The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1879-04-18

Capt. James B. Eads answers some cur
rent Misrepresentation Of the condition of
his great work at the mouth of the M.ssis-
sippi, in a manner which his assailants will
at least admit to be reasonably vigorous. 1t
is evident that the opponents OF Capt. Eads
and Of the New Orleans jetties are busy in
the hope of misleading the press and the
country, and his letter, therefore, deserves a
wide hearing
To the Editor Of the Tribune:
SIR-As the Tribune, with its usual
catholic spirit Of liberty, has been a con-
slant advocate of the improvement of the
mouth of the Mississippi from its COM
mencement to the present moment. | ven
ture to ask space in its columns to correct
some misstatements respecting the work
and its results made during the last few
weeks by the Cincinnati Commercial, the
Chicago Tribune and the Memphis Ava
lanche cannot be expected to reply to
10 every petty censor in the land who
chooses to beittle this important work, Of
to answer the personal assaults which ignor-
ance or malice may prompt; but as persis-
tent Justification is often excepted for the
truth,I will be pardoned for exposing some
of the most notable misstatements made by
these papers respecting the jetties. natu
rally seek to do this through the columns OF
metropolitan journal whose readers are so
much more numerous than those Of the pro-
vincial dailies mentioned.
These papers condemn congress for the
recent advance made to me Of $4,000, or
the ground that have not given an equiva
lent for the money, The Commercial says
"The whole contract was changed in thu
interest of the contractor" and that "tht
operation was one of the most impudent anG
shameless ever perpetrated.' 1t says "he
succeeded in manipulating congressman
and bringing abouta change of contract in
creasing the liabilities Of the United States
$5,0OO,O 900; and so involved is this trick
that the country has hardly been able &c
discover it, These statements are simply
"impudent and shameless" falsehoods, rs
will be seen presently.
THE CHANGE NF CONIRACl.
When the jetty bill first passed the house
of representatives, it provided tor the i'm
provement of the Southwest Pass, which
was twice as wide and twice as deep as the
South Pass. 1t was the one wished to i'm
prove, for it was not DISTRACTED by bar at
its upper end, as the South Pass was, and it
had nearly twice as deep water on the bar as
at its mouth. Besides these advantages, it
discharges four times as much water. There
was, therefore, no reason why | could not
safely guarantee to produce through its bar
channel thirty feet deep, with bottom
width $50 feet, although this great width
of thirty feet water involved the necessity
of central depth probably ten feet greater.
In the last hours Of the session, acting un-
der the advice OF the commission OF engin.
GERS of 1874, the bill WAS changed by the
senate and made to apply to the South Pass
against my advice, and with my assurance
that the size of channel named in the bill
was so great that it could only be obtained
by the dangerous experiment Of directing
more water into the pass than its natural
volume. This, for reasons that are well un-
derstood by hydraulic engineers, is deemed
hazardous.
1t was in evidence before the committees
Of the senate and house, at the last session
that Generals Barnard and Wright, and all
Of the seven engineers composing the com
mission Of 1874. thought it unwise to at
tempt this experiment. The works at the
head of the passes now completely control
the discharge of each pass, and at but little
additional cost the discharge of South Pass
can be doubled or quadrupled. Its natur.
VI discharge is only about onc'tenth part Of
the whole volume of tho river, This dis
charge was reduced by the various other
works constructed until last year il had
lost probably ten per cent OF its volume
This has now been fully restored by recent
alterations in the controlling works at the
head OF the pass. From these facts il must
he evident that I was prepared to increase
it, volume to any extent u the government