The Cairo bulletin. [volume] (Cairo, Ill.) 1872-1878, 1877-09-27
THE MISSISSIPPI,

|
ROAD.
The Washington correspondent OF the
New ork HauH writing under date OF
September 2Ist says: "Itone.might Judge
OF southern public opinion from the cons
ycrsations OF congressman and OthCrpor-
sons of influence from that section, who
appear from time to time in this CITY, ii
would seem that the south, or at least a
very large and influential part of it, Is
very DESTROYS OF an appropriation tor the
permanent Improvement of the Mississippi
and its tributaries, and. what is extreme
| ly insignificant, would very gladly rest
content with such an appropriation and
asl, for nothing more in the way OF sub
side: or public aid.
There can be no doubt that the lcvce
system OF the Mississippi is in very bad
condition. The great river, in the first
place, was never Systematically leyeed.
Before the war the work was done by
organizations OF planters, who keptit in
tolcrablerep AMI very slowly extend
I'd an immense patchwork, unsystcmatic,
temporary in its character and always
breaking down. During the war the
Icvecs were neglected. Alter the war
they became the objective points OF
sWindling politicians. 1t has long been
seen that the work, to endure and to be
elective and economically maintained,
must be carried on on a general and
comprehensive plan. 70 cmbank the
river in spots only is to compel it to
break its banks at other
places and commit rayageS Of
various kinds. To lcycc even the
whole Lower Mississippi, from Cape Cir.
| ardcau down, would not be sufficient,
| because this would cause Il heavy back
| water of is ailluCntS-the Arkansas, Red
and other streams. II IS easily under
TODD that if YOU narrow the bed of IL
great river like the Mississippi its waters
in time OF flood, instead OF securing out
the bottom, viii rush up the streams
! which enterlt and cause destruction there.
In so flat 4 region as the Lower Mssis-
sippi country this backWat3r will even
force new channels behind the main
! lryeeS and thus demOllSh this work.
Petty appropriations for repairs or new
| luvccs in favored localities are therefore
waste OF money. This has long been
seen. and Congress seven years ago or
| dered q survey of the whole region With
the purpose Of get..ng at general and
scientifically correct plan OF i'm
proyemcnt. This survey was MADE
! by Generals Humphreys, and Alb.
bolt. two engineers of recognized ability,
and their report has BIN in print for
some time. The plan they suggest pro
yides for thorough cmbankment OF the
Mississippi, beginning at Cape Grardeau,
below -. LOUIS, and Tor such an amount
OF lcyeeiug Of the tributary streams as Is
| required 10 cOnliRc the backwat:r and
| force the great stream to 10 its own
work Of securing out its bed and thus
| making room TOR itself. Ii is the opin-
ion of the most experienced men that
| nothing less than such q comprehensive
| improvement IS useful, nothing less
would be permanent, and what the inter-
cSts OF that 9rea. region need is pcrma-
! nent security.
TO carry out the plan Of Generals
Humphreys and Abbott would. it's cS-
timated, estimated, cos, $50 VN, 900. This
| Is a considerable sum Oi money: but
| southern men assert that the govern
ment would recover 1t in few years in
! the increased value OF government lands
I i ,,.l,f1. thou on
| other hand, that it would establish on
a fir mfOundatOn the prosperity Of avery
great and naturally very rich region, ana
enormously increase the production of
cotton, sugar and rice. and thus add 10
the general wealth Of the country. They
say that the states along the rive. banks
cannot do the work; that the region La.
outgroWn the old patchwork system:
| that il is useless to make small apprOpria.
tons 70 repair crcyasscs: that whatever is
now done should be done by the federal
government engineers, such as General
Humphreys, and should be done by the
| federal government and on scientifically
| correct principles. When Congress
meets southern men VIII strongly urge
| the advisability OF such a great and com.
prchensiye improvement, and the ar9u.
mcuts for it above stated have already
been presented to the president, who Is
understood to take the ground that while
| he is totally and earnestly opposed 10
| such internal Improvement schemes as
| the usual river aud harb0r omnibus,
which is made up by giving every mem,
| Der ana senator 4 slice, he would favor
some great and needed measure such as
this plan for scientific leveelng OF
the Mississippi is represented to be. lie
| la not committed himself to this plan,
but it is believed from what he has said
that while he would veto one Of the old
fashioned river and harbOr steals lie
would consider iavorably needed i'm.
provemcnt like the one in question.
| Meantime there is reason to believe
| that ii the southern men can get an ap.
preparation for the levces they will not
care tor the Texas Pacific; in fact, good
many are opposed to this, and many
more are understood to hold that they
cannot probably get both, ard will
readily give up the Texas Pacific If they
can have the .lcvees. Georgia, North
and South Carolina, Alabama and Flor,
ada and Virginia will be opposed to the
Texas Pacific in any case. Some of the
Texas men are only lukcwarm in its
support. They say that all the connec.
tons lead to st. Louis, and that they
prefer to secure some further help to the
improvement of their own harbors. 1t
would not be surprising, therefore to
find, when congress comes together, that
the southern men are united for a sui.
ficicnt leyec appropriation to carry out
General Humphreys plans, aud are