The south-western. [volume] (Shreveport, La.) 1852-1870, 1856-03-05
In our last we published the views of the


had proved an abortion-that it is an injury t
I. the river, (which cannot be repaired without,
heavy draft upon tile state treasury" and tia
the authorities "ruthlessly expended thirty
three thousand dollars to do an injury w
perceive that the Louisiana Democrat, publish
ed at Alexandria, fully endorses the statemen
\ Of the chief engineer, and says:
= .'The work has been of no benefit to the per
manent navigation of the river, but as was clear
ly demonstrated during the last summer was
positive injury to the navigation aboue the falls
: Heretofore, during the lowest stages of the wa
ter, and when the smallest boats have had thu
utmost difficulty in running at all JeloaO the falls
/ there has always been a suficency of waite
above the shoals for small boats to run uninter
ruptedly. But during the last summer the cas-,
was reversed; the navigation at one period wa
entirely suspended above, whilst there was NJ
interruption below the falls. This effect wa.
predicted by almost every practical man whom
we heard give an opinion on the subject
4 Last summer and fall were seasons of an I'M
precedented drought, and, therefore. hardly :
criterion by which to test the utility the work
done on the falls. But, admitting that the
state engineer is correct in his deduction, what
does it demonstrate? Simply the reckless and
4 ruthless" manner in which the democracy Of
Louisiana have squandered the peoples money
i ex-governor Hebert was educated at West
1 Point expressly for the u. S. engineer corps,
and was for years chief engineer of Louisiana,
! and, therefore, may be supposed to possess
4 some "practicaP' knowledge of NEUROLOGY
If he believed that removing the falls would in
the slightest degree njure the navigation of Red
River, Why did he sign the bills aPpropriating
the public money for that purpose? His veto
would have at any time killed tile project We
must suppose that he preferred giving his de.
mocratic supporters fat Jobs, to looking after
Ethe interests Of the Red River country. That
he quietly permitted $685. 900 to be "ruthlessly
expended by his chosen friends ''to do an
INJURY This is another specimen of demo-
cratic "retrenchment and REFORM But, we
are inclined to believe with our friend of the
Vaddo Gazette, that the state engineer knows
nothing about" the good OF i'll effects of the
work done on the falls --=
; 1t is now considered absolutely necessary
chat further appropriations should be made to
perfect and render available the improvements
commenced at the falls, owing to the fact that
the new channel is not as straight and conve-
tient as is desirable for practical purposes
1t is proposed to extend the width of the chan
mel through the rapids from sixty feet, its pre-
sent size, to ninety feet, and no one acquainted
with boating would ever have thought of making
it less. The additional 80 feet on the upper
falls 70 be cut on the right side descending, so
as to straighten the stream and reduce the
curve, and the additional 80 feet on the lower
fails to be cut on the same side, thereby allow
ny boats to hug the shore while stemming the
,nrrent. On the upper falls, 40 feet oftbe point,
! teef making the curve in the channel, to be
,ut off to depth of 5 feet which, together with s
he 80 feet mentioned, will destroy the curve t
md give a straight channel. 1t is also propos- t
d that a substantial wing dam, of 100 feet be
brown up at the lower part of the upper falls, {
anning from the right bank descending, to-
yards the middle of the river; thereby giving |
he current direct course with the middle of $
be stream instead ofits present one, which rush $
5 directly against the shore. 1t would also S
void the tedious operation of working boats u
9TH hawsers and lines and changing them to s
1frrent points. A single line would be sufi- Ii
lent to heare boat through. The sum of is
$4,000 it is estimated will be amply sufficient T
} consummate all these works, and meneyi- q
has been addressed to the legislature, signed 7
y nearly all the commanders of Red River a
eamers, and BY all the cotton factors and nler- o.
tants of New Orleans who are interested in h
lie Trade Of northern Louisiana, eastern Texas h
nd Arkansas, praying for an appropriation of ii
lat amount, and, as former democratic legis- IL
lfes "ruthlessly expended s35, 900 to do an Z
Jury" according to the report OF their own e
aicer,) we hope that the present body will do D
i IN its power to remedy the evil done by its 7
PREDECESSORS, and promptly vote the sum re- tt
aiEed TO put matters to rights.
"A FRIEND TO THE Sou7H In his special G
essage to congress, on the state of affairs in Il
ansas, president Pierce draws marked dis b
nchre between the interference" of aboli- b
on'sts and pro-slaverymen, by pre6xing an re
Elective in the case of the latter He says: II
&tlaeyerence on the one hand, to procure the
oollton or prohibition of slave in the territory,
as produced mtschieUous interference on the Il
her. for its maintenance OF introduction. One Z
ront, begets another" 81
1t seems to us, remarks the Mobile News, :,
at the term "mischievous'' might have been :,
ore properly applied to the wrong first com I
itted by the abolitionists and the presidents t,
It official, governor Reeder, than to that which
provoked from the friends of slavery Ac- g q
riding to the Pierce logic, abolition 'interfer-
ice" in Kansas to rob southern people Of their
operty and just rights, is not particularly :,
lminai; but when southerners resist such on