Evening star., 1914-07-19
River Regulation
Plan Criticised.

Va
a new policy is the claim Of Judson G.
Wall. chairman of the committee on soil
erosion of the American Association for
| the Advancement Of Science. A report
by Mr. Wall to his association showing
the relation between flood prevention
and the nations food supply has been
received and is now being studied by
officials of the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture who are interested
in the conservation Of soils and by men,
bers Of the Engineer Corps Of the United
States Army who have charge of river
improvements.
Mr.. Wallis theory is that the proper
policy for the government Is to prevent
conditions which result in floods, and
that policy which includes only the
building of levees to prevent floods after
they have a start Is radically wrong
He complains that the government by
allowing flood waters to accumulate and
rush toward the sea during the season
when the snow is melting and producing
freshets is permitting the food producing
power of the soil to be reduced by three
different methods. the loss Of top soil
by erosion, the robbing of the upland
OF moisture which is greatly needed later
IN the season by maturing crops and the
waters.
me government appropriates millions
or dollars for river improvements and
hood prevention" says Mr.. Wall, yet,
ho.witnstandlng NOW this. we continue to
lives and the destruction Of property
valued at more than 100000, 900 a year
over a ten-year period. The building
of levees in an effort to protect the
banks of river from overflow is radi-
caily wrong. The levee system has been
tried on the Hoang river in China for
thousands Of years and has failed there.
Men who have studied the subject
scientifically believe that the proper
rivers and the waste of water during
the period of freshets is by the construc-
ton of reservoirs at the source Of
streams and digging enough diversion
canals for frrigating purposes and rails
ing the underground water level; in 9TH
er words. to catch the water where 1t
falls instead of letting it rush off on
the land. eroding the soil and causing
floods.
"Such a scientific system of flood pro-
lection has been given consideration by
various authorities and Is now covered
in the so-called Newlands flood preven-
ton bill. introduced in the United States
Senate by Senator Francis H. Newlands
of Nevada Any legislation for the
regulation of rivers must recognize the
absolute necessity Of conserving the food
supply of the nation. which Is in immi-
nent danger from the waste Of water
ana from tHe waste Oh rlCn SOIL Dy CRU
sion. The nation has enough land to
produce food to supply billion people.
but we can produce nothing without
| water
"wastefulness Is our national sin.
Wastefulness of time, of money and OF
our natural resources. We cannot con-
tinue to waste water through floods and
waste the soil by erosion.
"It is estimated that one and quarter
billions Of silt are deposited annually in
the Mississippi river. OF this amount
600 OOO, 900 tons of the richest soil known
flow through the mouth of the river and
the other 65O,OO0OOO tons remain to- fill
up the channel. This 65O,OO0O0O tons
which must be continually dredged In or
der to maintain the navigability of the
river is two and one-half times more
than the amount excavated in digging the
Panama canal"
The United States Department of Agri-
culture has already decided to make
study Of the methods used by Col. Free
man Thorpe of the Minnesota Horticul-
tural Society. who. on a large expert
mental farm near the headwaters of the
Mississippi river, has demonstrated that