Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1882-06-07
COWBOYS
Strongly FavOrlng the Old Flag,
and an Appropriation.

@N"bN NOA0NJ OOah wv
continues to hang around Washington
City, sent the following in circular
form to each member of the House Of
Representatives. 1t was tile day set
to consider the River and Harbor Bill
but the bill is still unconsidsred
Perhaps Johns circular had its eff
feet:
To the Senate and House of Representa-
tives:
It is announced that the River and
Harbor Bill is to be passed to day un-
der suspension Of the rule. Among
the many items in that bill is one OF
over four million dollars, to be used
by the Levee Commission. This is
the first installment of theone hundred
million dollars that will be called for
before Congress is to find out that the
whole thing is a job to build levees
under the pretense of improving the
navigability of the Mississippi river
from Cairo to New Orleans where
there is always the best navigation
and, as a natural consequence, needs
the least improvement. This Com
mission stands in the same relation to
Congress that an agent would to his
principal, and should be dealt with in
the same common sense, business. like
way. When the agent is found to be
untruthful he is at once dismissed,
and the same rule should operate in
the dismissal OF the Commission if the
same objection should be found. l
shall now proceed to establish that
fact. In their report they say that
the Bonnet Care outlet had caused
a shoaling of the river below. and had
so stated before the Congressional
committee. That is lie number one.
When asked for authority on this
point, they said they said they had no
data. That is lie number two. They
assert that the jump at its intersec-
ton with the river had shoaled up to
four feet. That is lie number three.
They say that this same outlet has
caused the river to form a shoal below
one which the Government had
placed a light to warn ships off. That
il lie number four. They say that
Oubitt's Gap is sboaling up rapidly.
That is lie number five. They say that
outlets have never lowered the food
line of the river. That is lie number
six. They say that the levee system
is one of concentration. That is lie
number seven. They say that the
outlet system | propose 10 one OF diff
fusion. That is lie number eight.
They say that there is only four and
one-half feet depth of water in the
channel at Lake Providence. That is
lie number niue. They say that at
Horse-tail Bar the channel has been
deepened by the Government work
from four and one-half to ten feet.
That is lie number ten. They
say that the levee system has not
raised the food line of the river one
inch in one hundred years. That is
lie number eleven. l propose to prove
eight or nine Of the above statements
false by the highest engineering au-
thority in this country, and tho other
two or three by practical and licensed
pilots and river commanders. | chal-
lenge the Commissions, in whole or
in part, to meet me, not before a COM
mittee, but all Congress; and the vast
Importance of the results involved
will justify Congress in giving an hour
to hear the truth as | can present it.
Let this he done before another dollar
may BIO appropriated for this Commits
sion to worse than squander. If | do
net make good every proposition as
stated, | should be made to leave
Washington and be branded IS a
falsifer and a nuisance. When, on
the other hand, if | do prove all |
state, the Commission should be
abolished, at the same time plac-
ing the work of removing wrecks,
snags, rocks, stumps and logs out
of the channel in the hands of prao-
teal river men. Then if Congress, in
order to keep some people from run
ming into the river, sees proper to
waste two or three millions in repair
ing levees, place that work in the
hands of men who have experience in
building %levees. Give me the pittance
to make the Lake Borgne outlet, then
the river will form its own new shore
lines, three thousand feet apart, and
do its own channel deepening. That
will be the last Of levees and river
~jetties, the River Commission and its
one hundred million dollar steal,
Then there will be no more overAows
nor appeals to Congress for help.