The times-news., 1938-09-08
NEWSPAPERS OPINIONS
WHAT A TANGLED WEB WE WEAVE

The fundamental dishonesty of the new deals
power and flood-control program had in July,
dramatic demonstration in the flooded lower Colo
RADIO River Valley of Texas
Texas Colorado rises in the Staked Plains and
flows into Mstagorda Bay. Flood and dry bed al
ternate. This summer cloudbursts on the San Saba
Brady and other upper tributaries produced the
third great flood in four years, the twenty-ffth
since 1900
The Lower Colorado River Authority, little
IVA was formed for the stated purpose of con
trolling these disasters, with the Incidental purpose
of irrigation and electric power, The LCRA has
completed high dam at Buchanan 70 miles above
Austin is building another high dam at Marshall
Ford. nearer Austin
High water has REQUIRED so often IN the lower
valley that the lowlands of the five counties below
Austin had largely ceased TO be cultivated though
they are as rich land may be found in Texas.
This year. under the promise Of Buchanan Dams
protection. the farmers planted the bottom lands
in cotton turned their uplands to non-revenue- pro
ducing legume crops, under the Department of
Agricultures soil-building program,
The July flood destroyed all their three-quar
tersbale and bale-tothe-acre cotton when the crop
was virtually made. and the outraged growers have
forced state investigation,
Constitutionay, the government produce
power only incidentally to flood control irrigation
and navigation, In its determination to produce
power primarily, constitution OF no constitution.
the new deal approved high dams on the Colorado.
with narrow basins behind. allowing for only e.
9500O0 acre-feet of flood-control storage between
the two. The army engineers plans for an actual
flood-control dam on the Red river at Denlson call
for 100000 acre-feet of storage, though the
drainage area is almost identical and the rainfall
less heavy on the Red,
Even with its inadequate flood-storage capacity,
had the Buchanan Dams flood gates been opened
promptly, the flood could have been held to a
maximum of l9 feet instead of 81 feet, the local
weather bureau is quoted as saying.
They were not opened and the accumulated wa
terS were allowed 20 down upon the lower
valley because the LCRA is about to begin gener
sting power at Buchanan As the Colorados flow
is nconstant, the Authority was storing water to
produce power against the dry season. In storing
for power it cancelled out its pretended purpose
of flood protection.
The Buchanan Dam. originally called Hamilton,
was hydroelectrlc- power project begun by the
insult interests. With the collapse of insult. the
project was taken over by corporation the Colo
RADIO River company, promoted by Ralph W. Nor
rison. wealthy Texan. Both the RFC and the PWA
refused the company loan to complete the dam,
hut under pressure from the Texas delegation III
congress, including the late James z. Buchanan,
chairman of the house appropriations committee, 3
loan and grant of $4,000, 900 was made to the Col
orado River company by PWA in 1884.
The company was obliged, under the terms of
the grant to give an option to the state of Texas,
or public authority to be created by it, to pur-
chase the property when and if it desired, The
Lower Colorado River Authority. created for the
primary purpose of flood control. exercised this
option and soon began second dam, Already a
move was under way to raise this new Marshall
Ford Dam to q height of 265 feet at an additional
cost of $t500O,0O0,
Following the great flood of 1913, the cities of
the Miami Valley. in Ohio. built. under the engi-
neering direction of Arthur E. Morgan. series of
wide low-storage dams which are dry most Of the
time Though more rain fell in Miami Valley in
January 1887, than had in the deluge of 1913, the
Miami never left its banks.
On tablet the outlet conduit of one of the
Miami Valley dams you may read THE dams of
the Miami Conservancy District are for flood pre-
vention purposes Their use for power develop
n,ents or for storage would be menace to the
cities below"
Because Arthur Morgan knew that and would not
shut his eyes to it. was one reason the President
moved him from the dictatorship of IVA last
spring.-Saturday Evening Post.