This tonnage originates at Cape Girardeau, Mo., but is delivered to the Frisco by the Missouri Pacific on through billing instead of in switching service.

With the railroad being shut off for an average of 26 days each of the past 10 years from serving these national-defense industries and conserving the public welfare of the people of Cape Girardeau, there is ample justification for this expenditure of $1 million as recommended by the Bureau of the Budget and the President of the United States in his budget message, which million dollars will be sufficient to prevent damage by floods to the height of 1947 and 1951 at Cape Girardeau, Mo., and conserve the national defense as well as the public welfare of not only the people of Cape Girardeau, but by all of the other citizens and

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towns served by the utilities and defense industries with headquarters at Cape Girardeau, all of which are dependent on the railroad for in-bound and out-bound freight.

It is hoped that this additional information, some of which was not available to the House committee when they discussed this situation, will result in your approving the recommendation of the Bureau of the Budget in approving $1 million for construction of this Cape Girardeau flood-control project.

The above information is also being given to the members of the Civil Finetions Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee of the House of Repre sentatives as additional information to what was presented to them some time ago in the belief that with this additional information they will concur in your recommendation in conference so that this much-needed project may be started during the next fiscal year with the appropriation of a million dollars.

Senator ELLENDER. All right, Mr. Oliver.

STATEMENT OF MR. R. B. OLIVER, Jr., CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO.

CAPE GIRARDEAU LEVEE AND BANK STABILIZATION

Mr. OLIVER. Mr. Chairman, I observed the very great forbearance and courtesy extended by the Chairman this afternoon. I realize the hour. I will be very happy if it will meet the consent of the committee to appear about 10 or 12 minutes in the morning, if that is agreeable. Senator ELLENDER. We have a full schedule tomorrow.

Mr. OLIVER. It is your pleasure.

Senator ELLENDER. The schedule is filled.

Mr. OLIVER. I will be glad to proceed, sir.

Senator ELLENDER. I will be glad to stay here and hear you, sir. Mr. OLIVER. My name is R. B. Oliver, Jr. I live at Cape Girardeau, Mo. I am here as representative of two levee districts.

Senator ELLENDER. You were here last year?

BUDGET ESTIMATE

Mr. OLIVER. Yes, sir. The situation has changed. First the sum of $1 million was included in the budget for this Cape Girardeau project. The House committee declined to go along and assigned three reasons for not doing so. One was that there was no planning; second, that there was no particular defense activity involved; and third, that the usual assurances had not been executed.

Now, with respect to the fact that there were no plans, there was a million dollars which was allocated and made available shortly after the first of the year for the completion of the preliminary plans. That work is now progressing and that work will have been completed, so I am told, by the late summer or early fall, which would of course make available the availability of the project in the event funds were appropriated during the fiscal

year.

TOTAL ESTIMATED COST

Those plans in the original authorization were very complete and provided for three different projects. That is to say, sectors in this work. The estimated total cost was $4,756,000. The budget carries this year $1 million, and that is amply sufficient to take care and to construct the proposed unit or one unit of the work. Each of them is separate and distinct from the others. It is not like an agricul

tural levee, but they are juttings of the promontory of the hills that come out to the river.

Then, third, that no assurances had been executed at the time that the committee's report was made. Repeated statements have been made by authorized representatives of the levee district that they stood ready, willing, and able to execute the assurances, but since the House declined to go along and assigned that reason, they have now executed those assurances and they are now in the hands of the Corps of Engineers.

So we think that those conclusions or reasons which were assigned by the House committee in declining the appropriation have been entirely changed.

In connection with the one other thing that there was no particular defense involved, I would call attention to the fact that the Frisco Railroad extends from St. Louis to Cape Girardeau to Memphis on down to the Pensacola seaport there, that the lowest water level point is in the city of Cape Girardeau. There is a dip in the track at that point. I will refer to that later.

I would also call attention to the fact that there was a statement filed with the committee by a consulting engineer in which he sets out the tonnage that goes through Cape Girardeau and originates at Cape Girardeau which runs into thousands of tons of freight. So that that is a matter that I feel completely changes the factual situation from that which existed at the time the House committee turned the recommendation down.

Now, a number of the Senators were in Cape Girardeau in July 1951. That condition was repeated substantially in 1952. I sat here during the day and have heard many comments about the flood in the upper river in 1952. Our flood in 1951 was slightly higher than it was in 1952 at Cape Girardeau. We have at Cape Girardeau the combined upper Missouri and, of course, the upper Mississippi. Our crest was reached about the 5th or 6th of May. That is the length of time it takes the water to come down the river.

FLOOD CONDITIONS

And while we would be very happy, and we have no complaint to find with the dams and any other work which will retard the flow of the water in these rivers, yet, since we are 1,200 or 1,000 river miles from those proposed dams, it would do but little good at Cape Girardeau. Particularly would that be true since the flood of 1951 originated in Kansas and in north Missouri and in southern Iowa and a portion of that water came from northern Oklahoma.

Now, what is our flood record at Cape Girardeau? It is an old town, as you well know. There was no particular flood damage at the time the town was located. People did not locate towns on that portion of the river which was subject to overflow with the possible exception of extreme conditions. Now our flood stage at Cape Girardeau was 30 feet. The project flood plain is 51. So that in the event, with a 2-foot freeboard, in the event that the project flood was reached, we might have 19 feet of water above flood stage at Cape Girardeau and that would put it a number of feet over the area which is now overflowed and would widen out and extend over a great deal more territory.

