Evening star., 1928-03-29
&73,OOO,O()DFLOOD
MEASURE IN HOUSE
Committee, Reporting Bill,
Says u. S. Should Pay Cost
of Project.

ny Ihe ASapctAthu Press.
Standing Squarely on the policy that
the Government should bear all cost
for guarding citizens Of the Mississippi
River Valley against floods. the House
food control committee today made a
formal report on the $473 900 900 Reid
bill which was approved a month ago
The report on the proposal for a
gigantic flood control project came into
the House along with the 1925, ,0000 900
Jones bill. also providing flood control
funds from the Federal Treasury, which
was passed yesterday by the Senate,
The majority report. approved by IL
members OF the committee. presented IA
voluminous argument of nearly four
hundred pages in support of the major
proposals for full Federal payment
sponsored by Representative Reid, Re-
publican, OF Illinois, and of the estab-
iishment OF a new Mississippi River
commission 10 carry out the work.
Minority Report
The views of those members OF the
committee who diSappToye the Reid
bill were presented simultaneously III
a minority report signed by six Re
Kopp OF Iowa. This report set forth
the contention that the Valley States
should contribute some OF the cost OF
control work,
one OF the leading features OF the
ma iority report was the criticism lev
eled at Mai Gen Edgar JadWin. ChIet
of the Army Engineers. who was
charged with having usurped the duties
Of the Mississippi River Commission in
preparing the Administrations flood
control plan.
The Army engineer was upheld hoWr
ever. by the minority report, which con-
tended he had recommended the best
possible project for immediate remedy
OF the problem,
The majority report set out that un-
der the law by which the Government
undertakes food control works, poll
Icy Of no pay. no protection Is pre-
sented II added that the national de-
fense national welfare the maintc-
nance of the mails and interstate COM
merce and navigation were sufficient
Justification for the Federal Govern
ment to assume the entire cost aud re-
sponsibillty
Divided Responsibility.
Under the present system ot local
contributions 1t said, there was boun0
To result divided responsibility and fail
lre of the weak links In the levee SyS-
tenn chain" because numerous levee
districts had been unable financially "a
contribute their share
The minority report declared that
local contribution meant cooperation
from the communities interested In the
work and protection against waste and
inettlCiency" 1t also based It's Conten-
tiuu OF local payments on the Increased
value OF the lands In the valley through
protection
Although the minority viewpoint had
characterized the Reid hll AS offering
no basis for definite tiood-Coutrol
Nan the majority report expressly EN-
phaslsed that u did not aim 10 lav
down an engineering program hat
would designate poWwa to It's proposed
Mississippi Valley f1ood-control commta-
Ion. composed ot four civilians and
hree Army engineers These powers
would be as broad as those given to
he Panama Canal Commission 90 per-
nit the commission 90 formulate the |
engineering system for oufhing the
floods
The new commission would he al ilh- !
ertY to adopt any plan even the Iad- !
win plan ~ It's entirety said the ma |
l0rlty report, or combine the ,iadNln |
and the commission plans Under the |
Reid nil the Mississippi River Commits
Continued on Page ,, Columk ~