Show MISSISSIPPI MISSI V VALLEY Y W WATER tER PROBLEM 5 The mighty might Joss of life life- and property b by the 5 floods floods- that have this this- year yeal swept the Country through Which v ich the rivers of the tho Mississippi ippi valley flow has inspired thousands of minds to ask k if this kind Of f cal calamity mit Cannot be tic stopp kl d and j in ina a rca- rca I J so time timi J f H fJ g these i is l i F. F writing g. g for S th the Revae r bf Reviews t I. I Jj- Jj Ho 53 says that ti t e engineers have ave solved a like l iri m the N Vedo do not think that is l It except j in a n t limited wa va way They have lave f fought r Da ba tha thi th Thi Caters ot of the th ocean but that 1 only oly camp earne storms which are necessarily of brief duration and never made mad a problem pro len save such r k- k kas I as the 0 people of Galveston ton have b been n c called lIed upon to to o solve and which they have successfully met But that supplies no Ino no parallel to what is s see seen along the c 1 Mississippi lissi ippi when the waters of a watershed of th than million miles much uch of tit of-it it n a square rc coy cov- creel cred with snow and nearly nearly- all under warm rain I heap he p 1 their theil a awful volume in into to tl th the Q- Q channels th that 1 carry them to o the gulf But But- Mr Yoakum makes make what seems to us us' a first class cass suggestion He lie points put Out mt that already a great neat de deal l of most valuable dredging machinery r. r has bid its finished its work on the Panama narna canal and this js is b i added added- to every v ry month Col Colonel nel Goethals and tl his associate te engineers have solved d the thc P problem b r t- t lot of subduing ili the Cli Ch Chagres gres ri river which river which by the way ivay in t tic the e old days daIs was v s g given n to rising th thirty fc feet t in iu S. a n single il and zid Iid Mr proposition tt to bring ng those thOC engineers and ard that at machi machinery err to the Uie ta of de deepening lc g the channel I anc and cutting put out the thc j bends df o of the he 3 ca canalize t ic river arid and make f-make make a a ay e ay for foi commerce commer om rc J He lIe points out thai tha has already j been en spent in trying to to put the thc great t river und under r control but there has pe el never nevet been been- any any- d defined fine system m arid and cl this year yea h ha has demonstrated tb that t the work has been mo mostly in p 3 aiu S t The value suggestion s mi is is iu in in the proposition j.- j. tp io the men who have had bad the Panama expert K li to harness the thc Mississippi The ll e dredging and straightening ning of th the river river- would g give ye much mitch more more i w water ter a path to lo lh the s sea a for the he speed of a r river ye v current is measured by the Uie friction which it iten en en- enS f Pt S counters in its flow WI Wh WIn When n the chan channel charni l i is deep deep- rv cued cried tb then n the effect is that the ilIe surface is much s swifter swifter- than swifter r than th that t on the riv river bed r b a for it it it- itis is so to fo sp speak ak river Mowing flowing on another and it scours cours I its ts own path put mt This was s S' S seen at nt at the mouth of the the Mississippi Ii i ippi and of oZ the Columbia when th the jetie jet- jet L tics ie were put ut in in narro narrowing ing the channel thus deep- deep y cuing ening the thc channel and increasing the speed of the current On the bar of ot tl 9 Columbia thirty y years ars 1 ago the channel s as s the thc political al always f ways of the federal ral l bunch in Utah and arid was was' the t terror ter- ter r. r rOle of shipmasters The Tn jetties straightened the channel eyen even as it was when was when John Jacob Astor's little 8 ships found found t their theil way up up- th the river rive river r r reduced du cd the length by several thousand yards yards' and caused F c the h river to scour its way way out put to sea in sufficiently de deep p to float floal all ordinary sl ships Of ar Oft t c course urse this was helped d as Captain lEads Eads helped helped- his work at the at-the the s south uth pass lass of the of-the the Mississippi L b by dr dred d 5 V S i ing n go But Buthe the the- dredging ging o only Iy stirred up p the earth at N L b bottom tt m of th the chR channel 1 cl th the the real Teal real work work was was done e C by the river o Whether the the- work should r. t s begin at the mouths D oL or the thc rivers rivers and by dr dredging gi and straightening i them a keeper deeper a and d ti r flow of the waters V Pr r by a a. a new v system y of levees levees' further back from the tho iy to to the w width of f th their ir channels els or by a of the fl flood od waters at th their lr S sources our es thus reducing volume in times times' f fv v fr freshets or whether the thc reliance would be bc on the theS S first aid vand l lust last Rt of pf f these plans plan would Wo b be for e engineers gin to o det determine mine The middle coin se course to to widen tho the 1 0 channel hannel could be bo comp completed eted this hen year hen arid n the 5 on the other two could go o on until until the the proby y lem em would woud be finally some and land the orIginal channels wol l be made sufficient fon fou r. r the thc flow v. But there should l be a swift removal f thc the peS present nt peril and D no mOl more e money should f tie bo I spent except pt upon a definite and effective I |