The Evening critic., 1882-05-29
THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER.
Ievecs Not Wanted-Thcy Cause
Overnows and DO Not Improve
Nnx;oaffou- True plan

Lryrrs-TuE MEMORIAL ADOPTED ny THE
LEvrE CONVENTION ron PRESENTATION TO
coNoRFss-A sTnoNG AND LUCID ARGUMENT
SHOWING THE POWER AND DUTY OF THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO BUILD LEvEEs.
The foregoing Is the heading Of paper pub
ished In the New orleans Times D6mocrdt and
signed by Joseph l.. Brent, Henry ?. Kerno-
chan, II. A. La sasslec d. Laplace and +. s..
Shields, from which we make the following
extracts, which are decidedly rich as coming
from set OF men asking for money from the
National Government to build levees, while
their friends sustain the River Commission on
the floor CT Congress
"Your memorialsts feel compelled to affsm
that the execution OF the plans of tho River
Commission win result In the destruction of
the communities living on the land liable to
overflow I'm the Lower Mississippi valley, un-
less the government takes meas, measures mat VIII
'1t cannot for moment be believed that
Congress, for the purpose OF fostering COM
mercc, would deliberately destroy whole
communities Of It's citlzcns.
The memorlallsts at considerable length,
go on to show that the floods OF Louisiana are
caused by the rains and the melting OF snow
in States further north, and say that when the
upper valley was IN a state OF wildness the
waters were held back. ~rhen levecs were not
needed on the highest lands. But now, where
formerly n levee of three feet high was sum-
cient, one six feet high Is required; where one
Of six feet high formerly existed twelve feet
is now inadequate. on the banks OF the Miss
lssippi there arc now levees three feet high,
and this year they are broken.
Such in brief is the statement OF men who
are asking the Government to undertake a
task which, according to their own showing,
would not only be impossible, but which, after
bankrupting the National Treasury, would
render that whole country n desolate waste.
If they could bring themselves down to the
natural and common-sense proposition of
making outlets at the lower end, commencing
with the great one, all their troubles from
overhows would be stopped without levees,
and the low-water channel of the river
would be improved at the same time. II a
telegraph wire was stretched on each bank of
the Mississippi River from Cairo to New Or
leans, at a cost OF $4,000, 1t would be as com
system that would cost $10O,000,000.
But the good to be done is not the object Of
these men. The money Is what they want.
They would prefer TO see the valley ruined
600 than see 1t saved by making the outlet at
Lake Borgne at a cost of S25O,OOO.
The whole object OF this memorial is to get
Congress to pass bill permitting the River
Commission to build levees to protect lands In
lower Louisiana, for by the provisions OF the
present bill, which contain the same saving
clause that was in the first bill appropriating
S1,0O0,000, namely, that they could not build
levees excepting TO improve navigation, and
the Mississippi River, from the mouth of
Red River TO New Orleans and on below, Is
| authority can the commission build levees on
| the banks of that portion of the river under
the pretence of improving navigation.
/ Now, we have no objection to seeing two or
| three millions judiciously spent in repairing
levees, provided that at the same time the ap-
preparation be made to make the outlet at
Lake Borgne, which, in our opinion, VIII In a
short time render levees useless The levees
will then make good roads for the public, and
at the same time act as a barrier to prevent
some people from running into the river.