Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-09-10
HOOVER STRESSES
FLOOD PROBLEMS
Relief, Financial Aid and Pre-.
vention Still Needed, He
Tells Legislature.
BY REX COLLIER.
staff Correspondent of The Star.

BATON ROUGE, La, September
10.-Problems of continued destitu
ton, finance of next Springs crops,
public health, financial stability of the
parish governments, maintenance of
the schools and, above all, provision of
flood control still confront the people
of the flooded area, Secretary Hoover
told members of the Louisiana Legisla-
ture in special joint session here last
night.
More than 10000 persons still are
being fed by the Red Cross in Louisi-
ana, he said, and appropriations have
been made to cover their need for food
and feed until the first of January.
Altogether the Red Cross already has
appropriated $5.500,000 for the State,
and this does not include the large
expenditure of the Federal Govern
ment or the gift of the railways In
free transportation, Hoover declared.
With regard to flood control, the
Commerce Secretary said that "of all
the issues before us perhaps the upper
most in the minds of those of us who
have participated in this disaster has
ures must be taken that it will never
happen again.
Throughout the valley more than
100000 of our fellow citizens have been
driven from their homes and hundreds
of thousands reduced to destitution"
the Secretary continued. THE eco
nomic loss has been greater in this
single flood than the whole cost of
adequate flood control. Nor is the
loss borne solely by it's direct victims.
Every citizen of the whole Nation has
lost something from the reduced pur.
chasing power and the destruction in
the valley.
Confident of Prevention.
81 am confident that engineering
science is capable of the design and
construction of such works as will
forever prevent it's recurrence. l am
confident that we have in the United
States engineers a body of men that
have the ability and scientific knowl-
edge to bring forward a design
through which this can be accom-
plished
I am confident that the American
people as whole are not only sympa-
thetic, but anxious that the forthcom-
and provide the necessary resources
for their execution. I know that our
able Secretary of War and the many
members of the House and Senate
who have visited the flood area are
resolute on a solution.
president Coolidge has given ample
evidence of his leadership to this end.
I am confident that this unity in de-
sire assures favorable outcome. But
the formulation of wise plans for so
gigantic project requires time and
the meeting of many minds. We must
yield not to haste or to emotion or to
narrow interest, but hold to the long
view of our responsibilities to future
generations-that we may solve the
problem once and for all"
Summarizing the situation in Louis
lana. Mr.. Hoover said:
I'VE have witnessed an unprece-
dented flood. affecting sc of your
parishes, in which over $4,000 Of your
citizens have been driven from their
villages and farms and over 100000 of
them compelled to accept shelter and
food in concentration camps. After
weeks of exile they have returned to
devastated homes. They have taken
up the burden Of life with reason, they
have replanted their fields in the face
OF Dut remote nope OF return. IN many
cases they will be disappointed in the
yield and forced to face Winter with
out resources. OF the 100000 acres
of their crops which were destroyed,
probably 100000 acres will make no
consequential yield this harvest.
Given Ovation at Meeting.
Secretary Hoover was given a vo-
ciferous ovation by an audience of
several thousand men and women who
assembled in the large community
hall used for the meeting. He was
introduced by Gov. Simpson, who
paid high tribute to Hoover for his
devotion to the flood cause. Declaring
! that Louisiana's crop loss this year
totals $61 $50, 600 the governor called
on the Federal Government to take
control Of our greatest enemy-the
Mississippi"
"a word of review of the progress
of rehabilitation in this State is of
interest,"" he said. I'm all but 8 of
the 36 stricken parishes there has
now been completed an exhaustive
| house.to-house canvass directed to
the accurate determination of the
needs of each of the families in the
| flooded area. Positive measures of
| rehabilitation have been established,
| grants of the money have been placed
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