54 KANSAS CITY REVIEW OF SCIENCE. 



SCIENTIFIC MISCELLANY. 



A MISSOURI RIVER COMMISSION. 



Mr. Clardy's favorable report on the Graves bill to create a Missouri River 

 Improvement Commission is one of very great importance, and is substantially 

 as follows : 



The object of the bill is to establish a Missouri River Commission, composed 

 of two officers of the Engineer Corps, one of the Coast and Geodetic survey and 

 two civilians, to superintend the expenditure of money appropriated by Congress 

 for the improvement of the navigation of the Missouri River, and to make the 

 necessary investigations and study of that river for the purpose of devising the 

 most effective and economical method of using the annual appropriations made 

 for this water-way. 



To properly appreciate the importance of legislation, whose object is the 

 keeping in repair this national highway, it may be well to consider that this river 

 has a length of over 3,000 miles, and has been navigated its entire length from 

 its mouth to Fort Benton, in Montana. 



The States of Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, and the Territories of 

 Montana and Dakota, are drained by its waters, while Colorado, Wyoming and 

 New Mexico are to be considered as greatly interested in and affected by the 

 commercial problems involved in the improvement of this river. 



The census of 1880 shows that Kansas, Nebraska and Montana and such 

 portions of Missouri, Iowa and Dakota as may be fairly embraced in the Missouri 

 River Valley contain 260,000,000 acres, 3,500,000 people, whose assessed wealth 

 aggregates $1,250,000,000, of which $900,000,000 consist of landed property and 

 the remainder is principally live stock, there being near 5,000,000 head of cattle, 

 1,500,000 horses, 4,700,000 hogs and over 2,000,000 head of sheep. It pro- 

 duced in 1879 °^^^ 60,000,000 bushels of wheat, over 400,000,000 bushels of corn, 

 53;°°OjO°o bushels of oats, 1,800,000 bushels of rye, and 4,300,000 bushels of 

 barley. During 1881, the Government collected in this district internal revenue 

 alone amounting to $7,727,000. Could the census be shown for the year 1883 

 the foregoing estimates would be surprisingly magnified. 



That this great water-way should be put in the best navigable condition is in 

 accordance with the rules of political economy as well as common sense, it being 

 located in a region so fertile and productive of all that administers to the wants 

 of teeming millions. It is located where it is most needed and where it can per- 

 form the greatest service in the shape of transportation. With the great natural 

 advantages possessed by this water-way it should be the main dependence for the 

 bully freights of an agricultural valley. But it is the channel of commerce least 



