The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1881-11-26
Letter from General Gilmore.
70 the editor Of the n. o. Democrat 4:

copy OF the 0t. Louis hepuOncan
of October %, containing an arti-
Gle taken from the New Orleans
Democrat, of October 10, entitled
"The River Improvement Conven-
ton, which advances certain state
ments, and makes certain criti-
cisms upon the plan of operations
of the Mississippi River Cimmis-
sion, upon which, in the interests
of truth and fairness, it seems
proper that should take issue.
The article states, "that it was
the purpose and contemplation of
the trainers of the bill creating the
Mississippi River Commission, to
improve the river from tile head of
the passes to it's headwaters, that
is to say, from the mouth up, and
not by piecemeal, as is now being
done," and that ito close the
breaks, and to build such levees
, ar are necessary to prevent over
flow, and the consequent useless
waste of water of the river, are
the cardinal principles of the sys-
tenn adopted by the commission"
The article also asks; "Why
not begin as provided by the act,
at the head of the passes, and
work up Systematically And
then subsequently expresses the
inability of the writer to "under-
stand how the commission, in view
of the argument advanced in its
own report in regard to levees and
outlets, concluded to commence
operations at Plum point and Lake
Providence
The closing criticism is in the
following language: "Under the
plan as now inaugrated we see no
relief for the 1O,OOO,O 900 of acres of
fertile alluvial land which is now
annually OverhOwed, which land
would receive protection were the
views of the Mississippi River
commission, as expressed in their
report carried out"
Itis respectfully stated that the
reports of the Mississippi River
Commission and the acts of Con-
gress from which it derives author.
ity must have been drawn by very
unskillful hands, to be fairly sus.
ceptible of the Interpretation EN-.
bodied In these extracts, and 1t is
the object of this communication
to supply the necessary explana
ton.
The commission submitted in
February of last year, what may
be termed two" "systems," or pro-
.jects, one for preventing destruc.
tive floods, and the other for the
improvement of the bad naviga-
ton of the river.
TO prevent destructive floods,
or, in other words, to protect the
alluvial lands from overflow; the
construction and maintenance of
an efficient levee system was re-
garded as absolutely essential.
The commission were in entire ac.
cord upon this point. For want
however, of the requisite data, no
estimate of the entire cost of such
a system could be prepared, but
the commission thought that about
two millions of dollars would suf.
fee for closing existing gaps in the
old levees, and recommended
that, for the first year, half that
sum should be appropriated.
For deepening the low water
channel and improving the bad
navigation of the river, a widely
different plan was submitted, which
contemplated the protection of
caving banks and the narrowing of
the streamto an approximately un-
form width of abont 5000 feet.
For these purposes it was recon-.
mended that the sum of about
s4,OOO,OOO should be appropriated
to be applied to works of channel
contraction and bank protection
upon six reaches of bad navigation
between Cairo and Vicksburg.
Congress indorsed this plan by
appropriating s1,OOO,OOO towards
its execution, without any restric-
ton or suggestion as to where it
should be beapplied, and the commits
sion determined to expendit upon
the Lake Providence reach, above
vicksburg, and the Plum Point
reach above Memphis.
Congress did, however, distinct
ly state how the money should and
how it should not be applied by
providing: "That no portion of
the sum hereby appropriated
should he used in the repair or
construction of levees for the pur.
pose of preventing injury to lands
by overflow, or for any other pur-
pose whatever, except as means