FEATURE STORIES way, flowage, and so on. We feel that under the constitutional provision no private property can be taken for public use without compensation.”36 The bill was referred to the House on March 30.37 Representative Reid reported the bill for the Committee on Flood Control on April 2 with 33 amendments.38 Although issues relating to total project cost, local cost sharing, and source retention facilities had been noted in the Senate, the Senate had little discussion on these issues. Contrary to the Senate, the House had considerable discussion on each of these issues. With the general realization that levees were inadequate to the task of flood control, the question for Representative Sinclair was: “shall we let the waters out of the river, or shall we prevent them from reaching the river by retention dams and source-stream reservoirs in the headwaters of the various tributaries?”39 Neither the Commission plan nor the Jadwin plan had proposed construction of source-stream reservoirs. S. 3740, however, contained a provision for carrying out some previously authorized surveys of tributaries “as speedily as practicable” with the Secretary acting through the Corps of Engineers “to prepare and submit to Congress at the earliest practicable date projects for flood control on all tributary streams.”40 Representative Sears of Nebraska objected to the failure to consider source reservoirs for immediate construction, contending that no bill should go forward until that had been done. He thought leaving consideration up to General Jadwin would result in reservoir source control having “no more show than a one-legged grasshopper in a pen of hungry turkeys.”41 Congressman Reid, however, noted that “there is a provision in the bill that if it should be determined that reservoirs will help to control floods in the lower Mississippi Valley, then they might be substituted in place of some of the proposed flood ways.”42 House amendments: (1) added additional already authorized surveys; (2) specified eight tributary rivers and their tributaries; (3) specified six elements to be considered in the reports; 43 and (4) substituted the Commission for the Board to receive the reports and give conclusions and recommendations44 before the Secretary of War submitted his report to Congress.45 The House also added a provision authorizing inquiry into the extent and manner in which “proper forestry practice” could control floods.46 On a point of difference between the two plans, however, the Commission plan had recommended higher levees in this Missouri section with floodways located lower down on the Mississippi.47 Apparently Chief Engineer Jadwin had rejected the Commission’s approach as too expensive and instead recommended the Birds Point-New Madrid Floodway.48 President Coolidge apparently favored the Jadwin plan, and S. 3740
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