Show WASHINGTON WASI W- W Ii BY SPECIAL I E R L E TT Lp I u I Ro K l O Flood J lood Control Legislation Sure to Trouble Present Congress BY 81 SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT I V WASHINGTON ASHINGTON There There willbe will willbe be bf a whacking appropriation far flood control programs and M JU u may count on that thit But there is also going gome to beI be I considerable sectional Cot COI the money Flood control has in the past been l i perquisite of ot the and representatives torn the states of the lower Mis- Mis sippi i Valley This year it rn different There ro never was any trouble n the past for statesmen from the you bayou and canebrake regions u I n get a sizeable si cible for more levees For tor there thero wis a- a al always ways Pays nys last springs spring s disastrous hood to point out For 40 years and more the federal govern govern- government government government ment his has been pouring its mil nul- millions mil millions lions into the levees revetments n and other devices by which it has striven to harness the Father of Waters Now 1037 1937 sees a flood which is just about as a disastrous if it not more so than any on the records I S THERE are signs of coalition of o congressmen from the th Ohio Valley starts s Indiana Ohio Pennsylvania nia and West Welt Virginia which will present a strong demand that thit the major part of the appropriation about to be made be spent for stopping the rampaging waters of the Ohio before beCore they get started on their course down the MIssissippi itself They will have a powerful ar- ar argument argument ar argument Representative Gris- Gris Griswold wold Gns-wold wold of Indiana is one of the leaders of this thio bloc He points out that thit the damage in the Pittsburgh area alone in the 1936 floods was greater than that suffered by the whole 10 lower low er Mis- Mis Mississippi Mis Mississippi s flood area in 1927 What he is driving at is that the Ohio besides being the offender in building up Missi sippi ippi floods to damaging happens to pass througH one of the hey key industrial section of or of the country Cincinnati s m i chine shops ire we under watt water r Steel mills of the Ohio Valli v shut shut hut down Such damage cius us s 1 repercussions that may I Ifor for far farther than simple dame dameto dan to ap op Arkansas f farm rm At lea t lea lea t that is th the argument of the Oh u o oValley oValley Valley congressmen So when the huge fund rund f r flood control begins to p ps p through the appropriation mill millin millin in Congress you can look lot fOI considerable fur to fly NOBODY expected that herself would speed up i this time the growing tendency of the government toward I cen-I cen- cen centralization cen tion in Washington Aid Ad A- A dyet yet that's happening Already it is being propos here to put all flood control works of whatever kind hind dr j dams in Pennsylvania and le- le levees le levees on the Atchafalaya in 10 Louisiana Lou Lou- Louisiana Louisiana all wider under a central board at Washington And yet turning over complete flow water flow control to a Wash Wash- Washington WashIngton Washington ington central board is going to encounter the usual home rule opposition of the stiles states rIghts states Some sort of a perma perma- permanent permanent nent com compromise pro m I s e definitely marking out the federal govern govern- governments ments overn- overn ment ments s interest the states stites inter inter- interests interests ests and a 1 supervision 0 over o er both that will net the greatest national dividends must be nr- nr arrived ar arrived rived at And that is just an- an another another other an-other other one of the difficult problems problems problems lems that is going to make thiS session of o Congress a rip rip- rip |