The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-11-09
THE LEEyEs.
THE VARIOUS PLANS SUGGESTED FOR
Rebuilding THEM.

|
The Three Lsvee Hills Before Congress--.
| A subsidy Asked for n Leyee C0m-
| missiOn-Capt. Eads' Plan for Recon.
! structing the Channel of the River.
| Especial Correspondence of the Democratl
| EBB1TT HOUSE Washington, Nov. 4. 1871.
| During such lucid intervals MS | have been
able to snatch between the agony Of the Louisi-
| ana case and tho lunaey Of the currency uttes-
ton. / have devoted myself to sounding the
House and Senate in detail upon the subject Of
THE LEEvEs.
| At this time. it Is of course imposbe 90 fore-
cast with any accuracy the specific action which
this Congress will reach regarding the leeyss
| Of The Mississippi. but am able first, to assure
you that thero will be action and second that IL
Will be liberal-at least as vewed from tho stand
point here: though whether the public mind in
your latitude will take the same view Of IT,
| cannot soy.
| At the outset
| THE LEvEE COMMITTEE or THE HOUSE
has been organized as ono of the regular or
standing committees, instead of being as here's
tofore select committee. This fact carries with
| 1t greater import than might be at first thought
apparent to any one not familiar with paria-
menthry custom and the methods of legislation
In Congress. The material point of differences
| Is lUiSs DHtHulIk CDmUlttSbS are DfEnUI2gu Tor
general duty, or for such special services rs
may be held national in their Importance. while
select committees are constituted to look after
affairs which, by reason of ephemeral, partisan
or sectional character, are not deemed of equal
importance to all the component paris of the
body polite. Under the operation of this rule
the Levee Committee has hitherto been con-
stituted upon the select bass, and the fact that
| it has now been promoted to regular status. Ia
of itself establishment OF the national inn
| portance Of the levee interest as q recognized
principle.
| This was accomplished by the last Congress
| and. though nothing else was done. the simple
elevation Of the levees into an enterprise Of
national character was itself long stride. and
all that could reasonably have been expected of
q Congress that had its hands full of presi-
Dental election with such man as Tilden for
q candidate, IN posse or in esse.
| ] should say here. passnnt that the failure
Of the last Congress to take practical hold Of tho
| evee question was not due to any remisgness
ON the part of
| OUR DELEGATION;
| for Messrs. Gibson, Ellis and Levy stood man
fully in the breach through all the long session
of 1866, trying persistsntly to get their work
in. Of course. nothing could be done In the
short session. which was consumed In he elec-
toral count to the exclusion Of oil material in
terests, local or national, domestic or foreign.
But the present Congress- is not laboring un-
der any such disabilities, and there is strong
from tho wrangles dopofitics ID order to tsy md
dothe country some good, Asa general propo-
THE REBUILDING or THE LEgEEs
is looked upon with unqualified favor by men
Of all parties and from all sections Of the eoun-
sentatiyes Of ali politics and sections without III
yet finding any dissent from my propositions
that It r the duty Of the goyernmen, 70 protect
overflow BY, the drainage Of Dakota. Western
PeDnsylyania and Minnesota. 50 far there ID
no dispute. and doubt II motion to test the
sense Of either house on general proposition
like the above you'd find any difficulty In Dass-
ing from the Clerks desk to The Speaksr's Or
But on the matter Of direct legislation I fird
opinion divided; the difference Of opinion fall
cedure and amounts Of appropriation.
1t may be said that there now
THREE SYSTEMS UNDER CONSIDERATION
by which to improve, rebuild or complete the
: levees; the difference in terms implying pretty
closely the diversity In the systems TO these
we may add fourth, which has not the prom
inence Of the other three at this time. but which
may eventually be adopted. nevertheless,
9 THE FIRST PLAN
alluded to under the head Of TO improye1 the
leyees is Ia the nature Of an extra item In the
r regular RIVER and Harbor bill which plan, If
,
. the government over the whole matter and the
/ placing of the work underline supervision Of
me- With s amons e Rag
least interested in the matter. and is In about
constituencies are more or less directly In
the peoDe Is eoud mot Be- qasde msds
ton the Mlssissippi would have to take itg
chances with all the other rivers subject TO Inn
/ provement, In an omnibus measure which is
the traditional victim of Conversational to0.roIf-
7 ing.
THE SECOND METHOD
D suggested as a plan TO rebuild" the leyees, is
broRen that 1be ens syses oa
selves were destroyed By the operations OF f the
, war. which at the same time impoverished the
adequate repair out OF their own resources.
, The plan is to proceed upon this hypothesis 10
the peculiar Interests involved Should maks ss an n
. exception in this case to its general rule re-
garding war sDoliations, and undertake to re-
which has been destroyed. Upcn this theory Il.
is proposed to create
| LEyEE COMMISSION.
to be composed partly Of military and partly of
civil engineers, who shall praise the amount
g of work to be done and let the contracts within
D certain annual limitations Of expense, the cost
1s dsrayed or out bat of the BY regular
a that the work. once done. shall be perDetuated
. to al time by the same agency, This plan. Of
al WbiOh buC 1DovC ID VI Cf)HT5o only d CFuQG anu
: imperfect sketch. evidently meets with most
z general support from those most familiar with
. the requirements and most conversant with
the circum. tanees of the situation. 1t certainly
has the merit OF being the most direct and
bus1ness-like method by which the general gov
ernment can address itself to task OF such a,
quasi sectional or local nature. OF course 1t in
wolves surrender by the riparian States of all
jurisdiction over the waters of the river,
: and. in fact; makes the bed and banks OF the
D stream Federal reservation, the same as a
harbor or the three leagues of maritime iuris-
diction known to international law. But there
is no objection to this feature Its sole effect
, upon commerce would be to transfer the legal
stairs Of the river from State courts to those of
the United States and to substitute admiralty
for magisterial jurisdiction. But there would
, be a parliamentary or, moIa strictly speaking,