The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-04-02
A MISSISSIPPI Plea.
Plain Talk by Minnesota Congress
man
Who Has Just Inspected the River and
Now Fay0rs Increased
Appropriations.

WASHINGTON, March 2j.+Representa
tive NJ ID. Washburn, of Minnesota, has
returned from his trip to New Orleans.
He says il is still very cold down there,
aud rs he came up through Alabama and
other parts of the south he could see 40
indications of spring. He spent several
days mt New Orleans, and, through the
kindness of Capt. Eads. who rendered
him his boat, he visited the jetties at the
mouth of the Mississippi river, 116 miles
from New Orleans. He says that before
the ictties were constructed the only out
let was through the southwest pass. and
that no vessel drawing more than Is or
IS feet could get through the south pass,
which before was impossible, owing to
the bed of alluvial deposit at the entrance
to the gulf damming up the passage; but
now. by means of the jettIes, channel OF
80 feet deep has been kept open for five
months so that the entire commerce of the
Mississippi now goes through the south
pass. These lettings consist of two I'M
mense walls running down into the gulf.
two miles in length and 500 or 600 feet
apart, erected one on each side of the
channel. Between these two high walls
the current is concentrated and channel
is kept washed out of sufficient depth to
float the largest vessel He says the cap
tain has an immense dredge boat of extra
ordinary dimensions which cost not less
than $3.50, 900 to be used in case of shoal
ings and when tie soundings are not of a
certain depth. In describing the ietty
system and his trip to Investigation of the
Mississippi has been that above the
mouth for miles, the river has spread over
great surface of the country. Crevasses
have formed in the levee; the river has
broken through its banks. the inevitable
results being to shoal the river below.
The effect of keeping the river within its
banks
FOR A CERTAIN WIDTH
Is to give certain depth to channel.
The jetty system at the mouth of the
Mississippi is on the same principal, and
is great success. My trip gave me an
excellent insight. into the whole jetty
system. The captain of the boat
understood everything thorough
~, and took great pains
to explain it to me. No enc
can understand the system of jetties
thoroughly until he has seen it. My in
vestigation has given me a thorough I'M
de-standing of it, and am most favor
ably impressed The plan recommended
to congress by the Mississippi river com
mission for the Improvement of naviga-
ton above New Orleans involves the APP
plication of precisely the same principle.
If had any doubts before | went there
as to the practicability of the Mississippi
river commission plan-which had not
they would be entirely dispelled now.
The practIc ability of the plan below New
nrlaanc 90 Iaorfoatlu alaar To hof
l have not the slightest doubt in the
world that its application above will ac
complish precisely what they claim for
it..
"Mr. Washburn, what win be the result
of the failure of congress to make ap-
preparations for carrying on works on
rivers and harbors?" was asked.
The people do not have the slightest
idea of the loss that is going to result to
the country in the damage to property
and the detriment of commerce. My
opinion is. that. before long. you will hear
great clamor from all parts of the couE-
try on accounted stopping these works.
had talk with Gen. Wright, and he feels
very badly about it,"
"What works will be affected2"
Most of the works. The Mississippi
river works will be damaged more than
any others, but all the works will be dam
aged. As an instance, the most impor-
tant improvement, so far as the northwest
is concerned, is that of the Sault Ste.
Marie. The tonnage that goes through
that river is simply enormous, and it is
increasing all the time. the government
has built
A VERY EXTENSIVE CANAL
And lock-the finest piece of masonry in
this country-which will take through a
steamer drawing sixteen feet of water, rs
large a draught as will admit vessels
through the straightof Mackinaw to Chi
cage; but there is . space in the SAUL
Ste. FBaG--::e river where vessel drawing
only twelve feet can go through. The
consequence is we don't get the benefit of
the sixteen feet draught in the canal.
The difference in the cost of carrying
freight in vessels drawing sixteen feet and
in vessels drawing twelve feet is tremen-
dous. The delay, therefore, in complies
ing this Improvement will result in great
loss, not only in damage to property, but
in injury TO commerce. / do not know of
so marked an Instance where SO little
money is required to improve the carry
ing trade as in the improvement of
that river, and in the loss of one years
So it is with other improvements. There
are Duluth and Superior harbors, where
the commerce is going to be very large,
and the facilities are inadequate to do the
business. The delay, therefore, in com
plotting the improvements, viii result in
great loss to the country, and do great IN
jury to the facilities for doing business.
One of the greatest losses results in stop
ping snag boats An. appropriation is
made every year TO operate them. They
have all to be laid up. The snag boats
on the Mississippi, Missouri and Arkansas
belonging to the government cost hun
dreds of thousands of dollars, and do
very necessary work every year. 1t is
work that ought to be done, but 1t will
have to stop, and, as consequence, nav
igation on these rivers will be greatly dis
turbed, just for the want of this small ap
preparation. In my opinion, you will
find in another year as great a howl for
river aud harbor appropriations as was
raised against them by metropolitan pa
pers and certain class of politians who
sought to make cheap political capital by
denouncing the appropriations of last
year.