The Cairo bulletin. [volume] (Cairo, Ill.) 1872-1878, 1876-08-03
THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.
Navigabls Depth Of Twenty Feet at All
Seasons.
Views and Suggestions Of Capt. Jas.
II. lads.

Correspondence Of the st Louis Republican,
WASHINGTON, ID. c., July 20.-By
special request, Mr.. James b. Eads ad-
dressed the house committee on COM
merce at length few days ago upon the
best method Of improving the navigation
of the Mississippi river. MIR. Eads as
serted the entire feasibility OF securing a
navigable depth of twenty feet Of water
at all seasons Of the year from Cairo to
New Orleans. AMI he also assured the
committee that, by proper correction OF
the river, the alluvial lands on both sides
Of the river could be unquestionably
saved from overflow without the aid OF
levees, simply by lowering the fiood-line
OF the river.
The method he suggests for its I'M
provement is the reduction OF the river to
an approximate uniformity with the
present width of the bends or parts of
the river in which the entire volume is
confined III one narrow channel. He eX-
planned that the shoals were invariably
located in parts Of the river nearly two
or three times as wide as the concentrate
ed channel. He also explained that at
each one of these shoals the surface slope
of the river is sleeper than in the other
channel where the water is concentrated.
and that by reducing the width of the
river at the shoals we not only
get rid of this extra steepness of
surface slope, but also acquire the
same depth that exists i'm the other parts
of the river. BY bringing the river to
uniformity OF width, q uniformity of sur
face slope is therefore produced-a uni
formity of surface slope insures unifor-
nifty in the velocity Of current, and this
will prevent the caving Of the banks for
MIR. Eads maintains that so long as the
water is charged with the load which is
due to certain velocity, it will not scour
up from the bed or banks of the stream
any addition thereto.
The current in its present condition is
continually alternating in velocity owing
TO these wide spaces in the bed, and
hence is continually securing the bed and
sides OF the stream at one place and de-
posting it at another.
A uniformity OF width will also iacili-
tate a discharge OF the floods of the river,
which will have tendency to prevent
Overtlows.
The same system, Mr.. Eads declares,
has been successfully tested in the allu-
vial districts OF the Rhine with most en-
inent success, and lands which were once
leveed and in danger OF overflow are
now placed absolutely beyond the reach
OF the floods without the levees.
A part OF the system proposed by Mr..
Eads likewise contemplates the making
of two, or possibly three, judiclous cut-ofis
between Vicksburg and Red river, by
which the surface slope or Hood line
in all the river above would be
lowered several feet. lie de-
clares that the lower part OF
the river should have its outlets
closed so as 20 confine the entire vol
ume OF the river into one channel, as far
down as the head Of the passes. His
theory is that the larger the volume Of
water flowing in one channel the Halter
will be the inclination of the foOd-line,
and as one end OF the flood-line Is fixed
by the Gulf of Mexico, any lessening of
the slope must lower the floods on the
levees, aud this can be SO lowered by the
treatment proposed. as to prevent over
tiovs Absolutely, tsk tfl
1t is scarcely necessary to say that
these views are precisely opposite to
those held BY the United States hvee