Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-04-08
RIVER MATTERS.
Meeting of the Cotton Exchange Tester.
day Afternoon TO Consider River
and Railroad Scheme.
A Memorial for Congress Prepared and
Resolutions OF Approval Adopted
by the Exchange.

| Pursuant to call previously announced, the
| Memphis Cotton Exchange held a general
meeting yesterday, President Napoleon Hill
presiding, to consider the proposition 10 me-
! morialize Congress on the importance OF the
government taking the Mississippi river in
hand and combining it within prescribed linn
| its at all stages of water.
Colonel Minor Meriwether was called upon
to ventilale the subject. Colonel Meriwether
had previously posted on the blackboard a
| diagram showing the hight, shape and gem
eral utility of the Memphis and New Orleans
railway, and its relations TO the overflow of
| the Mississippi. Colonel Meriwether made
a few remarks Introductory of a paper on
the subject, which he read to the meeting. 1t
was as follows:
| OF the Memphis and New Orleans Railroad and
Levee Company, to the Congress of the United
States:
Your memorialists the Memphis and New Or
leans Railroad and Leyee Company, char
| tered by the States of Tennessee, Missis
sippi and Louisiana, would respectfully show
that they were incorporated for the pur-
pose of constructing. maintaining and operating
through the Yazoo basin, to be constructed upon
levee along the Mississippi river. safety
and permanency will permit for the double pur-
pose OF transportation, and permanently project
ing the country from humiliation, special privi-
leges and chartered rights having been granted
for this purpose. The Yszoo basin, or delta com
prses all that portion of the State of Mississippi
south Of the Tennessee line bounded on the west
by the Mississippi river. and on the east and south
by the Coldwater, Tallahatchie and fazoo rivers
added to the disasters and ruin wrought by pre-
vious floods and the late war, have reduced the
inhabitants of this valley to utter helplessness
and il is certain that without national aid. this
splendid domain must be abandoned to the ravages
of the flood This the people OF the Cnited States
cannot afford To do so would be the destruction of
of all the States of the East and Northwest the
certain protection peopling and eultivating of
soil aud variety Of climate would add not less
than $500 900 900 annually 10 the exportable pro-
the credit of the government itself In the
Yszoo basin, in 1860. there were 42S 600 acres
Which produeed about 20 600 bales Of cotton,
2.60s. 900 bushels of corn, COCO bushels of wheat
bushels of Irish potatoes 1S7, 600 bushels of sweet
potatoes. and other agricultural products, and
1e mules. horses, sheep and swine. The products
of this basin within the last ten years have not
suffered from two floods in that time These results
were obtained under wretched levee system.
which Afforded protection to a few plantations
only. leaving the rest to the chances of the flood
The failure of the evees heretofore constructed
proposed by your memorialists. They were fraiI,
sinuous entertainments, such only as the impover-
ished condition of sparse population could afford
10 erect, of insufficient hight and base badly lo-
Gated, and often close upon caving banks, and
of vehicles, by which they were cut and worn
down, and when the the threatened danger came,
overcoming it, The country that will be projected
by the proposed levee is about 17j miles long fro
north to south, and about sixty miles WIDE in its
greatest breadth from east tn west and contains
$50 square miles or ABOUT 1'S1Oooo acres. which
west. completely isolated and cut off from
all communication with other parts Of the State,
by navigation of the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers
The territory is spproprateiy called basin It's
river. and lis eastern rim is the base OF the hills
which sxiIt the valleys of the Coldwater. ITALIA
hot nd III md tha a nf thah ocir
near its center. is twenty-five feet below the flood
line of the Mississippi, or about twenty feet below
of five feet below the flood line the river and
the levee proposed by your memorialists would
food. From the shape of this basin, it will be
seen. the outlet system does not apply, because
the waters which would be poured into 1t from
the Mississippi must, of necessity. account of
the hills at Vieksburg, be again returned to it
significant fact thatin the recent flood great was
the rush of waters, which poured into this
ties. that Issaquena was one vast sheet of water,
which poured over the front levees, back into the
Mississippi, with fail of several feet breaking
the levees opposite, on the Louisiana side thus
running at one and the same time the Yazoo
causing destruction OF lie and property such as
has never been before known on the Mississippi
The statement has been made that permanent
levees cannot be maintained, because they would
certainly cave into the river. This is not 50. The
hills at Memphis and vcksburg on the east bank of
the river, about 200 miles apart on direct line,
hold the river TO its place, so that at all time il
cannot vibrate beyond certain distance east
ward. That such permanent line can be found
is established fact. In 1883 60 a line To-
Gated by Minor Meriwether, chief engineer,
under the authority OF the General Levee Board of
Mississippi, which line is intact to day, and which
line was accepted by the said board, though owing
TO the war the levee was not constr ucted. There
are no inlets from the Tennessee line TO the mouth
of the Yazoo and the leyee would be an unbroken
line of embankment. without bridge, eulvert, or
other mechanical structure. II is proposed by
yonr memorialists to construct this levee on the
line of permanency. to hight of not less than
FIVE feet above the highest known flood, fifteen
feet wide top, with slopes the river side, OF
not less than five horizontal to perpendicular,
and the other side three horizontal to one per.
