The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1915-12-14
RIVER TANNING
is TOLD ABOUT

came Immediately and most practical
ly to my attention on trip made IL
the late spring to the lower vale!
OF the Colorado river. On the Arizo
ma side of this river the government
is retaining thed esert. That low
land will grow almost anything. from
dates to alfalfa. Its most helpful
friend. ard Its unrelnting enemy, too
Is the river itself. for without the
river II would return to cactus ant
sage. Yet the river is so jealous Of
Its freedom that 1t yearly attempt.
with violence. and by insidious meth
DDS as well, TO reclaim for itself each
root OF the land taken from 1t.
On the opposite side OF the river
the California side. the river Is helt
In by mountains until 1t has reached
the Mexican line. There. by a capric
Gus turn. 1t deserts its old-occustom
ed channel and flows westward into
what was once lake. but Is now lit
tie more than morass, and SO slowl,
iinds its way to the Gulf OF Califor
mia. Immediately northward OF this
westward ben in the river is the I'M
pcrial valley, which has lately beer
used by several novelists to illustrate
the heroic struggle of man with ma
ture. For this valley was once /:
sea itself. and has indeed left sor
OF rudimentary sea in lake known
as the Salton sea. The fruitful sol
OF this valley. hundreds OF feet deep
Is the silt of the Colorado. the de
posted wash IA thousand miles Of
mountain channel. Each June. whei
the SHOWS OF the Rockies melt. III.
Colorado river, resenting the limita
tions which man has set up for 1t
presses with two strong shoulder
against both sides Of its prescribe,
banks. like Porthos under the SLOW
caving of the earth. And as long n!
that flood comes. the people on boil
sides must watch the work as thu
llollanders hove done.
Two District Schools.
There are two district and aggres
sive schools of thought on this mat
ter of keeping the Colorado river II
its place. One is for sending tn,
river willy-nilly down the old chan
mel. The other is for letting the rive
live its own life. but keeping it off tn,
preserves. One may be termed til,
absolutist therory and the other tn,
democratic theory. Congress has thu
far committed itself to the latter
And this year, when danger threaten
ed. Congress joined in raising fun,
TO keep the river from forcing It,
way north into the Imperial valley
and this work was successfully exc
cuted under this department by til,
former chief OF engineers OF tn,
United States army, General w. L
Marshall. No one. however. believe
that The work is at an end or that w
have done more than put goo,
patch upon It.
Now, far above this point OF dan
ger there are thousands of squar,
miles OF land that need but the waite
OF the Colorado river to make then
as fruitful as the land OF the Sal
Joaquin or the Salt River valley. w,
need to catch that water when 1t i
young, soon after 1t has been Dor,
from the SHOWS. There. in mountail
valleys, II should he kept for tim,
and. as needed. led into the peaceful
paths OF usefulness. And on tina
! problem the Reclamation Service i
working, The difficulty is to fin.
large reservoir areas.
4 This instance Is cited to show hoy
intimately the matter of flood contro
and Of reclamation are bound to
gether. The problem extends from
sea TO sea. When we come eastwar,
TO the Missouri and the. Mississippi
rivers for example. we find that Il
their PIPER reaches the lands need tn
waters. while in their lower reache
the lands must be saved from IN
waters.
No one can take the yearly toll O
lives lost and property destroyed b.
the furious and unrestrained swee
OF the rivers without realizing tina
the people of this country cannot re
gard themselves as owning this land
really possessing 1t. until they hay
brought these waters under subjec
ton. And in doing this they will III
orally create new land by the million
of acres, lands that will support mil
lions OF people as against the thous
ands which live upon II today. An
| 50 rus this WIFI
out authority. for year ago We CT
joyed the value Of visit from til
renown builder OF the Assuan dan
Sir William Willcocks, who has sper
his life in India, Mesopotamia an
Egypt rs river tanner. And after b
had seen our problems he sighed wit
regret that 1t might not be his fol-
tune TO see the day that he said woul
surely come. when the valley OF til
Mississippi would be another vale
OF the Nile. only greater In area an
more perfectly adapted to the whit
mans life.
Why the Who's Burden Today.
How these great works can be ca,
ried on calls for constructive though
not merely on the engineering sid
but more Immediately upo nthe fina1
cial side as to those ways and mean
q