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NOT HOW CHEAP BUTYUMA RAPIDLY EMERGING FROM SLOUGH OF MUG(By B. F. Fly)Yuma is rapidly emerging from the slough of mud and despond that permeated every part of the busines section of the city on the fatal morning of January 22, twenty-four years and eleven months to a day after the awful flood of 1891. Business houses generally have opened their doors and are doing business at the same old stand, while the unfortunate citizens whose homes are either flooded or washed away have found other places of abode, some in rented houses some with relatives or friends while others are housed under army tents furnished by the government or state, and made as comfortable as circumstances will permit. And all this in less than a week after the flood. It is a source of gratification to everyboe;-that conditions are not very much worse than they are. In any other city of like size any where in the United States the suffering would be magr nified a hundred fold, for no other, city has the mild climate this season of the year that is enjoyed by Yuma.It is days like these that vex a man’s soul. It is a crisis like Yuma has just emerged from that brings out the best in mankind. It is the hour that shows just exactly what kind of citizens we have and let it be said to Yuma's credit that taken as a whole Yumaites have proven themselves equal to the emergency. The very first thought of her leading citizens was for the poor and unfortunate and to at once make provision for their safety and comfort. Provisions and clothing fairly poured into Relief Headquarters from every part of the city. Many of the unfortunates were given better clothing than they ever probably worn before. And the gifts were not made in the spirit of charity, but as a matter of public duty’ to their fellow beings. And those who received these gifts, in most instances were grateful beyond expression. Tears could often be seen as some honest mother led her children into the Relief Headquarters, only to come out with eyes dilating with gratitude to the generous donors. It was pathetic, and yet the donors had the great satisfaction of knowing that they had actually done a splendid duty, one that must ever remain as a mark of distinction intheir favor.Those noble women who gave up dresses that would have served them for many days to come, can congratulate themselves on their sacrifice. The little boys and girls who shared their clothing with the little boys and girls who had everything on earth swept from them can well feel proud that the opportunity came to them this early in life to demonstrate the unselfish spirit. It speaks volumes for them.The men who contributed of their time and money were only too glad to be of sei-vice in such a crisis. If need be they are willing to duplicate whatever they have done for that’s the Yuma spirit. They stand ready to go the limit for their home town andtheir people. The distress ol one is the concern of all Give the poor man a chance to get back on his feet again and as Yuma springs into new life, new’ energy, the man who has been helped will show his worth, will be an honor to his name and a credit to the community.Of course, there will be found croakers, people whc would find fault with the second coming of the Saviour. But these are so few here in Yuma, so few that they are not worth mentioning. There will be some who will say all the blame on the Reclamation officials for the flooding of the Reservation unit^nd the Yuma valley unit, without stopping to think that human ingenuity in all probability could not have checked the on-rushing waters. But there are only a few who will venture such an argument. When the levees were constructed had they been given a core of concrete, or galvanized mesh wire set up for a depth of two feet all along the levees the gophers would not have wrought such damage. But gophers have ruined many levees long before this and will continue to ruin many more without the expense above mentioned. It would have taken all the men in Yuma county to have successful patroled the Yuma Valley levee. And even then t is extremely doubtful if it could have been saved at those points where it was not rock revetted. And all the men in creation could not have prevented the flooding of the Indian Reservation, where for several miles the water went raging and tearing over its banks a full two feet above the railroad rails, and with such force and velocity that railroad rails were rwisted and bent as though they were hair pins in the hands of an infuriated woman. The old government levee east of the city could have been saved if Mr. San-guinetti's advice had been followed to run a spur of the railroad along its length ana rock dumped along its sides by the trainload a week before the high water came.But all these things are in the past. Yumaites can’t afford to cry over spilled milk. Nor do they intend to. What must be done now is rebuild our levees so they will stand like the rock of Gibraltar. The Reclamation officials are doing their share of the work, and it will be done more thoroughly now than ever before. There won't be any more breaks on account of the levee not being high enough, nor will the pesky little gopher have such an easy time in the future.Let everybody cheer up. Meet your more fortunate neighbor with a smile. Don’t begrudge him his good fortune of missing the floqd. Smile and you will always get a smile in return.BIG FLOOD IN ARKANSAS(Associated Press)LITTLE ROCK. Jan. 2S.—Hundreds are homeless, and thousands of acres of farming land are inundated in the valleys of the White und Arkansas, rivers, as a result of the recent heavy rains.New magazines at Shoreys
Newspaper Details
Yuma Arizona Sentinel Yuma Southwest
Yuma, Arizona, US
Thu, Jan 27, 1916
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Isabel A.
NA, 22 Jun 2024
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