Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-08-29
MONDAY Ev1ns1sa. AUG. as, 1871.
NAvIGABILrTY on rHE RED.

~ - AZ q q u lONg GlnC IN6y
Htswould be the part Of wisdom to have the Red Riv-
her OF the North declared a non-naVigable stream.
sECpngressman Burtness from the standpoint of the
observer and legislator at Washington reaches a
ldIfferent conclusion. He believes that it would be
"a mistake to have the river declared non-nayifable
because under the existing status he thinks it will
fbe possible to obtain substantial federal aid for
lsprojectseins the. interests. of drainage and flood con-
fltroLss The Herald is entirely willing to be shown,
Ebut until it receives further light on the subject it
lad,eres to its former view. The navigabil;ty Of the
Red River IS fiction as everyone knows. There was
la tine when the stream was navigable and navisat-
Led. 1T played its part in the early settlement of the
country. It was used by the fur traders and in the
early days to some extent for steam navigation but
the conditions that made this use Of the river posi-
sble have long since disappeared. It might be posi-
bic BY a system Of dams and locks and reservoirs to
maintain in the channel a stage of water sufficient
to provide for navigation by small craft. But there
lis not the remotest possibility that this would prove
a profitable investment or that the river would Sac1
sttlally be used for traffic purposes to any apprcciable
extent.
The war department controls navigable streams.
The theory upon which control is vested in this de-
APARTMENT is that such streams may. be useE for mill
xtary or naval purposes. That possibility does not
exist in the case Of the Red River and it may as we'll
be LETT entirely out of account. Nevertheless when
any project IS under discussion relating to the inn
sprovement of the Red River in any way whatever, It
must be referred to the war department and passed
upon by that body, and the war department looks
att from the military angle. The department has
heretofore made several surveys with reference to
projected work and has invariably rendered an ad-
verse verdict. Incidentally IN connection with it's
investigation from the military standpoint its off
GERS have pointed out that there Is no probability of
the development of any traffic in the stream which
would warrant an attempt to restore it to a navi-
gable condition. 400.
maintaining the present status is a COSTLY thing
ID the northwest. While that status exists the
building of.per1nanent fixed bridges across the
stream is prohibited. Every bridge Kiust be a draw
btidge and a draw bridge is an expensive structure.
All Grand Forks the stream is crossedSby two briidgg--
es both Of which are in bad repair. Before very
long both of these must be replaced. Aside from
tlter poor condition they are ofsinadequate width.
Much larger and more expensive Structures are
NEEDED because the two bridges are on the line Of
traffic between two great states where products in
vast quantities are hauled back and forth. To ac-
cept the facts of nature and declare the riversnon-
1avigabe would make possible the Building Of per
maaentsstab1e bridges which would serve the needs
ct many thousands of people at a much lower cost
than is possible under the present conditions.
At to flood control, that subject is important
btt there IS under way a movement for the reor-
ganlzation of government departments which will
sXstematize the control Of various branches of pub
Icl activity. The logical step would be to place
such streams as the Red River under the control Of
whatever department succeeds to- most Of the func-
tions OF the present interior department., a depart
fiient which may be known as, the department Of
PPihbllc Works. That department would naturally
take cognizance of the needs Of this territory for
Hood control. It is not necessary that fiction be
maintained in order to- achieve the desired purpose.