Evening star., 1938-07-09

| munity-we are proceeding on the
definite policy that every community
will gladly do as much Of the share
Of the work Of flood prevention as the
community can possibly afford, and
that over and above those contribu-
| tions your Federal Government 10 a.
suming responsibility.
It is another proof Of the necessity
Of planning, and lot of people laugh
about all the planning that We are
! doing In Washington. In the long
run, taking just flood prevention Is
| one OF many examples--in the long
run we will save hundreds Of millions
Of dollars by planning for the future.
Flood prevention pays. It pays even
II the Federal Government has to ere
ate = temporary deficit by borrowing
money for flood prevention work ut
this time.
On one Of our great national water
sheds for example. before the Federal
Government stepped in with planning
and with work, the average loss OF
property in q given year ran as high
as $25,000,006. Think of that. Just
property alone, $25,000,000 . year,
without counting the toll of human
lives. twenty-five millions Of property
damage to crops, to homes, to indus
trial plants, to highways and railroads.
Business Sense Seems
To Call for Expenditure.
It seems to me that as q matter of
practical business sense, it is we'll
worth our while to spend, yes, two
| or three hundred million dollars on q
watershed of that kind II thereby, for
all time, we can eliminate an annual
loss of $4,000, 900 year.
On another great watershed, the
Missouri, the figures relating to the
destruction of buildings and highways
and industrial plants are not as great
in annual loss as they are in other
places, but in the case Of the Missouri
River and its tributaries, careful
check-up shows that thousands and
thousands Of acres of rich bottom land
are being carried away bodily each
year down to the Gulf of Mexico.
Those lands are worth millions of
dollars, even as they are today, but
think what they are worth to the gen.
erations to come; think what they are
worth in terms of dollars for the pro-
duction of foodstuffs for future gen.
erations.
Here again I think it is a mighty
good business proposition to spend
money now in order TO save vast sums
in the future years.
1t is national problem and the
people OF the Ohio Valley understand
this and am sure approve our inten-
tions, under a well-co-ordinated plan,
to make the Ohio Basin floodproof-
| f1oodproof for our children and for
their children.
Senator BarkIeys
Assistance Acknowledged.
In this work of planning and CO.
ordinating the work and doing it on a
vast scale that takes in many States.
I want to acknowledge the splendid
assistance that I have had from the
senior Senator from Kentucky. Be-
cause this is national problem, we
need people Of national experience and
national point of view.
wish I could stay here longer and
see all OF the work that you have done.
l have been tremendously interested
in 1t, and from many sources-not
Louisville sources. but people who have
visited here from every part OF the
Union-I have been given stories of
the splendid work of rehabilitation
that you have carried out.
Some day I hope to be able to come
back here and spend little more
time when am not headed for the
Pacific Ocean and visit you. There is
only one thing that I really have an
advantage over you good people. I
am going to get bigger fish In the
Pacific than grow in the Ohio.
1t has been fine to see you and I
hope to come back again very soon.
vl