as much as we have now. In addition
he has plans for using the numerous
lakes in which northern Wisconsin is
so rich as reservoirs to store UP the
Hood waters of early spring. and while
avoiding floods, to maintain the rivers
st more nearly eqnal flow during the
year. WISCONSIN is very fortunate
IN her possession of these lakes. She
Sc fortunate also in having a great
deal of land that has not yet heen
wholly cut off and brought under
cultivation. Much of this land, and
in the region where it will be cf most
value as forest reserve is not adapted
TO agriculture, and the state can do
nothing more valuable for the next
generation than add it to its forest
reserve, carry out the plans for
using the lakes as reservoirs, and
prosecute vigorously a reforestation
policy, In time the value of the
added water power thus secured, of the
.timber and of the lake region as
great summer resort will far out
weigh the expenditure. to say moth
lng of the protection against floods
which are already bringing their
warnings with far too great
frequency.
The country has had a great lesson
Wisconsin has before it a great OPP
portunity. Will she use it for the
protection and blessing of this and
coming generations Milwaukee