Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1884-02-21
WASHINGTON LETTER.
Sufferers by Mississippi Floods Per-
petual Drain on the Treasury.
The Present and the Past Pointer for
the Future.
Useless Squandering of Money by the
River Comm ission.
Sherman's Plot-Progrcss of the Dan.
vile Riot Investigations.

Special Correspondence OF the Gazette.
Washington, February l3.-The Re.
publican this morning wisely asks
must the government give from
800 600 to ST 00O 600 annually to SUIT
ferers from floods in the valley OF the
There is but one an
swer These caamities Will grow
greater aud be multiplied until the
government has learned the simple
can never lessen, but will always ag-
greyate these disasters One single
minor tributary of the Mississippi, the
country will learn within a month,
can overwh elm the lowlaEds from Cal
ro 10 the jetties. one single col fluent
of "the great inland seal will give this
sea n width of forty oi fifty miles and uu
average depth of eighto ten feet. Con-
fine this sea between walls aud jetties,
"a mile IA part, and its height, its veloc-
ity remaining unchanged, would beat
ut least 400 feet. If the Tennessee and
Cumberland, concurrently with the
Ohio, were surcharged, the volume o.
water projected into the low lands at
Cairo would be almost doubled Then
one-hulf, aud po sibly twn-thirds, of
three great states would be deluged.
Before all this finland seal has been
drawn of by the Gulf of Mexico,
SHOWS will melt IN the Rocky noun
taiDs and the annual flo, ds of the Mis-
sissippi will sweep GOWN the valley.
Their volume is greater thaa all the
eastern tributaries of the Mississippi,
and their bread tn and depth, after sucn
an overflow as this now going down
the valley, Will be simply uneXan,pled.
Well may the Republican ask, What
are we going 10 do about iiY" Every
body must see, within the month, how
worse than idle are the facts and phil
usophy of the river commission, and
IL only remains, instead of attempting
the palpauly impossible, TO begin, as
does the farmer in dealing with the
creek that flows across his fields, at
the lower side and ditch 1t on.h He
diverts enough Ia prevent an overflow,
and diversion of twelve feet in depth
irum the surface water of the river into
Lake Borghe may accomplish the end
aimed at. II IL fail The lower tributa-
ries Of the Mississippi, one after ant
other may be directed into the gulf
through the Calcusien until deluges be-
com. impossible, and until we have
practically two Mississippi's parallel
with one another. Transverse naviga-
blc canals, and these rivers would
ohViate finally the necessity for Rea-
gan's Interstate commerce reform act.
md adding ten million bales TO the
cotton crop. and make the valley of
the Mississippi the rigcest on the globe,
and the cost of living less there Than
in the most favored countries of Eu-
rope or Asia.
APoLoGETIC.
Perhaps in this | repeat substan-
TALLY what | have before asserted, but
there is no practical question now be-
fore The county and the congress
in the magnitude of pres
rnt and future public and private in.
Lerests involved, with this which /
have sought 10 discuss most briefly,
and, as | think, most justly and
airlv.
THE WORLDS FAIR AT NEW ORLEANS
Preparatory to the Inauguration of
,he great orld's fair at New Orleans. |
he people of that city, in order TO pre-.
,ent its submergcnce, will be forced 10 |
ear down the great levee and railway
,ed cross ing and filling the Bonnet
'nur outlet. This outlet originally
Ouveyed the superintendent floods Of
he river into Lake PopchaItrain
bove New Orleans. II 1t be not re-
pened, New Orleans will he flooded
r the city may be relieved by
n infinitely greater calamity.
he Mississippi may course out for
.,If ,.lt m al s.h.1 1aEt
ear, another and shorter route to the
aa from n point below the mouth OF
led river, thus leaving New Orleans
etween two lakes: tho Que, Pouchar-
-ain; the other, the silent, liie'ess,
urreniless body of water occupying
ne present channel Of the Mississippi
/ front of that city. The vessel that
rings ex. President DiaZ from the City
nd &c ius and riches of Mexico for
Inhibition at New Orleans, may
,cend the present channel of the
'chafalaya, then the main channel
the hayward Mississippi, and en-
ring this original river at point
Glow Vicksburg descend the lake
nre the river) to New Orleans.
These are not only possible, but not
IIpfODauie tNtllls VI INC hNAp lew
eeks and months.
And again does the question arise.
What in congress going TO do abonl
pn IL has given $4,000 TO sufferers
ong the Ohio. What sum Will 10
1nnie to dwellers in the lowlands ri
le Mississippi? How many millions
i'll be required to relieve states and
ties from Cairo TO the sea, and Is the
deral government, in addition TO It's
,nntlets usurpations of cover and :
ght, TO become the continental aims
yer? We may commend the spirit?
1t not that lack of fidelity to the NOR
obligations OF the oaih OF office
hich enabled congressman to vote
oney for purposes OF God-like chari,
:, ont of the treasury Of the United .
Iates.
THE PLEBIAN PRESIDENT.
When direst calamilies befell Ireland
1913. and myrlads Of people starved
the fields and haggard want ana
opeless beggary stall,ed abroad every 8
here la the unhappy island, agovern-
tent vessel WIS proposed 10 ne |
eiehted with food aud clothing Tor :
he pitable tuflereIs, every man, /
oman and child in America assisted. a