THE MISSISSIPPI FLOODS.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 78, 2 April 1913, Page 4

THE MISSISSIPPI FLOODS.

We ,have already referred to the destructive floods in the Ohio.basin as largely a consequence of the recklees deforestation of the hillsides, in that part of tha United States. But the disastrous' inundations that are from time to time chronicled in the Middle West are interesting from another point of view; for they are part of the life Mβtory ot what is probably the greatest river in the rworld, and ie certainly the most uncontrollable. Like all great streams draining large forest-covered and mountainous areas, the Mississippi <is peculiarly liable to floods; and readers of 'Mark Twain's wonderfully vivid wordpictures' of life on the great river half a century ago will understand the enormous difficulties that the farmers, and even tine city dwellers ia the Mississippi Valley, have to face in their efforts to secure themselves and their possessions against the depredations of this unruly river. Well-peopled as the Mississippi "Valley is, and thickly studded with manufacturing cities and large and thriving, country towns, it would be quite impossible for the population to hold its ground there if it were not for the protective works, which not only the State Governments, but the Federal authorities have been forced to provide to combat the constantly recurring floods.

From the city of Cairo to New Orleans, at the mouth of the river, is a distance of nearly 1,500 miles; and on either side of the stream for nearly the whole way down to the Gulf there runs a practically continuous line of "levees," or embankments, which under all ordinary conditions keep the river well in check. Already 230,000,000 cubic yarde of earth have been piled up to hold the river back, at a cost of nearly £12,000,000 sterling. It is proposed to extend the levee syetem by about 64 milee - pT new earthworks; and when completed ofe embankments along the 'Mississippi will have cost about £14,000,000, and will contain about three times, as much earth as was excavated to form the Panama Canal. But when this colossal work ie finished, it ia believed by those who know the river best that a, new era of usefulness will open for the Mississippi. For many years its frequent changes of channel and the terrible floods that have so constantly occurred have vastly Teduced its potential value as a navigable waterway. But by the system of "revetments" now adopted, and by sinking huge "mattresses" of wicker-work and trees loaded down with stones, it now seems possible to cope with the eccentricities of the river; nnd once the levees are completed it is proposed to improve the stream 'and its' chief tributaries by dredging on very expensive and comprehensive lines. "Fourteen feet through the valley" is the watchword of the enthusiasts, who ■believe that the Mississippi, once properly controlled, can be converted into, the richest commercial high-road in the world. From Chicago by way of the Illinois River, past S?t. 'Louis and Cairo, down to New Orleans and the Gulf, the river is to be fourteen feet deep, so that vessels will run practically from the Great Lakes and carry their sjoode through' the heart of the United States to the sea without ever having to tranship or consider the heavy chnrge of railway freights. The Ohio is to be nine feet deep up to Pittsburg, the main stream is to be six feet deep above St. Louis up to Minneapolis and St. Paul, the Missouri is to ibe six feet deep past Omaha to Sioux City; and when the work ia done the Mississippi Valley will contain more than-. 14,000 miles of streams navigable for heavy and continuous traffic in one of the richest and most productive regions in tire world. But these things are not possible till it is certain that the' levees are strong and high enough to hold the great river in, and till its eccentric changes of channel have ibecn (properly controlled by "revetments ,, ; and it is chiefly because these periodical inundations delay the realisation of this splendid dream that American statesmen and party leaders devote so much attention to the ever-re-curring floods in the Mississippi.