The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-02-16

subject and when you fully understand It YOU
viii Gee that nature has endowed the river With
snm e wonderfully resembling the instinct
Of lfprsse,ryya,siodh ma. IS common " '''
The adjustment Of slope so as to regulate the
current results, from tn. sed,imen atinn
dI I pyraat mass of earthly mater continually
carried by the river to the sea Is borne IN sus-
wvhieb he river is charged is determined by ID
velocity II this be, reduced, portion y, o. ae
81 III as % the boo tho oo Be
Of ssdimen airy matter that has not been |
changed by time into stone. then an ,eeelera-
to take up from the bed such additi ehaaf anan-
tfty Of sediment as may be due to a. increase Of
The river Is flowing over bel OF it, own de-
posits from Cairo to the SET, and sediment
thrown down in i Yesterday, or athousand years
Current sp N f be aeceeraea over t. This fact Is
proven by every cutoff that has ever been gnade
A little thought teeehes that the quantity Of
and over. the barks Of the river. through any
to t Tie v Quantity diacharged into It ~ ts trbat
up and elevated by the quantity left inst and the
e sHa }nslly Destroyed We may fhen prov,
one which carries the suspension without loss
| or gain II from any cruise, a ut-off Tor in
stahce, the normal body be disturbed, the river
at once goes to work to restore the disturbance
has been suddenly accelerated aud PUSHES nap
anon q Ss sedme nt due t e Ills % @ %
.n ho s hs III .r e9 9S ppey 9 pa.ed
Is then less rapid than before, and the excess Of
are nrodured IL and down below the cut as far
4 as the disturbance Is telt.
; velocity in the narrow parts Of the river. and
. corresponding quantity ofssdlment, ahls cur
1 rent cannot be maintained through the wide
!. bed in them until the, bottom is ,aisea and
sleeper slope and higher velocity is created IN
y vel city Which is that rate that viii discharge
4 all the sediment poured In by the tr,outaf l,,
without gun or losa But M aa the t 39d laIs
and covered with sunken stumps and logs.
: through which the low water channels are cut:
5 produce Uniformity Of depth, and this in turn
a insures a uniformity Of velocity. This insnres
: uniform charge Of sediment and as the tribu-
/ taries determine theuuanity. ami given ve
ty Of sediment it Is pau that thsre will pc little
' explains why below Red River, eaving, banks
: occur to such a limited extent. ani why they
ere 50 abive BnE he hg - w WIFE
/ and the eaving Of the banks Wild be reduced to
q insignificant proportions
q You will NV comprehend why the levee sys-
/ tenn must ultimately be abandoned, simply be,
! cause II REQUIRES. these wide places tie fruitful
e. in Us su within The evees and hence the
destruction Of the levess must follow; You win
i ask why cannot the caving be prevented by rip
. rap or mattres sing the hunks. The answer Is
9 this. this may be done on the Pc. the Rhine or
y the Wabash. at some moderate cost. but the Mis-
= sssippf Is too vast iu its volume to admit OF 1t
q with any amount that would be- voted by Con
ons u The nv ve w9 wre m
/, forces are working hundred feet beneath the
j surface.
n much easier accomplished, be tause i needs nc
Il work done except in shoat water. Where 1t Is
dfB Is a. saaH anpss which We na even
= the narrow parts OF the riveabove Red rver,ant
# in the Aehafalaya Pass and in every outlet and
70 bayou of the river, and in the island chutes
!, should teach any thoughtful person. II seems tt
% me. THAT one universal law controls the chan
y that where the volume IS reduced the sIopt
> must be steepened. and therefore II we wouit
asesd ps h not roe below
If river were increased as it would be by CLOSING
r Alcbafalaya and .compeling Red river to seek
II the sea by way of your city, it would lower the
ii food tide five or six feet at the mouth of Rec
- river and more than two feet at New Orleans.
ali gaps "a and ereyasses ii the levees. and thu,
- increasing the volume in the natural channe
"a will not necessate hi CHER evees. and hence the
# reliable. because it Is based on the idea OF rails
q ing tbemefrom three to eleven feet higher thar
Ii before the The great objection to the leve
a system is not from the present amour
f. needed for absolute protection from th'
Ia near floods. fol but ~ 0oO0o So o0o 900 woult
- insure this: but it is the eternal destrue
~ ton OF them which must ensue from the caus'
il / have named. Remove that cause and TIN
i levees can be cheaply maintained. but whet
N The cause ofethe caviDg banks is removed w
a. will find the food slope lowered and levees use
- less. -tE
!, It will be seen that this system Is radicall
n different from Tint advocated by the Levee Com
r mission, by Humphreys. Abbot. Warren. He
to bert and engineers of lesser fame. who adop
r. the theory that there Is no relation between thu
il velocity of current and amount OF sedlmen
10 carried because they have invariably compare'
~ the velocity per second with the sediment con
d tanned In cubic foot Of water and not with h
~, ~ total amount carried by the whole river in eac
- respective second OF time that the velocity |
n noted. -
places. Iadvocate its consarvation--eve dro
H. of 1t In one channel of uniform width. and tn
r. abolition of all the wide places; the closure Q
the outlets every one Of tba ,s and II
j They propose to attack the banks of the rive
re- with shovel and vince harrow. and accommo
IN date its anticipated elevation ten or O duze
az feet higher than ever before l propose to sc
90 did at the jetties. and, while deepening 1t fo
III III the benefit Of commerce. lower it's Taught
in crest forever. They provide for river carrie
:" threateningly above the land. a constant sourc
IN of terror and anxiety, while propose that 1t
a. vast volume, in all the grandeur Of it's mighte'
40 floods, shall be viewed with an adm ration Dc
he void of fear. from happy homes safe above il
90 surface.
40 CAPITOL NOTES.