The New Orleans Democrat. (New Orleans, La.) 1875-1876, 1875-12-25
ADDRESS TO THE PUBLIC
Louisiana Levee Company.

OFFICE LOUISIANA LkvxE COMPANY.
No. 20 CHrondelet street.
New Orleans. Nov. 10. 1875.
To the Public: H
The undersigned. President of the Louisiana
Lcvee Company. in behalf Of the directors ant
stockholders Of said company. deems 1t his dut,
to the public md to the stockholders to publish
the following statements In correction and refu
tation Of tho persistent misstatements and FALSE
accusations made regarding us and our motives
and actions through tho press Of New Orleans.
Tho parties. not ourselves. who formed tl,t
Loveo Company. and originally contracted with
The State Of Louisiana for the building and
maintenance Of levoes. In February. 1871, found
themselves wholly unable 10 comply with tboil
contract for want OF capital. The State hud pre-.
viousy issued moro than $500 900 OF bonds fol
levee construction purposes. under Boarts o
Commissioners which bonds were much depre-
ciated In value in tho Market and the State wat
powerless TO raise further means for continuing
the work Of lcveo maintenance. She had nt
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 alluvial portion Of tho State was
certain 10 DO inundated during the next foods
Of tho river
The State could not build the levees, aud the
now Levee Company. as then constituted. was
equally powcrcss 10 proceed with the work II
had undertaken. Such was the situation In No
vcmber 1871.
At this juncture few gentlemen. including
among their number several bank presidents.
large landed propriotors. and capitalists. MI
ident citizens Of long standing. who thought
they would thereby render tho State good SER
4
cluded 10 invest portion Of thoir funds. and
undertake 10 do wlnt neither the State. the new
Loveo Company nor tho riparian proprietors
could do.
They acquired. as tho only means Of operat-
ing and of having the evecs built. tfor tho only
possible fundamentally then was tho newly
formed Leveo Company. the franchises and con-
tract OF said Company. They then Jointly con
tributcd and paid In upwards Of 100000 In cash.
for q capital. in December, 1871, and commenced
~ rebuild such levces IA the State. through It's
Commission Of Engineers, designated AS most
necessary. and ordered for construction. They
built every lovoe SO ordered. and complied with
all tho requirements Of their contract stipula-
tons ns designated 10 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
"
many others at the same time under process Of
construction, before receiving one dollar OF
compensation therefor from the State.
To October. 1872. they built levees amounting
In the aggregate to Asst 7Sl cubic yards. for
which II ,534. 656 GO was due. and on account OF
which only s292. 600 had been paid to them by
tho State. Tho Levee Company has paid to
its AUTHORIZATIONS. on an average. from first
TO last, nearly thirty Ave cents per cubic yard
on u casb basis. besides defraying oil of it's in
cidental and other necessary expenses. The
Companys loss. In interest alono on the un :
paid balances past due by the State for work
actually performed. say on about &I.50O.O00. Mt
ton per cont for three and u half years. amounts
to 1896 900. The balance duo tho Lovee Com
pany on tho first of November. 1876. after de-
Quoting all receipts from both the construction
aud repair funds. was over ono and u half mil
lions Of dollars.
We have built bsl7. 553 cubic yards OF lovoes In
oil. and tho amount charged to the State for
construction and repairs Is s326e.347 II Is sai d
that tho Levee Company is making large profits
on It's contract. Ifso. how Is 1t that stock, the
face value Of which Is fifteen dollars $3.50 per
share--on which no cash dividends have ever
been paid)-is now selling ut prices varying
from only two dollars 10 three dollars per
share2
The facts aro that the entire amount received
from tho State. 30 farsi .15i ,200--has boon ex-
pended in levee construction. and disbursc-
men,s connected herewith. In addition 10 the
amounts received from the State. we have nd
vanoed and expended out Of our own means,
obtained from other sources. $780.O0O. or about
one-third Of tho cost Of the levees built up TO this
time; for which We have received little else than
abuse. coming from anonymous writer's 10 the
public and which abuse was dictated. In some
c,lscs. by those whose venality had been disap-
pointed by our refusal to submit 10 the oxactjons
Of 'blackmal." and. In other cases. epiunatiDg
from the vindictive feelings Of discharged en-
ployoes.
How many business men in New Orleans. or
anywhere else would be willing ~ contract 10
build levees for the State Of Louisiana at fifty
cents per cubic yard, and wait u year or more 10
DO reimbursed, without interest. after paying alt
average OF tbirty-fvo cents per cubic yard in
cash or its equivalent. TO sub-cOntrBtors. inter
est on all loans and other incidental penses In
addition? They would find the actual cost per
cubic yard for levces ut least forty ccntsall OK
penscs included.
Our Company has complied with and kept It's
contract obligations faithfully from first 10 last.
but the State from the very first has been and is
still in default. Tho absurd impression pre-
walls, even with those who should know better,
that, for some unexplained reason. the Levcc
Company should build all tho levccs needed In
Louisiana Of it's own voliton without orders and
without compensation. For the amount Of the
balance due us we have rendered full epuiva-
lent in work done. and yet we are denounced III
seeking to rob the State for asking 10 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 Ii sought to be repudiated
and we ourselves held UP for public execration
for presumng TO ask to be paid In bonds in
stead OF cash. for what is due US. By act No. 4 OF
1871. it was provided that tho State Of Louisi-
ana contracts and agrees with the Louisiana
Levee Company In terms as follows" That
the Auditor Of Public Accounts shall be required
to pay the Louisiana Leyee Company at the rate
Of fifty cents per cubic yard for all levees con-
structed by said company after the first day Of
October 1873" and for AL lcvees constructed by
said company before the first day Of October.
1873, at the rate OF sixty cents per
cubic yard, as tho existing contracts and laws
provide" We seek but to obtain from the State
the fulflment Of It's contract stipulations.
It is said that the Levee Company has not the
means to maintain the levee system. and there
fore that its contract should be broken. The
truth is, that If the State were in a condition to