The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1916-04-10
OPSAHL ASKS FOR
PROTECTION FOR
FARMERS FROM FLOODS
Congressman Lindbergh is Asked to
Watch Soil Tillers'
Interests.
UPPER MISSISSIPPI OVERFLOWS
AND DAMAGES MUCH LAND
Representative Interviews Major Peek
and Gives Army Mans
Version.
UPPER MISSISSIPPI OVERFLOWS
AND DAMAGES MUCH LAND

In an effort to utilize the vast wa
ters in the reservoirs at the head of
the Mississippi for manufacturing
and power purposes without permit
ting them to overflow and damage
many thousands of acres, J. ]. Op-
sahl OF this city, working in har-
mony with the idea advocated at the
December meeting of the Northern
Minnesota Development association
here, has asked Congressman c.. A.
Lindbergh for assistance and infor-
nation.
Writes to Lindbergh.
I'm the bill that you have before
the committee" wrote Opsahl to
Lindbergh, regarding those reser-
voirs, would ask you to be sure and
provide for the lowering of the chan
mel between the dams to the lakes
at each one of those reservoirs, so
that during the winter they can be
properly emptied. At the outlet of
Leech lake, at Federal Dam, at pres
ent over a mile is chOked up so that
the reservoir could not be emptied.
am glad to see the engineers admit
the Importance of lowering the win
ter stage in order to take care of the
spring floods. What we should at
tempt to do with these natural and
very important reservoirs is to pro-
vide so that water can be used for
and navigation without waste, but
it should be borne in mind that the
most important industry is agri-
culture.
IF the war department or any
Federal department takes steps that
will undermine agricultural develop
ment and prosperity, or in other
words, retard or destroy the farmers
Icrops, neither navigable rivers nor
industrial water power sites will be
of any great benefit, for the reason
that in order to handle and manage
either the navy or army, food is the
most necessary product. An army
and navy is needed to protect rich
and prosperous agricultural country,
but if nothing but a desert or an
overflowed waste tract of land that
will not raise crops, we need no pro-
lection from outside nations. On
that account in handling our reser
voir systems, the Federal government
should first consider the welfare of
the men who provide our food and
clothing, and next, maintain naviga-
BILE streams in passable shape, and
third, that all waste or food waters
should be taken care of so as not to
overflow the farmer"
What Maj. Peek Said.
Congressman Lindbergh called up
on Maj. E. D. Peek of the United
States engineering corps at st. Paul,
who replied:
"It is fact that the snowfall this
winter at the headwaters of the Mis-
siSsippi has been greater than for
many years and in tho region Of the
re servoirs there was an average
depth Of 25 feet.
*'Pokegama, Sandy Lake, Pine
River and Gull Lake reservoirs have
been steadily drawn down all winter,
and by April 1, practically empty,
Winnibigoshish and Leech Lake res
ervoirs should have combined
storage capacity of 26,000,000,000
cubic feet, which is believed to be
ample to hold the surplus from the
winter and spring precipitation
around these reservoirs.
| "The weather has been favorable
so far from a gradual run off of the
snowfall, comparatively warm in the
day and freezing at night. If this
continues for few weeks, as it usu-
ally does, it will reduce the flood pos
sibilities materially. Rapidly melt
ing snow or rains might mean a flood
but it would not be the fault OF the
reservoirs fact, they would have
a tendency. to reduce the height OF
any that might occur"