I might say we have had eight floods, eight major floods in the last 10 years; considerable conversation and information was given the committee this afternoon and complaint made because there were two floods in 10 years in the upper reaches of the river. There were only 2 years in the last 10 years that we have not had a flood. So that is quite a different situation.

We have no complaint to make with respect to the requested appropriations for the upper river, but there is only one thing that will do Cape Girardeau any good and that is the building of the levees, for this reason: Between St. Louis and Cape Girardeau-we are on the east side of the river-there has previously been spent $73,960,000 in the construction of levees between East St. Louis and east Cape Girardeau, and this year's House appropriation bill carries $4,950,000 additional for the purpose of strengthening and raising those levees. What is going to be the result? Higher flood stage at Cape Girardeau.

UPSTREAM LEVEES

It

Then in addition to that, the House bill carried $890,000 for upstream levees on the Missouri side in the Perry County levee district. So that we feel that the people of Cape Girardeau should not be penalized on account of the protection which is afforded others and particularly is that true since this project has been authorized. was authorized in the Eighty-first Congress, first session, House Document 204, and has been coming through as rapidly as possible since that time. There was nobody to give these assurances in the beginning, so we had to go to the Missouri Legislature and get enabling legislation enacted so that a levee district could be erected and organized within a municipality. That is where these two levee districts are.

So that our remedy, in view of this terrific situation which has arisen, is to construct the works which have been provided for in the plans originated by the Army engineers.

The Missouri State Highway Commission, in order to meet this condition, has already expended $2,025,000 in raising United States Highway No. 61, which reaches from the Gulf across this flooded section just below Cape Girardeau.

The Missouri Legislature has enacted laws to organize these districts.

The Frisco Railroad, whose tracks are on the front street, are also very anxious and willing for this work to be done and are cooperating fully. So that there is no one who is objecting to this and they are all extremely anxious to have this work through.

All of those people are living under the hazard of this increased flood. They have been taking these floods for the past 10 years. We now have an opportunity to build one sector of this flood-control work which will protect the retail shopping district, the retail business district, then the next section will be done with the industrial sections, since there is only the $1 million recommended in the budget that will be used, so I understand, or recommended to be used in the retail shopping district. While these people have been long suffering, they feel that this appropriation should be made at this time.

I do not know that the chairman has seen some of these photographs. There is one that is on the main street of the town. Here is one here.

You will notice the size of that head wall there backing it up. There is a picture taken last year of the Woolworth store. They were operating during the period of time the flood was on.

There is a utility plant there which serves a great area, a radius of about 100 miles.

There is another picture showing the main street. There is another picture showing a power boat going up main street of the town. These are all familiar flood pictures.

What has been said in many of these statements this afternoon might be duplicated exactly in many towns and many times. So far as the cooperation of the people is concerned, usually you get that in any town because any great calamity brings the people to rally around for their own protection. That is why we feel the Congress should come to the rescue and help out the people who have been sorely plagued by reason of these waters because of no fault of their own. When the town was created it was a high level town and these flood stages have been raised and we think that is the obligation of the Government to take care of that.

Senator ELLENDER. I think there is no doubt about that, otherwise Congress would not have authorized it.

Mr. OLIVER. Mr. Chairman, I have two statements which I would like to offer for the record.

Senator ELLENDER. Without objection the statements will be placed in the record at this point.

(The material referred to follows:)

STATEMENT IN RE CITY OF CAPE GIRARDEAU FLOOD PROTECTION

Mr. Chairman and gentlemen of the committee, I am president of board of supervisors of Main Street Levee Improvement District of Cape Girardeau, Mo. It was organized in 1949, under and in conformance with a recent Missouri statute, for the purpose of securing protection and relief to the property within the district from the floodwaters of the Mississippi River.

While flood stage at Cape Girardeau is 32 feet no great amount of damage occurs until the Mississippi River reaches a stage of 38 feet on the Cape Girardeau gage. Between 1844 and 1943, a period of 99 years, a gage reading of over 38 feet was reached only twice; in 1922, 38 feet, and in 1927, 40.04 feet.

Being a river town it was natural for industries and the business district to develop along the river front. The record over the years gave no indication of danger from floods and the conveniences of such a location were many. The Frisco Railroad main line between St. Louis and Memphis was located in 1902 along the river bank and was undoubtedly a factor in the location of industry near the river. Such industries as the International Shoe Co., employing 1,300 people, the Marquette Cement Manufacturing Co., Federal Materials Co., Leming Lumber Co., and many bulk oil companies are located within a few hundred feet of the Mississippi River bank. Also our local electric plant, which supplies current to a large part of southeast Missouri, is located on the bank of the Mississippi River. All of these industries, with the exception of bulk oil companies, were built prior to 1912 and were designed to withstand a flood stage of 38 feet on the Cape Girardeau gage, a stage which had not occurred since 1844.

In 1915 the F. W. Woolworth Co. opened a store on Main Street, which street is within 150 feet of the Mississippi River bank, and thereafter such stores as J. C. Penney, Montgomery Ward, J. J. Newberry, A. & P. Tea Co., and many other retail stores, located either on Main Street or the immediate vicinity. All of these establishments required a stage in excess of 38 feet on the Cape Girardeau gage before their operations were interfered with.

You gentlemen can well imagine the present feelings of all of us who have interest in the affected area and have experienced in 1943, 1944, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1951, and 1952 flood stages in excess of 38 feet. Six times within the last 9 years we have seen our main industries and retail stores closed from 2 to 6 weeks with no mail, passenger, or freight service over the Frisco Railroad, and the constant