New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1875-12-07
Chamber Of Connerce,

nlng, fresldent Bussey in the chair.
The minutes of the previous meeting
were read and approved.
Professor Forshey presented the follow.
ing report Of the committee on the question:
"What should the Chamber do to toward
legislation at Washington in the interest of
the Mississippi leveesl' and other matters
needing congressional aid:
1t has been the practice of this Chamber
from its early history, to foresee the neces.
eities of commerce and agriculture, of pro.
duction and transportation in Louisiana
and the Mississippi valley; to digest and
put in tangible form. through reports of
| committees, the nature and extent of these
public needs, and when they appeared to
have a national rather than local char
aeter, to memoralize the United States Con.
gress for needful legislation, ....
On various OCCASIONS, when O subject of
special urgency and of peculiar nature not
the Chamber has appointed commission
| or delegation to repair to Washington to
| furnish our members of Congress aid and
information on the specially, as also to urge
by personal interviews and suitable publica-
tions, upon the attention of other members
Congress the justness and national i'm
| portance of the measure sought.
These missions have been salutary, and,
your committee believe, have been uni
formly creditable to the Chamber. Such
| we believe to be its true mission, situated
| as it is-the only commercial deliberative
body-at the gate of the commerce of the
Mississippi valley.
Your committee believe that an occasion
now presents itself for the energetic iuter-
cession of the Chamber in matters of
special legislation.
The State of Louisiana has one. half of it's
area and f0ur-ffths Of it's whole assessed
value lying beneath the flood level of the
Mississippi river. Its partial protection
from these floods annually menscing mest
area, has been effected by levees built by
Louisiana at total cost of one-third the
present assessed value of her whole State
property. The burden of protection has,
by causes not our own, grown int0lerable,
| and we are in peril of total destruction.
Three other States feel this peril in common
with Louisiana, and protection to one can
brscing all. The productions of these States
are mainly passed through this State and
/ this city on their route =, market. This
Chamber has cognizance Of, and is expected
20 act for the interests of all these produc-
tions and all this commerce.
Accordingly the Chamber has, on various
i occasions, recorded its belief and the rea-
sons therefor, that this interest Is national
that the levee interest is 80 vast, and its ex
tent and interstate relations SO various and
complicated as to render its administration
and the protection of the Mississippi delta
impossible except by the national govern
ment. We believe that the Chamber should
/ theoretically re-announce this conviction
| and repeat its urgent memorial.
| The committee do further call attention
of the Chamber to the peculiar and some-
| what professional nature of the reasoning
| and information upon which these conclu.
sions are based. Such q subject has never
been before the national legislature in this
form, although incidentally treated in its
relation to reclamation of public lands and
their increase of value by levee protection
A commission has been raised to report
upon the practicability, without touching
upon the greater question of Matchmaking
the levees. ''''
A whole Congress has to be made &C
quainted with the details of the subject, and
our own members. enlightened gentlemen
and full of general information, need the
aid of experts at all points of discussion
which mus. precede so vast an undertaking
| Next to the leyee interest, and almost OF
| like magnitude, are the commercial interests
of this city and the Southwest, in matters
relating to the tropical trade, it's reciprocl
ties and development. Such legislation as
| shall tend to mitigate and relieve the exclu
sions and partialities of Mexico and of che
| Central and South American States in all
our trade relations should be urged upon
members of Congress by such enlightened
statesmanlike views and doctrines as only a
few commercial men and ststisticisns are
| masters of.
The single matter of mail Transportation
to the tropics is go administered as to delay
communication by five or six days; double
the actual time practicable from New York
| and all the great West to the States OF
tropical America The subvention of line
of mail steam steamers from New Orleans
to Southern ports is matter of obvious me-
cessity and Justice, but is still in allegiance.
| The placing these matters in tangible
| form before Congress should be the labor
| OF proper experts, otherwise they may drag
| their slow length along and be lost in the
din and and clamor of rival interests and
| political strifes.
In view OF all the premises your commit.
mittee would recommend the adoption by
| the Chamber of the following resolutions:
Resolved by the New Orleans Chamber
| of Commerce, That the reclamation and
protection of the alluvial area of the Mis-.
sissippi river valley is a work of national
magnitude, importance and necessity, trav-
ersing, as 1t does, seven or more great
States Of the federal Union.
Resolred, That this Chamber most re.
spectfully presents this its earnest prayer
u tue CouRrcss oi tuo Oultou 0C6Ce6 TO
take entire charge of the levees and works
relating to reclamation and protection from
river foode; that such system be enacted as
shall as speedily as possible, and ct the sole
cost Of the national treasury and through
the instrumentality of government engi-
neers, restore the broken system of levees
hitherto in use, and supplement- and re-
place it by suoh better system of works as
shall rescue from inundation for the uses
of man this noblest area Of fertility known
to geography.
RESOLVED, That this Chamber does with
like earnestness, pray the Congress to di-
rect and institute such foreign policy,
through our ministers abroad, or through
q special mission raised for this purpose, as
shall tend to feciprocities in our trade rela-
tions with Central, insular and South Amer
lean States.
Resolre6, That . subvention for steam
mail service from New Orleans to the cities
and States of Mexico, West Indies, and
Central and South America, is Q masure
demanded BY the commercial interests of
the whole nation, and is especially just and
due to the people and the trade Of the Mis-
sissi ppi valley.
Resolred, That the Louisiana delegation
in Congress and the members from al the
States of the Mississippi valley be respect
fully urged t0forward such legislati0n as
shall tend to the accomplishment Of these
objects.
ber be instructed, if practicable, to engage
the services of one or more experts, skilled
in specialties, to repair to Washington to
bear this memorial to the members Of Con-
gress from Louisiana and of the States of
the Mississippi valley, and to devote them
selves, by personal interviews, writings and