The Blackfoot optimist. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1907-1918, 1914-09-10
NEWS FROM THE
NATIONAL CAPITOL

Federal Aid for Snake River Floods
Washington, D. c., Sept. 1.-Sena-
tor Brady has taken up with the
Interior Department the question of
controlling the waters Of the Snake
River in the Upper Snake River Val
ley from where the South Fork comes
out of tie canyon to the Buttes
twenty miles below. The river flows
on a very flat grade for the first
twenty miles out of the canyon and
in this twenty miles are located the
head-gates of thirty-one canals wa
tering an area of over two hundred
and fifteen thousand acres Of land.
Senator Brady impressed upon the
Department that it costs thousands
Of dollars each year for the farmers
to protect their homes, and their
head-gates from the flood wators;
and then costs thousands of dollars
in the fall to build temporary dams
across the several channels to secure
permanent dams being almost i'm
possible and impracticable because
of the shifting conditions of the
river channels. Besides the people
spending thousands and thousands OF
dollars each year to protect their
canals and their homes, the county
has replaced one bridge five times
in the past twelve years, the last
bridge and grade costing $4,000.
The Oregon Short Line Railroad
has spent many thousands of dollars
In money in order to protect the
bridge and grade. At one time the
Oregon Short Line was compelled to
place two hundred car leads of rock
within a distance of four hundred
feet in order to protect it's property.
Some farmers have had hevaypersonal
loss, some losing their farm buildings
and others having portions OF their
land actually cut away by the river
in flood time Senator Brady is urS-
ing the Department to have a sur
vey made locating permanent chan
mel of sufficient capacity to carry the
flood waters from the canyon for
twenty miles to tho Duties. This
survey is necessary to enable the
government engineers to make =
proper estimate of the cost and
feasibility of the work.
Senator Brady called the attention
of the Department to the fact that
they are voting $53,OO0,O00 this year
for the improvement of rivers and
harbors, and that $7O0,O0O,OOO has
been spent on this work and al.
though the Snake river in connection
with the Columbia, is the second
largest river in the United States,
and the seventh largest river in the
world, yet there has been no money
spent in order to keep the Snake
river within it's proper channel, while
in one instance in Tennessee S.
100000 is being appropriated this
year for river that has very little
more traffic on it than the Snake
river, and where it actually costs $50
per ton for the freight moved on it,
Yet the Government refuses to spend
few thousand dollars in order to
protect the homes of the people by
keeping the Snake river in its pro-
per channel.
Senator Brady claims that if the
Government is going to control that
river under its conservative policy
it ought at least to keep the water
within it's proper channels.
In speaking of the matter Senator
Brady said: THE Government will
either fix Snake river from the
canyon to the Buttes as it should
be fixed or our Eastern friends will
have whole lot of trouble in So
curing some of the unwarranted ap-
preparations they are asking for in
order to improve rivers that do not
deserve improvement one-half as
much as the Snake river l believe
in the end this work will be- done
and when it is done it will result
in the saving of thousands and thous-
ands of dollars to our citizens every
year"
No Salary for Absent Congressman