damaged public utilities, have flooded and rendered unproductive thousands of acres of fertile farm lands which have been devoted to the production of vital war foods and other crops, and in general have affected the people of our whole Nation.

While we are primarily interested in flood control in the Illinois River and its tributaries, yet we realize that our problem is only a part of the national problem which exists and should be treated and considered as a part of a national program: Therefore, be it

Resolved by city officials, representatives of drainage districts of Illinois, landowners, tenants, and other interested parties duly assembled in meeting at Beardstown, Ill., called by the Association of Drainage and Levee Districts of Illinois, and held this 7th day of September A. D. 1943, as follows:

I

We consider that the winning of the war is the greatest task before this Nation today, and we hereby pledge our resources and our efforts to that objective. Anything stated in these resolutions is not to be considered as detracting from this larger task and obligation, but as being essential to increase production and resources which we may contribute to aid in accomplishing this task.

II

That the study which has been made by the United States Army Engineers of the navigable rivers of the United States and the excellent flood-control works which they have planned and constructed, clearly demonstrate that they are the proper agency to have charge and control of the flood-control program of this Nation.

To the Congress of the United States:

III

We respectfully petition that you enlarge the flood-control program and increase and enlarge the power and authority of the Secretary of War and the engineers of the War Department to include the following:

(a) That the right of eminent domain be extended so that the same may be exercised by the Secretary of War and the engineers of the War Department for all purposes in connection with flood control, including the right to acquire all lands and property necessary for the construction of flood-control works and disposal of spoil materials.

(b) That flood control shall be extended to include tributaries of the Illinois River.

(c) That you appropriate and make available sufficient funds to enable the United States Army engineers to commence immediately the construction of such works as may be determined to be necessary to make effective such an enlarged flood-control program as may be determined by the engineers of the War Department, and that from time to time you make all necessary appropriations to carry such works to completion. That the cost of rights-of-way for any straightened, widened, or enlarged channel and floodway necessary for flood-control purposes and any damages incident to the straightening, widening, or enlarging of any such channel and floodway shall be considered at a part of the expenses to be borne by the Government.

(d) That you appropriate and make available immediately, for use in flood control in the Illinois River and its tributaries, a sum of not less than $10,000,000.

To the United States Army Engineers:

IV

We wish to commend the excellent judgment which you have displayed in planning and constructing levees and other flood-control works in the Illinois River. Anything which we may state herein is not to be considered as a criticism of anything that has been done or planned, but only as suggestions for your consideration and study in connection with the future planning of an enlarged flood-control program. We suggest the following:

(a) We consider that the primary principle of flood-control consists of enlarging the river channel itself to provide sufficient capacity to carry all floodwaters. We are wholly in accord with the system of levees, flood walls and other protection works which you have planned (many of which have been constructed) for the protection of cities, drainage districts, and other property, and we urge

that such of said projects as have not been completed be constructed as rapidly as funds are made available by Congress. But as a means of lowering the flood crest so as to be able to meet the extreme flood of the future and to reduce further the hazards and damages of recurring floods, we believe that the construction of an unobstructed channel of greater width and possibly greater depth than that which now exists will afford the best and most economical method of solving this problem. We, therefore, respectfully petition that you enlarge and, if necessary, deepen the flowing channel of the Illinois River as soon as possible.

(b) That, in order to construct such a channel, bottlenecks be removed, including islands and other obstructions, and also trees and growth along the river and in sloughs and swamps which may be included in the flood channel of the river, and that wherever advisable the channel of the river should be straightened.

(c) That the materials necessary to be excavated for enlarging and deepening such a channel should be used to fill borrow pits, to strengthen and enlarge levees and to lengthen the slope of levees wherever practicable.

(d) That when a flood channel of proper width and depth has been constructed, that the same be maintained in the future free of trees, brush, or other growth, and we suggest that, in order to assure the future maintenance of such a channel, the same be constructed to a depth below low-water mark, so that no trees or brush will live and grow therein.

(e) We consider that the widening and deepening of the flowing channel of the river will be of greater benefit in flood control than the setting back of levees, unless such levees are so close to the flowing channel of the river as to form a real bottleneck.

V

To the Legislature of the State of Illinois:

We respectfully petition that you adopt a comprehensive flood-control and soil-conservation program:

(a) To provide for the straightening of all tributaries of the Illinois River which are not taken over and placed under the jurisdiction of the United States Army engineers, and that you provide for the removal of obstructions therefrom. (b) That, in order to lessen floods, you provide for the construction of dams and other control works in small streamlets, gullies, and other locations on the uplands where water may be held near the point of rainfall. That this will not only prevent a quick run-off into the larger creeks and rivers, but at the same time will lessen erosion, raise the general subsurface water level, and afford hundreds of places for recreation throughout the State.

(c) That you create a proper State commission or agency to cooperate with the United States Army engineers in planning a proper flood-control program for the State which may include plans for the disposal of silt, so that insofar as possible the same may be prevented from being carried into the navigable rivers where it is now necessary for the Federal Government to remove the same in order to provide for navigation.