pendlculnr; the slopes to be sodded with Bermu-
da On the river side a breadth of 600 feet will be
condemned, as provided in the charter, and per-
mitted to remain covered with trees and thick
breakwater to the waves OF the Mississippi; and
the land side. at twenty feet from the base,
sipe ditch and cross drains will be cut to carry off
spe water and keep the inner slopes dry Upon this
permanent levee your memorialists propose to con-
thus located, constructed and guarded, It viii be
seen that the possibility of breach would be
very remote, and in the event of a threatened
crevasse which would be known and commune
Gated at the first approach OF danger, the company
could, in few hours concentrate any required
amount of labor tools and material, with. exery
effective appliance to avert it. The company,
s division Of their ad exe DIN on fr tne
Memphis to Vicksburg. a first mortgage. TO the
Issued having 100 years to run, and bearing rate
of interest, nos exceeding three per cent. per
Of the United states government paying The In
terest the said bonds for the frat five years and
nere for the Remaining geers the
company will undertake to construct levee. upon
he Hoods Of the Mississippi river; said
government to the company upon the completion
of each section Of twenty miles of said road, ac-
cording to the dimensions above set forth. The
company further proposes, to provide q sinking
fund. after ten years. of one per cent. per annum,
of sal / guaranteed bonds and further agrees to
forfeit all their rights and interest stockholders
overflow from the Mississippi river, failure to
pay interest on the bonds guaranteed by the gov
sinking fund to iiquidste said bonds We think
the government is taking no risk in making this
of the road will pay dividend of three per cent.
On Sl00. 900 per mile, The dykes of Holland have
been erected by the government of that country,
at = cost of SIS, oO0,o OOoeo, and the total area
only about $4,000 acres or but five
sixteenths greater than the area that will be
to he roysrnment' Harlan lake containin Ss
only a. 900 acres. was dyked and drained by that
acre, and is kept drained by constant pumpiug at
an annual expense of about $40 600. The inhabi.
matches courage and constance have literally
raised their country from the bed of the ocean,
foremost position in Europe, in commerce, sgri-
culture, manufactures, opnlenee and arts, All
ocean, by handful of people. through the instru-
mentality OF their government. All that we ask
OF this government is guarantee Of our BOMBS, to
enable US 10 protect a region OF country that will
support population approaching that OF Holland.
and that wlli produce as much cotton one-half
of the present crop of the United States
Your memorialists claim for the Yazoo
basin that, owing TO its peculiar physi-
cal conformation, Ii is susceptible of COM
plete, absolute, and permanent protection b. the
proposed ievee, and until Thoroughly protected
from the floods of the Mississippi, must for the
most part, remain Wilderness as 1t now is; and
no railroad can be built and operated through It,
until this is done, except at such great cost, and
such hazard to its safety. to practically forbid
permanent homes therein, but, a was the case
during the recent flood, must during every recur-
renee of flood, become a burden on the charity of
the government. Whatever may be said of the
utility of levees IS means of protection to other
parts of the Mississippi valley, there can be no
question OF their entire efficacy as applied to the
Yazoo basin, if constructed as proposed by your
memorialists and placed under the supervision OF
q railroad company, impelled by the powerful in
centive OF self interest, to maintain them. II Ii
should be commended that Congress has consti-
tutional power grant this aid reply that the
power 10 regulate interstate commerce, is broad
enough TO cover any aid granted to improve the
Mississippi river. and the construction of
levees is one of the methods recommended
by the river commission Tor the accomplish
uent of that object. Our charter permits the
location of our road on any line west of the Chi
cago ST. Louis and New Orleans railroad. and I'M
less some aid be obtained from the Federal
government for the building OF the leyee, your
memoriAlists may be compelled to avoid the basin,
and keep upon the high lands TO the east.- as no
road is practicable in said basn as long is
posed TO the floods of the Mississippi.
CHARLES p. HUNTINGTON, President
GREESyILLE, Miss, April 6. 1852.
When Major Meriwether had concluded,