New Britain herald., 1927-06-03
CURB MISSISSIPPI
 IS DAVIS DEMAND
Task Huge But Can Be Accom-. plshd War Secy. Insists

Chicago. June ~ - Like tor rents pouring through a crevasse. there burst upon the resolutions committee of the flood control con- ference today rushing stream of advice. suggestions. counsel and proposals for solution of the prob lem of a rampaging Mississippi
 Nearly 1000 persons, represent ative of almost every political. so- cial and economic activity of the nation. began the second of their three days of conference elated at the accomplishment of their first meetings and high in hope for the sessions to follow.
 Dwight Davis. secretary of war and personal representative Of President Coolidge. sounded the pitch for the conference today when he said:
 The Mississippi river can and must be controlled. The nation whose engineers built the Panama canal despite seemingly insuperable obstacles can solve the complex and difficult problem of flood control.
 Tt is national problem. The river drains 31 states. or about 40 per cent of the country's area. The magnitude of the undertaking challenges the brains, the money and effort of our national, state and local governments. Let us not rush headlong into unsound action. but, having determined upon q sound pN let us carry 1t through to <~letion.
 If this conference, made up of influential. public-spirited and dis ,inguished citizens. adopts the same businesslike procedure in this pub- lie matter that the members would adopt in their private affairs. it will perform a patriotic service of the greatest benefit to the whole nation"
 Mir. Davis spoke in high terms of the response of the entire country to the call for assistance. and oi the work of the Red Cross. the army and other governmental agencies in relief work.
 There remains, however. the problem of future floods. Necessity for adequate flood protection is so essential, the magnitude Of the problem is so huge, that nasty ac- ton would be extremely ill-advlsed. It will take weeks to collect all the data on this last flood and then analyze it and fit it into the mass of information previously available.
 '"Time is short. Recommenda- lions must be ready for submission to congress when 1t convenes.
 An enormous amount of labor is involved. The plan adopted must be sound as to its engineering and to it's economies. It must be workable. Our plan must provide for the maxi mum flood that 1t seems reasonable to expect.
 "A plan that cannot be pushed through to completion within req sonable time will not meet the re- ouirements. Let us first be sure we are right, and then let us go ahead with all our energy. with all our skill, with all the money required. Promotion of unstudied plans. in- sistence on pet projects. lacking feasibility. will only dissipate our energies and tend to nullify our ef- forts."
 Tho secretary spoke of the work already under way through the ac- tivity of the Mississippi river com mission composed of both civilian and army engineers. Then he said:
 "The war department controls the services of the greatest corps of riv- CT engineers in the world. If given adequate support they can solve this problem, However. 1t will take money, and lots of 1t. Halfway measures or uncompleted projects will not suffice,''