The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1920-08-27
THEY ARE MADE AT THE
NEW ULM MEET
SCHEME PUT FORWARD
Hope of the Farmers In Valley
To Get Relief From
OverfloWs

shed, were organized into single
drainage and conservency district
: at a meeting Of farmers and towns :
people held at New Ulm Monday
by the signing of petition and bond
The meeting was helG by the TIL
State Flood Control association.
| The petition will be presented to
the judges of the district court OF
the territory embraced in the dis
trict at cnce, and 1t is confidently ex-
pected that there will be no oppo-
sition to the formation of such O
district, as this does not entail much
| expense and such an organization is
the only means Of cooperation by
| the people of the valley to prevent
| the disastrous foods Of almost an
! nual occu.ance. Chapter Is, Laws
of Minnesota Special Session, 1919,
is the law under which the assocta-
! ton is working ond 1t will be we'll
| for any one interested in this most
! important development to read this
chapter. At this time it is proposed
to go no farther than to organize the
district and to have the governing
board consisting Of five members
appointed by the district courts.
What Is the Procedure.
! After the district is organized
nothing can be done except upon
| application to the district court OF
the district in which the proposed
where it affects navigable waters
such as the Minnesota river and Big
Stone Lake, plans and specifications
| of same must first be approved by
the federal government, before work
can be done, and on all other pro-
jects the same must be approved by
The state engineer.
For over thirty years relief from
periodical goods, running into mil
lions of dollars, has been sought In
vain. Under the state constitution
state money cannot be expended fol
! internal Improvement and the fed
eral government has made 1t rule
to assist in such projects where those
benefited contribute their just pro-
, portion of the expense. In 1911 the
| general board Of engineers at
Washington approved of the Lac
Qui Parle reservoir upon condition
! that water power companies or 9TH
! ers operate and contribute u of
! the cost, and the Minnesota River
Improvement and Power company,
was organized for the purpose OF
raising such amount, but stock could
Of the government and Therefore its
offer could not be accepted. The
| association struggle on and in No
vember, 1917, organized the Tri-
State Flood Control Association and
this association secured the passage
of the necessary legislation of the
states Of North Dakota and South
: Dakota and Minnesota to enable
these states to CO. cooperate as well as
as an act of congress for a like pur-
pose and the legislative COMMITTEES
t., i - -
ious states discovered that the plan
on which the Chicago drainage and
| ship canal, at a cost Of some $62 ,000,-
10000 and controlling reservoirs and
dams on the Ohio and Miami river
project, costing over $25 ,000,0 100000
! and irrigation projects in the ives =
tern states, of gigantic proportions
were constructed was done by or
I ganizing the district affected into a
' corporation with practically all the
powers Of municipal corporation,
under the direct control of the dis
trict courts, and the affairs Of which
tors, selected by the courts, and un-
der the supervision of the state
drainage engineer and also that of
the federal government
Means Of Corporations.
vi CO-opSIdliOh le
provided not only for complete reg
ulation but. also for raising the
necessary funds in such manner
as to insure absolute safety of con-
struction and operation, but also
economy, equality, and absolute JUS
! tice in contributions, by the state,
! nation and individuals to the ex-
tent of benefit derived by each. No
assessment can be made unless
there Is a direct benefit, and the
be assessed against the high prairie
land not actually in the river bottom
to twenty i've cents per acre or $40
per quarter section and such assess =
ment can only be made where the
| high land is actually benefited, by
draining natural reservoirs and cast
! ing this water upon the low bottom
! land, and thereby benefting the high
! land to the detriment Of the bottom
land, and the bottom lands public
| highways. cities and villages, water
powers, and others will be assessed
only for actual benefits received and
der proceedings similar to those In
| judiciol ditch cases.
| All benefits derived from such i'm
provement will go to the district of
to the state, and federal government,
in proportion to the amount invested
| by each. Such benefits will consist
; In benefits to wet and overlooked
! lands, fisheries, water powers and
navigation and possibly irrigation.
| The possibilities Of this develop
: ment are Of such magnitude that to
fully appreciate 1t one must made
state law limits the amount that can
careful investigation of what has been
done elsewhere and the great ad
vantage Of CO. operation. "
The illinois fisheries pay annually
over $1,000 per acre rental, and 1t Ii
claimed that fisheries where pike
and the better kinds of fish are
raised the same pay as high as $50
per acre. This being true 1t will be
readily seen that reservoirs can be
constructed On every tributary to the
Minnesota River at points where the
greatest capacity can be secured with
( the least loss OF land and the larger
the capacity Of such reservoirs the
: tetter protection will be afforded tt
the agricultural land and cities. and
the better and more valuable use car
be made Of the surplus waters foi
power purposes and navigation.
Easy Relief Afforded.
| In many instances such as the dis
astrous foods near Madison. CANDY
and Marshall, Minnesota, this year
/ h. la M Ia