The weekly Iberian. (New Iberia, La.) 1894-1946, 1914-04-18

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said Mr.. Broussard to day. II
this way a greater and create
proportion of the drainage of th
Mississippi watershed comes dow
IN the shape of floods, and a small
er and smaller proportion in th
ishape Of dry season flow. This
Of course, means higher and highe
flo0d levels in the spring and low
er water to float boats on and cup
ply under ground moisture duriD
the remainder of the year.
"Meanwhile, the food fighter
in the Lower Mississippi vale,
have to fight harder and harder
and to raise their levees highe
and higher.
! "S0me years ago we of the Low
er Mississippi Valley succeeded i,
getting the Federal Governmen
to help us build and MAINTAIN tn,
levees.
"Since, the river and flood prob
lem of the remainder of the coun
try have, like our own flood prob
lem, become more acute.
"Lasb year the Ohio Valley suf
fered enormously. This year Cal
ifornia and the Far West have
had their share of the food trou
bles.
"In between, Texas and otbe,
states have complained bitterly OF
the damage done by drought.
sit would therefore appear tha,
the river and food problem is a
national one, and should be deal,
with in a national way; that Lou
lsiana and Mississippi and Arkan
sas should join with Ohio, Nilsson
ri, West Virginia, Illinois, Indi
ana, Pennsylvania and Ken,uok =
aud these in turn should JON with
other flood troubled states, aud all
the food menaced states should
join with the drought troubled
states, and, ia solid phalaDx,
ask theFederal Congress to era
ble the Federal Government to
treat the water problem of the
country as q national problem and
solve it in a national way as it
solved the Panama Canal problem.
"Thls is the national policy of
the Democratic Party, the Party
in power, as embodied iD the River
and Flood plank Of the 1912 Plat.
form.
1.-The Newlands Broussard River
Regulation and Flood Prevention
Bill, which Newlands introduced
in the Senate and introduced in
the House, Immediately after the
Rivers and Harbors Committee of
the House had rejected the Rams
dell Levee BllD simply translates
the Democratic party pledges into
scientific legislative form.
"lt treats the river and flood
problem Ia national way.
at does not require the Govern
mont TO favor one section as
against another.
s'In brief, here is what the bill
will accomplish:
by giving the Executive De-
partment Of the Government the
authority to initiate and the money
to carry ont any plans and projects
it may find necessary to solve the
river and food problems of the
countrv, enough of the water that
now goes to waste in destructive
floods will be soaked into the
ground in aid Of agriculture, or
impOunded in artificial reservoirs
and used for irrigation, for the
creation of hydr0-electric power,
and for the feeding of stream flow
IN the dry season, to prevent such
great foods as those Of 1912 and
1918 In the Mississippi Valley
from forming.
"In this way a local benefit, in
the shape Of lower food levels,
will accrue to the Lower Mississip-
pi Valley as a result of work done
by the Federal Government in q
national way for the benefit of the
country at large.
.'Of course, We must have ievees
. 'ong the Lower Mississippi River,
and bank revetments to protecf
those leyees from caving into the
river, and controlled outlets and
spillways so that the Lower river
can get relief whenever there is
too much water coming down it's
channel.
ION this score, the Newlan0s-
Brouseard Bill says: provided,
however, Tat the control of the
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