Evening star., 1927-05-22

YHEN Secretary Hoover took
~ personal charge of the Mis-
wv sissippi River flood situ-
y alton on behalf of Presi-
dent Coolidge. all branches
of the Government were at once
enlisted in a mighty drive to re-
1ieve the distress of region that had
suffered disaster on a scale of such
magnitude as to overwhelm the ef-
forts of individual States in the devas-
tated area.
An important conference had been
held in this city at which the plan of
battle with the Father of Waters had
been outlined, and shortly thereafter
the telegraph wires flashed messages
to distant branches of the maritime
bureaus of the Government to rush
their nearest personnel and boats to
the flooded region. Meantime two
members of the Cabinet, Secretary of
War Davis and Secretary Hoover, left
with their aids for the scene of action.
The famous old city of Memphis.
Tenn, became headquarters for the
relief workers and the air soon
hummed with the motors of airplanes
arriving from far distant Army flying
fields. Boats whistled shrilIy frnm
the landing to announce their arrival
from stations along the river, while
foodstuffs for thousands of people, and
Coast Guard surf boats to carry such
shipments down the river to the refu-
gees huddled along the leveest
Red Cross workers commandeered
hundreds of barges and fiat boats to
carry out their mission OF rescue.
while the United States Postal Service
transported mail bags by planes
through the northeast section of
Arkansas out of Little Rock, and
later chartered half hundred motor
boats in the effort to bring the mails
in on time, despite the conditions of
disaster that made this an almost i'm
possible feat.
Capt. r. l.. Faris, assistant director
of the United States Coast and Geo
detic Survey, is also a member from
Washington of the, Mississippi River
Commission, and early in April had
floated down the river on a small
houseboat that was towed by the
steamer Inspector from St. Louis
10 New Orleans as the seven members
of the commission took observations
of the river at their semi-annual in
spection.
There was radio on the boat that
relayed news OF the disaster as it came
in over the air to the headquarters at
Memphis. and as the severity of the
Conditions became apparent, three men
on the Coast and Geodetic Survey YES
sci Bache We're ordered to report to
f. 2. Dillon. superintendent Of light.
houses, on general duty at NatcheZ.
Secretary Hoover had instructed
that the river tenders Oleander and
Wakerobin Of the Lighthouse Serv-
ice be dispatched to Memphis. where
they proceeded with various other of
the assembled Government vessels to
cid in the dangerous situation that
threatened Tensas Parish. The dis
tance of COZ miles down river was
made in two days. and with the in
crease of difficulties along the levees,
three more tenders were turned over
to the authorities at New Orleans,
where the next emergency is expected.
TT is interesting to learn from Capt.
Faris that the crooks In the Mis-
sissippi River AT such places as Green
vile, Miss, where there are four large
loops OF the river, are there for a pur-
pose. According to this expert. the
river bed is in an alluvial valley that
was deposited there in past ages and
the banks have become sufficiently
solid to withstand the ordinary cur.