The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1878-12-28

As one OF our West Virginia representa-
lives (Ir. Kenna) is member OF the i'm.
portant Committee Of Commerce in Con
yrcss. and inasmuch as strong pressure
will no doubt be brought to bear on him
to induce him TO report some Of the wild
schemes that are on foot to appropriate
vast sum OF money for the Improvement
Of the Mississippi river, in return for. ap-
preparations for the Improvement Of our
West Virginia rivers, we trusttha he will
consider long and well before he lends
himself TO what Is known as the great
Ievec project. h a-''
What is that project? Briefly stated it
is a scheme that promises TO inaugurate
system that will not be completed in a
generation, and that will consume not only
the $50, 900, 900 now estimated as necessa.
nv, but several times $50, 100000 before it
Is made effective. AS explained by Capt,
Cowdon, Of Memphis, who has madeFa
long argument on the subject before the
Committee on Commerce, 1t Is scheme
10 contine oil the waters OF the Mississippi,
even in times OF the greatest foods, to q
single channel. AS the Captain shows,
anything short OF that would not prevent
overflow or reclaim lands subject
TO humiliation. The advocates Of the
leyee system estimate the cost at
about $5O,0OO,OOO. To show at once the
magnitude OF the enterprise, and that its
cost would probably exceed this estimate
many fold, Captain Cowdon calls attention
10 the enormous discharge OF water in sea-
sons OF flood. During the flood OF 1871,
he SAYS, the water covered the valley from
Cairo to the gulf to an average OF tenfeet,
and IN average breadth Of forty miles. To
confine this water between leyees one
mile apart, soy, would require embank-
ments ut least twenty-five feet high, on the
average, and with base of three hundred
feet. Hence it appears that the scheme
practically amounts to one for the con-
struction OF an enormous aqueduct to
carry water ut height sometimes OF TWEEN
ty-iivc or thirty feet above the level oil the
surrounding country, a distance Of thous-
and miles. Estimating the cost at twenty
five cents per cubic yard, two such EN-.
bankments, one on each side oil the rver'
would cost $97O,0O0,00O. But the engi-
neers estimate the cost at iorty cents per
cubic yard, which would RAISE lhe totai
cost OF the two entertainments TO soS2,ooo'-
600. g..,H- rzna eta'7 sa.
But this is not all. With the Level OIL
the Mississippi In HOOD times raised 70
this height, 1t would become necessary 70
build embankments along It's tributaries,
and then along their tributaries, IN order
to protect the adjacent lands from over
flow. Suppose, for illu stration, the banks
OF the Red river to be i've feet above nigh
water. 1fthelevel ofthe Mississippi at high
water at the mouth oil the Red were raised
ten feet, the Red river would nave to rise
as much IN order to hnd discharse' ana
then 1t would be five feet above Its banks,
andthe adjacent country would be Hooded.
To complete the system, therefore, and
afford protection to the low lands, 1t would
be necessary to build thousands OF miles
Of embankment along me tributaries and
sub'tributaries oithe Mississippi. captain
Cowdon estimates the cost Of this sub.
sldiary part OF the system at double that oil
the embankments along the Mississippi IT.
self, which would raise the total cost ot.the
system when complete to Sl,776,OOOOOO,
taking the engineers estimate OF the cost
per cubic yard Hoy long would itlprob'
ably take to complete such system :?
Aside from the fact thai, the cost would
probably equal the present bonded debt
Of the United States, the time required for
the completion OF the work would be a
fatal objection. ~ - ~ siS''i-.P
Nor yetis this all. 1t is awell:known
fact that the bed OF the lower Mississippi
is constantly rising by the deposit OF mud
borne down from above. AT present this
process Of building up from the bottom is
retarded by the overflow. The muddy
water, spread over thousands OF square
miles, distributes the deposit over the low
lands and relieves the bed Of the river.
Coniine all the muddy water Of the main
stream and its many tributaries to one
channel, and the deposit In the river bed
would be greatly accelerated. One conse-
quence would be that navigation in times
Of low water would be rendered more dif-
ficult and dangerous. Another would be
that in time, and probably before many
wears, itwould become necessary to build
the embankments higher and broader at
the base. Eventually the accumulations