The New Orleans Democrat. (New Orleans, La.) 1875-1876, 1875-12-28
ADDRESS TO THE PUBLIC
BY THE
Louisiana Levee Company


OFFICE LOUISIANA LEvEE COMPANY.
No. % Carondelet street.
New Orleans, Nov. Is. 1876.
To the Public.
The undersigned. President Of the Louisiana
Leyee Company in behalf OF the directors and
stockholders Of said company. deems it his duty
to the public and to the stockholders to publish
the following statements in correction and refu-
tation Of the persistent msstatements and false
accusations made regarding as and our motives
and actions through the press Of New Orleans.
Tho parties not ourselves. who formed the
Levec Company. and originally contracted with
the State df Louisiana for the building and
maintenance Of leyecs. in February. 1871. found
themselves wholly unable tp comply with their
contract for want Of capital The State llad pre-
viousIy issued more than ss.voooo Of bonds for
levee construction purposes. under Boards 81
Commissioners which, bonds were much depre-
ciated in value In the market. and the State was
powcrIess TO raise further means for continuing
the work of Ievce maintenance. She had no
money and could no longer get the work done
on credit. The levees were broken and gone In
very many places. and unless something were
done the whole aluvial portion Of tho State was
certain to be inundated during the next foods
of the river.
The State could not build the levees and the
new Levoe Company rs then constituted was
equally powerlcss to proceed with the work 1t
had undertaken. Such was the situation in No
vcmber. 1871.
At this iuncturc a few gentlemen. including
among their number several bank presidents.
large landed proprietors. and capitalists. all rss-
idcnt citizens Of long standing. who thought
they would thereby render the State good scr
vice. joined together IN the emergency and con
eluded to invest " portion Of their funds and
undertake to do what. neither the State, the new
Ieyee Company. nor the riparian propretors
could do.
They acquired. IA tho only means Of operat-
ing aud Of having the levces built. tfor tho only
possible instrument,ity then was the newly
formed Levec Company the franchises and con
tract Of said Company. They then Jointly con
tributcd aud paid In upwards Of 100000 In cash.
for o capit,lI In December. 1871. and commenced
10 rebuild such levccs ~ the State, through It's
Commission of Engineers designated its most
necessary. and ordered for construction. They
built every evee 50 ordered. and complied with
all the requirements Of their contract stipula-
tions us designated to them by the State as the
proprietor Of the levees, through her officials
by the use Of their whole capital and strain
ing their credit. they succeeded in building up
wards Of one hundred lcvecs completely with
many others ut the same time under process Of
construction. before receiving one dollar Of
compensation therefor from the State.
To October. 1872. they built lovees amounting
In the aggregate to 2557.76l cubic yards for
which 81 .53i $50 60 was due, and on account of
which only 1929 900 had been paid TO them by
the State. Tho Levee Company has paid 10
its sub-coutractors on an average. from first
TO last. noarly thirty five cents per cubic yard
on cash basis. besides dcfraying all Of its in
cidcutal and other necessary expenses. The
Com pany's loss. in interest alone on tho I'M
paid balances past due by the State for work
actually performed. say on about 81. 100000, at
ten per cent for three and "a half years. amounts
to s525.ooo. The balance due the Levee Com
pany on the first Of November 1875, after de-
Quoting all receipts from both the construction
and repair funds. was over one and a half mil
lions Of dollars.
We have built 56l7 .553 csbic yards Of lovees In
all. and the amount charged to tho State for
construction and repairs Is s326G.3f. II Is said
that the Lcvee Company Is making largo profits
on its contract. II 3d. how is 1t that stock the
face value Of which, is fifteen dollars tsi5) per
share-(on which no cash dividends have ever
been paid)-is now selling at prices varying
from only two dollars to three dollars per
gharel
The facts are that the entire amount received
from the State. 80 far VI .754, 20O-has been OK
pended In lcvoc construction. aud disbursc-
mcnts connected Herewith. In addition to the
amounts received from the State. we have adj
vanced and expended out Of our own means,
obtained from other sources. s7so.0o0. or about
onctbird Of the cost Of the evccs built up to this
time; for which we have received little else than
abuse, coming from anonymous writer's 10 the
public. and which al,l,sc was dictated. in seBse
pointed by our refusal to submit to the cx,ptions
Of backmal." and, in other cases, emanating
from the vindictive feelings Of discharged en-
ployccs
How many business men In New Orleans. or
anywhere else would he willing 10 contract to
build levecs for the State of Louisiana at fifty
cents per cubic yard. and wait u year or more 10
be reimbursed. without interest. after paying an
average Of thirty-ilvc cents per cubic yard ia
cash or itS equivalent. to s,lb-contractors inter
est on all loans, and other incidental expenses in
addition They would find the actual cost per
cubic yard for lcvecs ut least forty ccnts-al ex-
penscs included. u
Our Company has complied with and kept its
contract obligations faithfully from first to last,
but the State from the very first has been and is
still in default. The absurd impression pre-
walls. evon with those who should know better.
t1at Tor some unexplained reason, the Leyce
Company should build all the lcvces needed in
Louisiana Of its own volition without orders and
without compensation. For tho amount Of the
balance due US we have rendered u full epuva-
lent in work done. and yet we are denounced as
seeking to rob the State for asking to be paid in
deprecated State bonds the amount due US in
cash as per contract,
Large sums. In bonds and warrants, issued
for no consideration whatever as far as the pub
lie are informed. and even tainted with fraud
from their first inception. have been funded.
but our Just claim is sought 10 be repudiated
and We ourselves held up for public execration
for nresuming to ask to be paid in bonds in
stead Of cash. for what is due us BY act No Of
1871 it was provided that the State of Louisi
ana contracts and agrees with the Louisiana
Levec Company in terms as follows" That
.hc Auditor Of Public Accounts shall be required
10 pay the Louisiana Levee Company at the rate
1f fifty cents per cubic yard for all levees con
,tructed by said company after the first day Of
October. 1873 and for "all evecs constructed by
said company before the first day Of October.
1873. at the rate Of sixty cents per !
:ubic yard, as the existing contracts and laws |
provide" We seek but to obtain from the State |
he fuillmcnt Of its contract stipulations.
It Is said that the Levee Company has not the |
ia maj ptaiu the 1eyce nd h.r