66 Flood Control on the Mississippi River

HEARINGS

BEFORE THE

Congress, House B

COMMITTEE ON FLOOD CONTROL
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEVENTY-THIRD CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

CONTINUATION OF HEARINGS TO PROVIDE FOR LANDS
TAKEN, USED, OR DESTROYED BY REASON OF
SET-BACKS OR CHANGES IN LEVEE LINES
ON THE MAIN CHANNEL OF THE
MISSISSIPPI RIVER

FLOOD CONTROL ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 1934

COMMITTEE ON FLOOD CONTROL,
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

Washington, D.C.

The committee met at 10:30 a.m., Hon. Riley J. Wilson (chairman) presiding.

The CHAIRMAN. The committee will come to order. Gentlemen of the committee, we have under consideration for the hearing this morning a bill providing for compensation to landowners for land exposed by set-backs and changes in the levee lines on the main channel of the Mississippi River. The Mississippi River flood-control plan has been entrusted to the care of the engineers for prompt execution of flood-control projects. It has been necessary to change the levee lines in order to save cost to the Government and to make the plan permanent, estimated on a 30-year basis. As the work progresses, certain areas have been exposed to flood waters of the main channel of the Mississippi River. We will now hear the statements of these gentlemen who are here, and who wish to speak on the subject.

Judge Dale, would you be in a position to go ahead now?
Mr. DALE. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Some changes and proposed changes sometimes affect the towns and cities on the main channel of the river, and Judge John Dale, of Vidalia, La., is here, and Congressman Ellzey of Mississippi desires to be heard at another date pertaining to the same matter. Therefore, I will ask Judge Dale to be the first witiness. Each witness is requested to give his name, occupation, and address.

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN DALE, ATTORNEY AT LAW,

VIDALIA, LA.

Mr. DALE. My name is John Dale; my residence is Vidalia, La.; I am a lawyer, and I was born in Concordia Parish in 1859, and have lived in Vidalia for approximately 48 years, since 1886, and have been practicing law there since that time, and my office all that time has either been inside the levee or on the outside. For the last 35 years it has been between the levee and the river.

A year or so ago citizens of Concordia Parish and a large part of Tensas held mass meetings to protest against unnecessary cut-offs. It was throwing large quantities of farm land outside, they believed, absolutely unnecessarily, and I was selected chairman of that com