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FLOOD CONTROL

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 1928

UNITED STATES SENATE,
COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE,

Washington, D. C.

The committee met, pursuant to adjournment, at 10 o'clock a. m., in the committee room, Capitol, Senator Wesley L. Jones presiding. Present: Senators Jones (chairman), Willis, Sackett, La Follette, Fletcher, Ransdell, Simmons, Stephens, Harris, Copeland, and Tyson.

The CHAIRMAN. The committee will come to order.

STATEMENT OF MAJ. GEN. EDGAR JADWIN, CHIEF OF
ENGINEERS, UNITED STATES ARMY

The CHAIRMAN. General Jadwin, how long have you been Chief of Engineers?

General JADWIN. Since a year ago last June.

The CHAIRMAN. How long have you been connected with the Engineering Corps of the Army?

General JADWIN. Since June, 1890-371⁄2 years.

The CHAIRMAN. Tell us what contact you have had with the Mississippi River and the situation there?

General JADWIN. I never have been actually stationed as district engineer on the Mississippi River. I have been stationed at Nashville in connection with the Tennessee and the Cumberland, and I have been stationed at Pittsburgh in charge of the work on the Allegheny and the Monongahela. In the office of the Chief of Engineers for four years I had charge of the permit section that had to do with determining whether permits should be issued for structures in navigable waters of the United States, including the Mississippi River, and for two years, before becoming chief of engineers I was assistant chief of engineers, and as such all papers in connection with construction with regard to the Mississippi River passed over my desk on the way. to the chief of engineers. I have had a great deal of other work connected with the rivers in the United States having to do with navigation, and some with flood problems. For example, I was a member of the Ohio River Navigation Board and also a member of the Ohio River and its Tributaries Flood Control Board. I was on the board that determined the project for flood control in San Antonio, Tex., and made reports in connection with flood control on the Monongahela River. This board I was on made joint reports on a number of other tributaries in the Ohio Valley.

The CHAIRMAN. Will you state to the committee in a general way the investigations made and the steps taken preparatory to getting

the plan that has been submitted to Congress. Do not go into details of the plan as yet, but tell us the steps that were taken in a general way to determine what should be done.

General JADWIN. I might say by way of introduction to remind the committee that the flood-control laws that you have established prescribed that all laws affecting navigation works are applicable also to flood-control projects, in so far as practicable, and that brings us to the method by which we obtained the report that we have submitted to you. Your laws for the improvement of navigation order an examination and survey of such works as you wish constructed. When we get them we send them out to our district engineers of whom we have 50 in the United States. They investigate it carefully, and have public hearings, and get the public sentiment, in the consideration of the matters concerned, so that they can have an analysis of the question submitted with their recommendation. It comes to Washington, and under your laws is received by the Board of Engineers for Rivers and Harbors. That is a board composed of seven officers of broad experience in different parts of the country. They get together about once in three weeks and study matters. They are.constantly making studies.

The CHAIRMAN. I think we know that general program, but what I had in mind especially was any special steps that you took with reference to this particular program.

General JADWIN. With this problem under your law I took the steps as nearly as practicable similar to those I have enumerated. The time was short, and normally it would have taken two or three years to produce the project that we have here, under the ordinary procedure. I substituted for the River and Harbor Board a special group, which included the resident member of that board, and had several specialists in different lines. The matter came to my attention first in connection with the flood. I was down in the valley in connection with the rescue work, and I had been in doubt for some little time as to the project in the matter of flood ways or spillways. That had been raised, and Congress had ordered a survey on that particular question. General Taylor, on my recommendation, appointed a board made up of very fine officers to study that. and they had then been at work for about a year or two. I had been in touch with them, and they had practically made up their minds at that time that flood ways should be recommended. This was totally contrary to the position of the Mississippi River Commission at that time. The report of the board had not been made public, but I knew what it would probably recommend. data as I had, my leaning was very strongly in that direction. My attention had first been brought to it forcibly in 1922. I was then in Texas, and at the time of the big flood I went over to New Orleans to see the flood, and then I discussed the matter somewhat and the question was raised in my mind whether they ought not to have some spillways or flood ways. Getting back from one of the rescue trips, I made up my mind that the time had arrived when there should be a showdown on the Mississippi project, and I felt that the Congress would surely want it by December, and that whatever was neces sary to get such a study should be done.

We found that in this law you had passed last year about surveys for flood control, navigation, power, etc., you had included the

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