The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1916-05-26
.ChAS, CARTER URGES
PETITION FOR CHANNEL
FOR RED LAKE RIVER
Hines Resident, Candidate for Legis-
lature, Writes Letter to
Editor.
FLOODS DOING MUCH -
s. DAMAGE TO LANDS
Says Settlers Are Entitled to Action
On Part of the State
Legislators.
FLOODS DOING MUCH
s. DAMAGE TO LANDS

Charles S. Carter of Hines, can
didate for representative from this
district, in a letter to the editor of
the Pioneer urges a petition of the
people to the state legislature asking
for a channel in the Red Lake river
so that floods in the Red Lake river
can be avoided. ~~
His letter is as follows:
lone of the great and difficult
problems confronting the people of
Minnesota and our section in partic-
ular is the proper control of the wa
ters of the streams running into the
Great Red Lake, the lake itself and
it's outlet, Red Lake river.
Two Million Acres.
"The country drained by the afore-
said waters comprises about two mil
lion acres of some of the most fertile
land in the state of Minnesota.
"The conditions of the water this
spring are such that it places in
jeopardy the property and in some
instances almost the. lives of settlers
in our county adjacent to said wa
ters.
1.-The people of the country affected
are entitled to action on the part of
our state legislature, which, work
ling in connection with the township
and county affected and the Federal
government, ought to work out some
plan whereby the channel of the Red
Lake river could be deepened and
widened with perhaps some building
of dykes along in Clearwater county
and other points where necessary.
Channel is Necessary.
''The draining of a large area of
swamp land adjacent to Red Lake
and the emptying, Of the water quick
ly in the spring into Red Lake has
made it absolutely necessary that
work on the deepening and widening
of the channel of the Red Lake river
can be taken up in the near future.
''The result of the quickly empty
ing of the water from the drainage
bitches into Red Lake is that, the
outlet, not being of sufficient capa-
city to carry away the additional
burden of water caused by the drain
age bitches. There is Immediately a
backing up of the waters of the lake
into all of the rivers such as the
| Batter river, Blackduck river, Tam
arack and Shotly rivers and there is
! as result large area of land owned
by the citizens of the state and the
state itself which is overfiowed and
| causes a serious loss to the hay crop
| and to transportation until the flood
tide recedes.
A Definite Program.
LET us start with a definite pro-
gram, and petition Of the people ask
ing for channel in the Red Lake
river starting from the lake and 60
ing 25 miles west which could be
made at a cost of approximately $6,'
900 per mile under the twenty-yea1
state drainage law. This woulc
mean $500 per year. The $2,5o(
per year would be paid by the state
at large under the established rule
of the state drainage department, a.
we'll as the law. $4,000 per veal
from the Federal government from
it's river and harbor fund and $4,000
from land owners from both sides o
the river, whether they be red OF
white. In the latter case this would
average about 80 cents per 4O-acrt
tract per year against the lands O
the whites or the reds