VI

That the secretary of this meeting shall cause these resolutions to be printed, and shall furnish a copy of the same to the Committees on Rivers and Harbors and on Flood-Control, of both Houses of Congress, to the Secretary of War and the Chief of Engineers of the United States Army, United States engineers' offices at St. Louis, Chicago, and Peoria, to the Honorable Scott W. Lucas, United States Senator from Illinois, to the Honorable C. Weyland Brooks, United States Senator from Illinois, and to each Member of the House of Representatives in Congress from Illinois, to the Honorable Dwight H. Green, Governor of Illinois, to the division of waterways of the State of Illinois, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Illinois, to the Honorable Hugh Cross, Lieutenant-Governor and ex officio president of the senate of Illinois, to the State senators and representatives whose districts touch on the Illinois River, to the mayor of each city located along the Illinois River that has been affected by the floods in the Illinois River, to chairmen of boards of commissioners of each of the drainage districts who are members of the Association of Drainage and Levee Districts of Illinois, and to any other person whom he may consider to be interested in seeing that the proposals contained in these resolutions are carried into effect, and we respectfully solicit the aid of all such interested persons to help make effective these proposals.

व

NUECES RIVER CONSERVATION AND RECLAMATION DISTRICT,
Corpus Christi, Tex., December 3, 1943.

Hon. WILL M. WHITTINGTON,
Chairman, Flood Control Committee of Congress,

Washington, D. O.

DEAR JUDGE WHITTINGTON: As you know, the Department of Agriculture was ordered by Congress to make surveys of certain watersheds and coordinate these studies with those of the United States Corps of Engineers, which are being made on the main stem and tributaries of these rivers. May I respectfully call your attention to the eight watershed surveys which already have been forwarded to your committee with the recommendations of the Secretary of Agriculture in the hope that you may reopen hearings on your flood-control bill and give earnest consideration to them. They are:

Potomac River watershed, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia.

Little Sioux River, Iowa and Minn.

Middle Colorado River, Tex.

Ouachita River, Okla. and Tex.

Little Tallahatchie River, Miss.
Coosa River, Ga. and Tenn.
Los Angeles River, Calif.

Trinity River, Tex.

My reasons for believing these projects should be included in your bill are: Authorization now makes it possible to plan and be ready to set up in minimum time an effective organization which would be in position to absorb manpower, both skilled and unskilled, into constructive work as rapidly as we shift from war to a peacetime basis. Labor so employed would be making an important contribution through increasing production of food and other agricultural products which will be needed, both at home and abroad, for an undeterminable period following the war.

Application of the land-treatment program recommended in the survey reports will yield the following advantages from the standpoint of flood control: 1. Reduction of sedimentation of reservoirs.

2. Lessening of silt and debris deposition in these channels.

3. Decrease in frequency of minor floods.

4. Diminishing the crests of major floods.

In addition to the eight above-named watersheds, I believe that other worthwhile projects should be included in your bill. Among them I would list the Nueces River Conservation and Reclamation District, of which I am president. The United States Corps of Engineers is completing a report of the Nueces River Basin.

May I again respectfully request that you lend your support to the reopening of the hearings so that these approved watersheds may be authorized.

Very truly yours,

O. N. STEVENS, President.

RESOLUTION ADOPTED AT A MEETING OF THE PHILADELPHIA BOOSTERS ASSOCIATION OF PHILADELPHIA, PA., JANUARY 20, 1944

Resolution to the United States House of Representatives Flood Control Committee:

Whereas for many years the residents of the Schuylkill River Valley have suffered much damage from recurrent floods of the Schuylkill River due in a large measure to the deposit of some 30.000,000 tons of coal silt in the river bed which has so shallowed the river as to destroy its flood-carrying capacity, and seriously interfere with navigation; and

Whereas the United States Army engineers, at the instance of House Rivers and Harbors Committee, completed an extensive survey of the conditions of that river, which survey was transmitted by the Secretary of War February 25, 1939, to Congress, and is printed in House Document No. 183 (76th Cong., 1st sess.), and which report contains a comprehensive plan devised for said river's improvement at a cost of approximately $10,000,000; and

Whereas the United States Government is now forced to spend annually nearly $500,000 to dredge out said coal silt which works down into the navigable channels

of the Schuylkill and Delaware, which expenditure would be largely reduced if the improvements recommended by the United States Army engineers were made possible by an adequate appropriation: Be it

Resolved, That the Philadelphia Boosters Association of Philadelphia, Pa., earnestly requests the Flood Control Committee of the United States House of Representatives to include in its program, now being formulated for post-war work, the flood-control improvement of the Schuylkill River recommended by the United States engineers as practicable and feasible in their report of the said survey; be it further

Resolved, That each member send a copy to his respective Congressman and urge him to press for consideration of this project.

Attest:

GEORGE GORDON MEADE, President.

JOSEPH NEWMAN, Secretary.

Congressman WILL M. WHITTINGTON,

PHILADELPHIA, PA., February 24, 1944.

Chairman, Committee on Flood Control,

House Office Building, Washington, D. C.

