The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-12-13
CHIEF ENGINEER
OF ARMY ADMITS
LEvEE PLAN BAD
Proposes AnotherWhich
VIII Leave Graft Intact

Speaking before the National Re-
publican club recently, Chief Engin-
eer General Edgar Jadwin of the u.
S. Army admitted that the levee sys-
TEN for control of Mississippi floods
was disastrously bad, and if contin-
ued might lead to untold loss Of life.
Instead of switching to the plan
European experts have almost unan-
imously advocated, Of reservoirs at
the headwaters, with government
owned power plants as an almost nee
essary corollary, was not suggested
by Jadwin, however.
Spillway Scheme.
The army engineering depart
ment's present plan, said Jadwin, is
to build low levees, moved farther
back from the center of the river in
some cases, and to arrange broad
spillways to carry part Of the water.
Senator F. NJ. Sackett of Kentucky
and Senator j. E. Ransdell, of Louis
lana, replying to General Jadwin, did
1kuh ODJELL " q pan NlllAAl WILL BCL
nit lots of contracts for local grading
companies at good profits, but toon
violent umbrage at the proposal by
The general that the national govern
ment stand eighty per cent of the
estimated $300,000,000 cost and the
state governments IN the valley make
good the rest.
The flood this year took toll OF
something less than 200 lives, made
100000 people homeless for approx
mately a month and inflicted an act
ual property damage estimated to be
upward Of $zO0,O0O,00O, SAID Jadwin,
and continued: (Others estimate it at
twice that amount. Hoover says
S400,0O0,O00.
''The estimated cost of $296,400,000
for the construction of flood control
and navigation work does not include
the costs of rights of way nor spos-
sible damage to structures which have
invaded the natural flood bed of the
river. 1t is expected that these, ii
any of them are legal and proper, will
be borne by the states or. other local
interests who will in general be great
ly benefited by the execution OF the
plan.
1924 Per Acre.
Several estimates of different wei.
protected parts of the Delta Valley
result in an average price per acre
Of 1924 when towns and all property,
sucn as houses, roads, railroads, land,
etc, are included. The total area OF
the valley originally subject to over
fiow is 29,7S0 miles, or 19,565,600
acres, 100000 acres of which is US
able. This 100000 acres at 1924
per acre is worth $2,688, 100000.
'The value and population behind
the levees are increasing all the time
Lateral Spillways."
"The plan for river control contem-
plates spending about $300,000,000,
or about one-sixteenth of the value
estimated. On the basis of 100000
acres of disable land, this is an aver
age expenditure of about $25 per
acre.
''The plan of the Army engineers
differs fundamentally from the pres
ent project in that it limits the
amount of flood waters carried in the
main river to a safe capacity and
sends the surplus water through lat
eral floodways. Its essential features
and their functions are:
Over the Open Country.
"F'loodway from Cairo to New Mad
rid, from the Arkansas River through
the Texas basin in the Red River, and
from the Red through the Atchafal-
alta Basin to the Gulf Of Mexico.
These will relieve the main channel
of the water it can not carry and low
er the floods to stages at which the
levees can carry them.
"A controlled spillway to hold the
levels down to safe stages at and near
New Orleans.
Local setting back of the levees
in the main river at bottle necks to
increase its carrying capacity and re-
duce it's flood heights.
"Greater protection against crew
asses by strengthening the levee by
reducing flood heights through the
increased widths of channel af
forded."
Work Daily for the Daily Worker,