The Bemidji daily pioneer., 1915-09-16
LlNDBERGH COMPLETES
RIVER TRIP
Continued from first page).

RIVER TRIP
Continued from first page).
work to aid in building up the sur
rounding communities as we'll as to
preserve the forests. 4n
Mississippi is Valuable.
In our average daily thoughts we
Mimi esotans do not credit with
much value the upper Mississippi and
its tributaries. In fact, in several
OF our northern counties an import
ant rural population looks upon these
as calamity bringers. Many farmers
fix up their meadows and plant their
crops in valleys and the flood waters,
with almost equal regularity, dam
age or destroy them. Then there
are the water power companies along
the streams
Waters Are Damaged.
They desire regularity in the wa
ter flow, but are frequently damaged
by flood waters. The only interest
that looks complacently upon the
high stage of water are the nav1ga-
tors, yet they are of least Importance
SO far as the headwaters affect
things.
For several years have inquired
into the circumstances surrounding.
the farming, power and other inter-
ests, so this year, in order to become
more familiar with the physical con-
ditions than had been able to do on
my previous trips, determined to-
visit as many sectional places affect
ed as I could. Coming down the
Mississippi from it's source constitu-
ted one of the trips, and this one
have just finished =:'.
Navigation Important. :.
The boat navigation on the upper
Mississippi is of neglible Importance
compared with either the farming or
the water power interests. The farm
ers and the power companies require
a regular flow. The same would be
true of boat navigation on the upper
Mississippi. but the trouble is that
the attempt is being made to use the
upper Mississippi to regulate the wa
ters farther. down. -
Private Dams.
In the days of Minnesota timber
kings, which are now becoming past
history, they required spring and
summer waters of unusual quantity
to bring down their logs. Their sep
arate holdings were pretty well con-
fined to sections reached mostly by
small tributary streams. These they
individually damned for their pri-
vate use and under a law were Ii
censed to charge a toll to others
wishing to sluice. z*:;
Then it came to the Mississippi,
the stream was too large for even
lumber kings to deal with alone, SO
they got parties down the river from
St. Paul on into the state south.
bordering on the river to make a de
mand of the government for the con-
struction of dams to form reservoirs
on the headwaters to aid navigation.
Appropriation Large: '>.>
They secured appropriations of
many millions of dollars to build
dams. A policy was fixed by con-
gress, and the war department en-
gineers were instructed to follow the
policy laid down to fit the logging
interests. In other words, it was
navigation for logs. I have exam
ined as closely as I could into the
engineering work and so far as am
able to get at it, all the engineers
are honest and doing as effectively
as they can, the work that was laid
out for, them. They have no other
AAoCA uSCAOAo CAoA "AoC al . ouE 0ASCu
from the loggers' interests, and being
army officers, and getting their in
structions from proper government
sources, they have absolutely disre-
garded everything else. II
If there is to be a changed policy,
it must come from public demand
and be impressed upon the engineers
from the proper source, but now for.
public purpose and the general well
fare. 80 H.. .-......~.
Six Government Dams.
There are six, we'll constructed
government dams. have examined
all but the Sandy Lake dam, and will
examine that later. They can be
used to serve the public with great
value, but, in fact, as now used, are
a damage. ss.>., ~se-ss .* 81
: The waters of the state can be
controlled by dams and reservoirs to
help agriculture, water power and
navigation and to some extent for
estry, but to do so requires that the