HONORABLE SIR: Is your committee working in harmony with the other Federal departments in gathering data that will aid your committee in formulating a flood-control program that will be begun after the war? I urge your committee to include in that program the Schuylkill River project of Pennsylvania, with the understanding that the cost of the Schuylkill River project will be underwritten by the Federal Government, the State of Pennsylvania, the city of Philadelphia, and the other municipalities along the Schuylkill River, plus the offending coal companies. I feel quite sure your committee will find the officials of the State of Pennsylvania, the various municipalities, and the coal companies that are involved in this Schuylkill River project will gladly cooperate with your committee in allocating the cost of the Schuylkill River flood-control project. As the State of Pennsylvania and the various municipalities may have to find their share of the cost of the Schuykill River project from unexpended appropriation, I urge your committee to lose no time in requesting the above-mentioned officials to advise your committee as to what share of the cost of the Schuylkill River flood-control project they are willing to underwrite.

For further information of your committee regarding the Schuylkill River project, I call your attention to that part of my statement as marked on pages 860 and 861 of the printed hearings on the National War Service bill before the Committee on Military Affairs, United States Senate, Seventy-eighth Congress, first session, on S. 666 in part 21 of April 8 and 13, 1943.

Yours truly,

ROYAL C. STEPHENS.

Let me urge your committee to appoint a subcommittee to make a 1-day investigation on who is responsible for preventing some war plant located in Philadelphia, Pa., from increasing by 25 to 50 percent the output of war material in their plant. The following news item on page 2 of the Philadelphia Daily News of the date of March 29, 1943, will aid you in such an investigation. The article reads as follows:

"CULM-MUD CITED AS FIRE PERIL TO LOWER SCHUYLKILL WAR PLANTS

"So much culm-mud has collected on the bed of the lower Schuylkill that war plants along the banks cannot get their barges into docks, according to a number of factory officials who are urging the passage of House bill No. 57, on which a public hearing will be held in Harrisburg tomorrow."

That was the State Legislature of Pennsylvania.

"The antipollution bill when passed, would eliminate the dumping of culm in the mining regions and would make for a cleaner river in this area.

"PROTESTING FIRMS

"Among the firms which have plants on the lower river and are filling war contracts are the Atlantic Refining Co., Barrett Division of Allied Chemical & Dye Co., Henry Bowers, E. I. du Pont de Nemours Co., John E. Kelly, Petrol Corporation, Philadelphia Electric Co., United States Gypsum Co., and Gulf

Oil.

"An official of the fire department has stated that the fireboat would be helpless in a large fire or an explosion in that vicinity as it would be necessary to drive the bow of the boat up on culm mud and pump from there.

"Mayor Samuel has asked Director of Public Works Neeson and Robert M. Green, city solicitor, to attend tomorrow's hearing in Harrisburg. Judge Grover C. Ladner and representatives of city organizations will also attend.

"DREDGE OWN BERTHS

"One official of the Petrol Corporation told Air Raid Warden John C. Nagel that it has been necessary for the company at certain periods to dredge their two berths on the river so that their boats could dock, and he points out that this expenditure would be eliminated if some control of the silt could be effected."

May I say this: I believe it is a Federal proposition. I know the financial interest and the power that prevented that thing from being straightened out. It is a matter of health to the boys in the service, the drinking water there. If there should be any sabotage of those plants, or any accidents and explosions, or anything, why, those fireboats could not get near them. It would mean a loss of the lives of the employees as well as the equipment at this time.

I cannot urge in any stronger terms that Congress send a committee down there, and in 1 day you can get the facts. There has been pussyfooting on this responsibility, and we want the necessary steps taken so that production can be increased here. You will get that increased production, but somebody has got to step on it.

CONSERVATION FEDERATION OF MISSOURI, ST. LOUIS DISTRICT CHAPTER, St. Louis, Mo. GENTLEMEN: The board of directors, St. Louis District Chapter of the Conservation Federation of Missouri, wish to express, for reasons herein explained, the following adopted resolution for your immediate consideration and earnestly request your favorable support.

RESOLUTION

The board of directors, St. Louis District Chapter of the Conservation Federation of Missouri (1,500 members), by reason of full and proper investigation, and by unanimous vote said board of directors do hereby wish to go on record as opposing unequivocally the use of Federal funds or other funds for the construction of so-called high flood-control dams or other dams which may be designed for the production of power at such time when other existing power could be made available. Such dams or projects as provided for by Senate bill No. 1519 tendered by Mr. McClellan (D), of Arkansas, are herein meant to be objectionable by vote of this body.

It is hereby contended that such dams are not a correction for disastrous floods as may be noted by the typical and local example of Bagnell Dam on the Osage River. It is further contended that such dams do not retard the erosion of top soil and that proper revegetation combined with the construction of small headwater dams is the permanent and effective method of control, for reason that rainfall should be controlled at the source of fall so as to be absorbed in great part by the soil. This to correct increasing conditions where the soil is being absorbed, so to speak, by the waters.

It is further contended that such dams are not conducive to the growth and solid economic welfare of a community nor to an area providing recreational facilities, as again exemplified by the Bagnell Dam. Even before wartime conditions were to be considered, resorts and communities in the Bagnell area were experiencing an increasing loss of revenue due to the impracticable harnessing of natural resources in that area.