Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1922-02-14
Capt anu Mrs Edwin T. Pollock photographed in Yosemite pa
AS THE PEOPLE VIEW 1T

, tory. Where these bitches so oc-
cur, the menace is greater than
| il the ditch were not there, but.
is there any method by which a
community can be forced to move
or, close a ditch?
Your own paper was instru-
mental in causing considera BILE
uneasiness amongst our valley
residents some two years ago
when just such action took place
as | have described. Here was
a place for a couple of good
sized ietties, as the condition
there was one of the gravest
along the river at the time, (the
sack work put in with volunteer
labor would have cost more, had
it been necessary to pay for the
labor, than four jetties) yet, this
work had it been put in, would
have been right at two bitches
ana one head gate. Should the
condition have been allowed to
continue to exist merely because
OF the presence of these latter !?
Should the crowd of volunteers
have refused to perform the he
| roic work accomplished that night
/ because of their presence? 1t
would have been just as reason
able, had they chosen so to do,
as 1t would have been for county
officials in the past to have re-
fused TO perform certain protect
I'VE work where like conditions
| prevailed.
This river work has been in the
2 m nj ffsn inc Nj ,rr,,.
number OF years past-men who
have made a life study or en-
'glneerlng probfens, and to say that
the monies entrusted to them have
been frittered away is not only an
ilJustice to them, but, to the various
institutions throughout the country
at which engineering is taught, for
these men stand high in their
chosen profession. Your writer
states they threw away ten thous-
and dollars annually 1t would be
nearer the truth to state that it was
only few years ago that these
same men were handicapped by on
ly having four or five thousand dol
lars, coming in semi-annual INSTALL
n.ents, with which they were ex-
pected to perform work necessitat-
ing four or five times that sum.
The last few years, as our popula-
ton and taxes increased, the flood
monies have likewise increased, un-
til finally, in 1919 the sum reached
around ten thousand, be-
lieve.. However, to say that
a like sum had been ex-
pended for a number of years is
Illogical on the face, because, If in
1919, with increased population and
taxes, we derived ten thousand dol.
lars, it stands to reason that ten
years ago, with half the population,
or, whatever the census shows for
that period, our flood tax could
have returned only half what it
now does A goodly portion of this
money had to go into temporary
protective work in the higher val
ley, to take care of the mountain
flood waters-work which was of
temporary nature due to the fact
that although these floods were
constantly pouring down upon us,
they occurred in such widely sepa-
rated areas and upon different oc-
casions, so that permanent, eXpen-
sive work would have been as de-
sirable and necessary, as a school
house atop the highest peak of the
Sandals.
AS to the monies spent upon the
river proper-there never was
enough cash in the flood fund at
any one time to take care of one
major project in the manner ii
could, and should, have been taken
care Of had the necessary amount
been available, which brings UP the
lquestion: why not have started
a certain project and completed it
as funds were available"
To have done so would have been
the direct cause of flooding the
lentire valley, piece-meal. A certain
Iamount of needed work was put in
at the most threatening points each
year, and, these different works
Required certain repairs, additions
letc., due to the type of material il
was necessary to work in and with
ievery year or so thereafter. Would
lit have been policy, say, to have
completed the Alameda dyke and
lallowed the dykes above Griegos
land Candelarias to suffer? To have
employed such methods would have
Ipttll TIE VI iOAhii6 shii
1.-THE windows to keep out intruders
and then leaving the doors wide
open.
1t was this constant diversified
demand which made the completion
of one major project an impossi-
bility, and in spite of the criticism
Offered, the present protective sys-
Item along the river is in such shape
THAT, unless we have a considerably
higher water stage than has here
ltofore been recorded, we can go ia
our beds at night safe in the
knowledge that we will not awaken
in the midst iof a lake.
This does not imply that more
work is not necessary. 1t is. This
Rio Grande Is constantly depositing
a certain volume of silt within its
bed, which causes the channel to
seek new avenues, and, as new
channels and currents are formu-
lated, new territory is menaced and
new work becomes necessary.
Your writer states there is not
Twenty thousand dollars worth OF
protective work intact in the coun7
| ty.
It Is to laugh.