PUBLIC PULSE 1 1 [ This la a column o|»em to th«* pnbilc for free expression. THE JOURNAL-PATRIOT 4mm a* MMUne any responsibility • lot printed Ote thi* T. W. FERGUSON WRITES y *■- ' *' • St I . w -i-: T The Journal-Pat riot: The day ot expensive experi ment in water control should be orer and we should put Into prac tice the things proved over the years to he both practical and eoonomlcaL In spite of all this, however, it is surprising how some few continue to labor under the ob vioua delusion that 1b order to protect one section you must necessarily destroy another. Und er no circumstances can water control be an over night proposi tion after all our past errors. Work Kith nature and she will help you; buck her and she will ruin you. Water control must start where the first trickle falls. Dams for water control are (be coming largely out moded. Small dams fill up In a few years. Large ones will do likewise. A four teen foot dam on Reddlee River built for a water supply filled up at the rate of two feet per year. Recent floods proved T. V. A. dams Ineffective and yon ask why? Because they are rapidly filling up. Fill a bucket with mud and you have no space for water. Two thousand dams in the U. S. have already filled up. Why con tinue to throw untold millions into doubtful and absurd pro ■ jects? The day of Santa Claus is over in that respect. Lets control our excess waters by simple, sensible and economi cal means and In ways that will not return to us as a 'boomerang. The HEDGEROW PLAN, back ed by an Intensive land and for est treatment is the best and most feasible method of flood control in North Carolina water sheds especially in the mountain and piedmont sections. Thous ands of farmers have used it for years on a email scale; but it is not a one man's proposition. The government should assist and there is nothing that can pay better dividends and pay them quicker. First clear the banks of trees and the channels of obstructions so that excess waters may ran off rapidly. Place broad hedgerows of quick growing sycamore and willow at strategic places. The hedgerows should foe uniform, reaching from the banks to the hills. They soon catch up mud, trash and drifts forming a natural dam. There should be ten thousand of. these in a watershed of 176,000 acres. This is no untried experiment. Many examples of It can be seen on a small scale on nearby streamg now. The cost would be negligible In comparison with earthen dams. The secret of dts strength and effectiveness is the retardation is spread out over a large area instead of being con fined to a few thousand acres. Try to Impound water in small areas by unnatural means and you have a headache forever. As tftr as real security is concerned the Hedgerow has no equal and its as permanent as the rock of Gibraltar. There will, of course, be some overflow as there will be In any flood -control system that can be wisely devised. With further reference to the Yadkin—Reddles River proposed project of large detention dams we have it authentically from the chief engineers who surveyed the projects there will still be 36 feet of water at North Wil kesboro should the dams be built in the event of a flood like 1940. If one is going to be drowned he does not care whe ther it is in ten feet of water or fifty the result is the same. Real estate companies have advertised that the proposed flood control system will give absolute secur ity to any one building in the usual high water reach. Chambers of Commerce and other civic or ganizations seem to be advertis ing the same sort of false secur ity. A Conner resident of N. C. now llvmg in Dayton, Ohio, ad vised ttyat ten thousand -people of Dayton had to evacuate in the recent flood there' and they are —-. just below the detention dams. An overflow I Of course, yon are going to have an overflow with any method that can be deylaed. We had Just a* well accept that fact and act accordingly. The Idea shonld be to retard the ex cess waters as much as possible by natural means until they get Into the main channels, then rush them off as quickly as possible bo ag to prevent an overflow. If the dam building crowd wantB to build a dam so ibadly why don't they build the High Point dam that has been hanging fire for ten years or more? They express such a keen interest in the peo ple below. i Let's- act wisely, adopt the HEDGEROW PLAN, that pro tects all alike, and destroys noth ing. No government owned lands. T. W. FBRGU80N. / Stewart Bishop Obituary Given Stewart Leonard Bishop was born Sept. 27, 1921; died in ac tion July 15, 1944, in France; age 23 years, 10 months and 12 days. He entered (wrrlce Sept. 14, 1942, with Company F, 134th division. He was the son of Mattle Bishop, who preceded him in death. He is survived by one brother, .Rollen Bishop, Wil keaboro, Route 1, and one sister, Mrs. Charlie Dency, Wilkesboro, Route 1. Stewart made a profession of faith in Christ and united with Arbor Grove church on August prior to his enlistment. Stewart was one of the 'boyB to be ap preciated: First, for his moral standing in the community; sec ond, for his social gtandlng. Third, for his strength as a soldier in defense of his country, for which he, gave his life; fourth for his spiritual standing with Christ and his church, which makes one a good soldier of the cross. He was well loved by all in his community in which he lived and is greatly missed toy his many, many friends.—Re ported. Beware Coughs from common coWs That Hang Oh Creomulston relieves promptly be cause it goes right to the seat of the trouble to help loosen and expel germ laden phlegm, and aid nature to soothe and heal raw, tender, in flamed bronchial mucous mem branes. Tell your druggist to sell you a bottle of Creomulsion with the un derstanding you must like the way it quickly allays the cough or you are cTeomulsion for Coughs. Chest Colds, Bronchitis Firm Bureau To Organize Wilkes Apple Producers The Farm Bureau, which has a strong organisation of 200 farmers in the eastern part of the county, is planning to orga nize apple producers in Wilkes, George Farthing, field represen tative, said while on a visit in the county last week. The F"arm Bureau now estab lished In Wilkes is composed in the main of tobacco growers and i8 a very strong and active unit. C. E. Tharpe, of Ronda, is pres ident; Irvin Key, of Honda, is vice president; and Lawrence Miller, of Wilkesboro, is secre tary. Tlje directors are T. J. Mc-( Neil, James Pardue, and John Hurt, Jr. ■. <1 Support Y. M. C. A.

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