Homecroft Reserve in Colorado River Valley [247]
United States owns land, water and power—Development by national government would result in vast profit to it—Australian System of Land Reclamation and Settlement should be adopted—Action should be prompt to forestall friction between United States and Japan—Will never have war with Japan except as result of apathy and neglect—United State must create in Colorado River Valley dense population settled in self-containing Communities—Characteristics of Country particularly adapt it to requirements for Homecroft Reserve—Safety of Southern California from invasion would be insured—Military Highways to San Diego and Los Angeles—Defense of Mexican Border—Homecroft Cavalry Reserve in Nevada similar to Cossack Cavalry System—Correction of Mexican Boundary Line to include mouth of Colorado River in the United States—New State of South California to be formed.
CHAPTER X
California a Remote Insular Province [277]
More easily accessible from Japan by sea than from United States by land, in case of war—Mountain Ranges bound it north, east, and south—All plans for defense of California with a Navy or coast fortifications are futile and a delusion—Bombardment of English towns and comparison of English Coast and California Coast—Japan would, if war were declared, seize Alaska, Philippines, and Hawaii—Would then transport an army of 200,000 to California—Railroad tunnels and bridges being destroyed by dynamite would render relief by United States impossible—Reliance on Panama Canal too uncertain—Quickness with which occupation of California would be accomplished by Japanese—Huge military difficulties in the way of United States reconquering it—Mountain passes would be fortified by Japanese—Railroad bridges, culverts, and tunnels across deserts would be dynamited—To recapture a single mountain pass more difficult than capture of Port Arthur—Death and Desolation are Supreme in the Southwestern Deserts—Japanese would rapidly colonize all vacant lands in California—The way to make the Pacific Coast safe is for the United States to colonize it first with a dense population of intensive cultivators of the soil.
CHAPTER XI
Militarism and the Mississippi Valley [301]
Military caste absorbs to itself undue power—Danger seen in military opposition to improved system for river regulation—Military control of inland waterways detrimental to country—Army Engineers wedded to System of "Pork Barrel," political, piecemeal appropriations—Reason why Army methods of education hamper progress in river improvement—Mississippi River requires comprehensive treatment—Necessity for Source Stream Control on all upper tributaries—Why the Calaveras Reservoir was not built—Blunder in Construction of Stockton Cutoff Canal—War may be uncertain, but necessity for fight against floods and storms is certain—Description of a great Gulf Storm—Comprehensive plan for protecting lower delta of Mississippi River by great Dikes like those in Holland Safety from floods guaranteed by construction of Atchafalaya Controlled Outlet, Wasteway, and Auxiliary flood water channels.
CHAPTER XII