SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 76, FIFTY-FIFTH WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1898. Mr. NELSON, from the Committee on Commerce, submitted the following REPORT. [To accompany Senate Res. No. 76.] The Committee on Commerce makes the following report of the action of the committee, taken pursuant to the following resolution: Resolved, That the Committee on Commerce is hereby instructed to make full examination and inquiry as to the following questions and report thereon to the Senate, by bill or otherwise, on the first day of the regular session in December next: First. What are the causes of the disastrous floods in the Mississippi River and its tributaries, and how can such floods be prevented or diminished? Second. If such floods are the result to any extent of the destruction of timber upon or near the head waters of said river or its tributaries, what measures should be adopted to prevent such destruction, and whether reservoirs to hold the water caused by rain or the rapid melting of snow on or near said head waters should be constructed to prevent the floods caused by the sudden precipitation of the rain or snow water into the streams flowing from the regions where the sources of the Mississippi and its tributaries are located. Third. Whether said reservoirs, if their construction should be deemed necessary for the purposes before set forth, could not also be utilized for the irrigation of arid lands in the vicinity of such reservoirs. Fourth. Whether the outlet system by which it is proposed to furnish avenues through which the waters of the Mississippi River can escape in times of flood is practicable or expedient. Fifth. Whether the present system of improving the Mississippi and Missouri rivers under which it is sought to confine the water within the banks of said rivers, by means of levees, and by such levees, together with jetties at different localities, to increase the erosive power of the current so as to protect the banks and deepen the channel, should be continued. Sixth. What has been the effect upon navigation and commerce of the jetties at the mouth of the Mississippi River, and what is the present condition of said jetties and their probable future? Seventh. Whether the Mississippi and Missouri River commissions should be continued in existence, and, if continued, what amendments should be made to the statutes creating such commissions and defining their duties and powers. Eighth. What legislation is necessary to prevent the enormous destruction of property by floods in the Mississippi River and its tributaries, and what amount of money should be appropriated by Congress for the establishment and maintenance of systematic improvements and safeguards for said purposes? That said committee shall have power to prosecute its inquiries through a subcommittee, which may sit during the recess of the Senate at such times and places as may be thought necessary, with power to send for persons and papers, and to employ a stenographer, the exi bses of said committee to be paid from the contingent fund of the Senate. |