Vicksburg weekly herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1868-1883, 1877-12-28

The LeVee Board.
In to-day's paper we print q long
communication from the President OF
the Levee Board. The President de.
lends the present Board from au at
tack that be assumes the HERALD some
time since made on II. We have made
no attack on the present Board, unless
the assertion that we do not believe
half the immense tax "collected" is
ever appropriated to levee purposes,
constitutes On attack on it. The care.
fol reader will see the distinction, and
General Ferguson has shrewdness
enough, judging from the amount Of II
he displays in his long letter, to see IL
also. We have no doubt that the pres.
eRt Board, az q general thing, makes
very good use OF all the funds that
come into its hands, but the money
collected that does not get into the
Treasury of the Board is what we
have attempted 10 call attention TO.
And We repeat, from information fur.
nished ne by men wo know TO be
truthful, and personal observation OF
the practices of Levee Tax Collectors
in this city, that we do not believe all
the money collected reaches the Treas
ury Of the Board. And we have
the right, we Judge, 10 believe what we
plesse about Il, and 10 express our be-
lief 10 the public. From the Presi-
dents standpoint, the Levee business
may be the purest thing anybody ever
heard tell Of, and the immense tax may
DO an inostimable blessing to the valley,
but we are q disinterested party and
we believe II TO be the most outrageous
imposition ever submitted to BY any
people on the face Of the earth. We
repeat, that the present LeVee Board,
in this tax, has seen the United
States, and gone one better,
and we will prove it. The
present tax on cotton is IS per bale,
and It has been as nigh as "a per bale
The United States taxed cotton from
$40 to Sl2 per bale, but at that time cot
ton was worth from SIS to 500 per
bale, and the people could pay that tax
easier then than they can pay 50 a bale
now. The President Of the Board
should have reflected on the value Of
cotton then and now before rushing
into print, with his beautiful little
piece Of sophistry. The most sue
cessiul planters in the valley will
tell him that in the most favor
able seasons, they do not clear
moro than from sc to SO on each bale
Of cotton, yet this Board taxes each
bale Of cotton S3l If there ID
any other tax on the earth that will
compare 10 il, the President OF the
Board ought 10 have mentioned IT, II
makes precious little difference 10 the
Taxpayers, who levies this tax, so long
as they have to pay it, with no appa'
rent reason 70 hope that II will be any
less for many years 10 come, nor Is !
any consolation for them TO be told tina
the books show this or that. There Il
q we'll founded belief that q consider
able portion Of the tax does no, react
the books atall. Ofcoprse the books viii
always show good averages for TIL
different years. We have no doubt th'
books were all smooth and plausible
during the days of Mccormick, Lev
Webber, ct al, yet zoe do not think tina
General Ferguson will ever attempt I,
defend these men.
The President Of tho Board think
that the Editor Of the HERALD Ough
10 have done thus and SO before writ
ing about this Great Blessing TO tn
People Of the Valley in our "pOpula
and widely circulated journal" W
beg to suggest to the President O
the Board, that meddling wit
unadulterAted blessings Of this kin,
is Just what made the HERALt
popular and aided to give 1t a larg
circulation. We have no space I
refer to this matter further to-day, bu
we shall certainly meddle with it agsi
whenever we feel disposed, and we d
not think the airing it has receives
on both sides, will do any harm,