The Secretary of the Army is authorized and directed to have water gauges established, and daily observations made of the rise and fall of the Mississippi River and its tributaries.
For the purpose of securing the uninterrupted gauging of the waters of the Mississippi River and its tributaries, as provided for in this section, upon the application of the Chief of Engineers, the Secretary of the Army is authorized to draw his warrant or requisition, from time to time, upon the Secretary of the Treasury for such sums as may be necessary to do such work, not to exceed in the aggregate for each year the sum of $9,600.
(R.S. §5252; Aug. 11, 1888, ch. 860, §6,
R.S. §5252 derived from Res. Feb. 21, 1871, No. 40,
The first paragraph of this section is from R.S. §5252, which, as enacted, authorized and directed the establishment of water gauges and the making of daily observations at or in the vicinity of certain enumerated places, and at such other places as the Secretary of War might deem advisable. It further provided that the expenditure should be made from the appropriation for the improvement of rivers and harbors and that the annual cost of the observations should not exceed $5,000. These latter provisions were apparently modified by section 6 of act Aug. 11, 1888, as amended by section 9 of act June 13, 1902, which was substantially the second paragraph of this section. As originally enacted, section 6 of act Aug. 11, 1888, provided for the gauging of the waters of the Lower Mississippi and tributaries, and limited the cost for each year to the amount appropriated in the act for such purpose.
1954-Act Aug. 30, 1954, repealed proviso requiring that an itemized statement of expenses incurred in gauging waters of the Mississippi River and its tributaries, as provided in this section, should accompany the annual report of the Chief of Engineers.
Department of War designated Department of the Army and title of Secretary of War changed to Secretary of the Army by section 205(a) of act July 26, 1947, ch. 343, title II,
Section 2 of act June 26, 1934, ch. 756,