The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1879-10-10
IMPROVEMENT OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
Address of Hon. J. Floyd King to
Mississippi River Commission.

Mr.. President and Gentlemen of the
Mississippi River Commission I trust
that my zeal for the promotion of the
interests of the Mississippi Valley, and
my desire to give voice to the senti-
ments of my constituents in Louisiana
upon the all important topic which
you are called upon to consider and
discuss, may be sufficient apology for
this address to you.
I hope that the remarks which I
shall submit, may carry sufficient sug-
gestions with them to prevent the por-
ton of your time, which I shall occu-
events, at the outset, must congratu-
late myself upon having so early an
opportunity of submitting to your hon
orable body, remarks, which, hope
will be found germane to the law Gre
ating the Commission which you COM
pose, aud for the carrying out of which
your organization is the first practical
step. It is not my Intention to test
your patience with a technical disqui-
sition. To do so would be work of
supererogation. I ask you to view
what I have to say in the light of an
expression, through me, from the peo-
pie of large section OF the country,
whose future is Immediately depend
ent upon the results of your labors.
And in presenting to you the appeal of
my people, I shall ask you to consider
any undue warmth with which may
seem to advocate their cause, as a re-
suit of sense of need made sore by
long neglect, or of an impulse of anxi-
ETY. sharpened by hope long deferred.
You will, therefore, Mr.. President and
gentlemen of the Commission, pardon
me, trust, if I occupy sme portion
of your time in presenting from my
standpoint, and from the standpoint of
the people whom have tie honor to
represent, resume of the history of
the circumstances which have con-
spired to bring about the creation of
your honorable body, together with
a review, as succinct as may be, of the
exigencies which you are expected to
meet. It is now something more than
eighteen years since the riparian States
of the lower Mississippi practically
abandoned the efforts they had been
making to protect themselves from the
annual floods of that mighty river on
the one hand, and to maintain its char
acter as highway of comme.ce on the
other. I need not go back to that
these States in this direction prior to
tention bestowed upon the subject by
the general government of tho Union
during the days of Calhoun and Clay,
and the other great lights that bllowed
is familiar to you all. Moreover, that
history fills volume, which, IN rela-
ton to the labor system then in force,
and, to all practical intents and pur-
poses is finished and closed, while we,
ebv the common consent OF all good and
aotic men stand upon the threshold
- eew epoch-an epoch to be fraught,
let us hope, with the result Of fraternal
cooperation; and to be blessed, let us
trust, with the fruits of the acts of peace
The riparian States of the lower Mis-
sissippi have definitely abandoned the
project, and surrendered the hope of
coping with the "mighty father of
waters:' The battle of Louisiana, Mis-
slsslPpl and Arkansas, with the cease
less torrents that were concentrated
upon them from the wilds of Dakota
and Montana, the forests of Minnesota,