New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1918-04-10
FLOOD CONTROL IS
UPHELD IN STATE
LAW PASSED BY LEGISLATURE
HELD ONALBY
SUPREME COURT
FARMERS IN RED RIVER VALE
WILL NOW HAVE HELP IN
SOLVING PROBLEM

By its decision handed down Friday
morning declaring constitutional the
act passed by tie 1917 Legislature
known as the Flood Control ano
Drainage Laws, the State Supreme
Court handed down a decision which
is regarded of special importance and
may be far-reaching in it's effects. The
law was attacked mainly on the ground
that it delegated unwarranted leg
islative functions and powers to the
judiciary as a whole. Other objections
on constitutional grounds to minor
provisions of the law either do not effect
it's validity as whole or are plainly
without merit in the opinion of the
Supreme Court. By this decision the
order of the lower court establishing
the Minnesota Valley Drainage and
Flood Control district in Bigstone,
Swift and Lac qui Parle counties is
affirmed.
Project Ten Years Old
1t is now fully 10 years ago that the
first efforts were made to obtain relief
from the annual flooding of the farms
in the bottoms all along the Minnesota
River from New Ulm almost down to
the Mississippi. DR.. Fritsche who has
from the start taken keen interest in
this food control work tells the Re-
view that if an account of all the work
done to obtain relief were published it
would make quite a spectable-slzed
hook.
Aid of Congress Sought
Efforts we're centered at first upon
getting relief or support from the Leg
islature of the state. Altho the Leg
islature made no money appropriation
Trey did appoint committee to 60 to
Washington and present the whole pro-
ject to Congress and there the matter
was fought out for many sessions. The
original movement which aimed at
food control was known as the Mime
sofa River Improvement League and
farmers near New Ulm, in Nicollet
County, Blue Earth County and as
far down the Minnesota river as Shak-
opee were members of the organization.
As a result of the demands for federal
aid, engineers we're sent out to make
complete and careful survey OF the
Minnesota river and to make report.
These engineers reported to the War
Department and upon the recommended
ton of the War Department Congress
did appropriate the sum OF $750,000
toward the drainage work, conditioned,
however, that either the state OF Min
nesota would furnish like sum of money
for that purpose or that the abuttlng
property owners raise this amount OF
money so that the sum OF $l,5OO,OOO
would be available for the purpose of
building re- ervoirs and doing the neces-
sary work in the river itself. TIE
Legislature was not willing to appro-
pirate this sum of money and neither
we're the property owners in a position
to raise the amount required and the
project fell fiat.
Dakotas Sue Minnesota
For several years nothing was done
in this matter and probably the whole
project would have gone to sleep II the
states of North and South Dakota had
not started suit against the state of
Minnesota asking 100000 damages
sustained by the farmers on the west
side of the Minnesota river by reason
h Jroir nod into a
Red River of the North and flooding
all the lowlands in the Red River Valley.
As soon as this suit was started the flood
control movement received another i'm
petus and meeting was held in No
yember, 1916, in Fargo, which was at
tended by DR.. Fritsche Of this city and
Dan Williams of Cambria.
Southern Mimi. Loses Out
It was at that time decided to get the
legislature of Minnesota, North and
South Dakota to pass proper legislature
SO that the floods might be controlled
and the damages to the lowlands elm
mated. Such law was finally drafted
and was introduced in the Minnesota
Legislature in 1917 and on account of
strenuous objections from property own
ers to the east of us, the food control
district was limited to point in the
Minnesota river, 40 miles south of Orion
vile. In this way all the lowlands south
of the point mentioned are not in
Guided and no provision is made what
soever to relieve the flood menace as
far as they are concerned. 1t does not,
however, necessarily follow that no flood
control district may be started later
which would protect this part of the
state.
Dist. Judges Empowered
According to the law, district judges
are vested with Jurisdiction to establish
drainage and food control districts
whenever IL shall become necessary OF