Salt Lake Telegram | 1936-05-26 | Page 6 | New Views on Flood Control

New Views Views' on Flood Control A f A A FTER PIERa a years year's buffeting the flood A rt x co control bill passe passed in m both houses still stiLt must survive c conference because of differences of opinion Originating in the house senate changes Irk representatives who champion the measure and they will Wil-l insist on putting it back in some 1 form rm resembling the bill in the beginning Turning Turning Turning Turn Turn- ing thumbs thumb down on an amendment to o provide for cir burdening the federal government with the whole cost as it stands it calls calIs for state federal-state participation Creation of another bureau to administer the act also was knocked on the head The The bill calls alls for a total sum of to be made available the first year Though not in the form President Roosevelt wants it is regarded as highly unlikely that he will veto it because the provision is retained which authorizes the president to select projects to be undertaken in the first year That may give him time ime ime to sell his idea on flood control control control-a a wide departure from the time- time honored and well larded rivers and harbors pro pro- gram grain To stay with old methods the amount carried by the bill bin would accomplish little of permanent value The army's flood control work has been perhaps the best that could b bd bedone be bedone d done ne with the money in hand Experts say it has been tempo temporizing izing with a a ser serious ous problem for which there is a better solution The old scheme has been to try to check flood floodwaters floodwaters floodwaters waters in the big streams The new plan is to prevent their reaching these rivers That is the little waters idea holding idea holding the water back where it is a trickle by terracing and contouring the land controlling the small streams streams' and lessening lessening les- les the spring run off by putting cover on the hills bills The experts contend that this will keep back on one fifth fifth of the water now measured at t stage flood enough t to mark the difference between safety and danger and to give equalized stream flow It is this kind of work that the civilian conservation con con- corps has been doing in many parts arts of the country to prevent prevent floods floods combat erosion and t to restore denuded land to fertility The work ork in the Davis county flood district is a scale small example t j v Count the millions t spent along the Mississippi i alone a great deal of it fo no permanent good rand and it will be found that they would have paid for a little waters program many times over uThe he army and the bureaus which have been ministering to the ravenous appetites of pork pork- hungry congressmen and their districts do not like the new idea It is easy to see why That That is as much to recommend it as engineering Jon ion Retaining the plan for state federal-state I cooperation cooperation cooperation cooper cooper- makes the omnibus flood control bill as pork less as po possible Ible if not all aU that could be asked for