Telegram-herald., 1890-06-05


abLs c. dls-LzEzs e. ia @outh az t1s
:. 8 zld coarse 1aEsrlsl bEo1 ght iate lE
o. ils tributaries 49, sEo6s1 from Is
szss Itls - lot srls 20 e. this ILsl
there = : zrada4l slegmllatlg1 ol. "a
-e1 zEd rals bed gr4l-zlly rls=s.
tzE LEyEEs coaBE4sED.
Ifths effect If l7y-es : 10 increase
ths asizar " nacd stage - follows tl4L
t1sy are = positive damage C. l9s = ster
navigation. an1 that Ills ls fast an
1rulg coa Tlnesd al obliged 81 eon-
ciuoe tAeref1Fs. that = eounus great
roods oa the lover Mississippi river
between lsysss would - enormously
s2pensive. exceedingly dangerous aAd
a positive dssrIusag - TIE latrssts or
E.Flg CATION
PROPOSED EEAEDI
Iaa paper by the writer before the
Enzlnesrs' Club ot -. Louis IA NAY
Isl. Published In ths Journal OF the
Associstion of Engineering Societies
for July. 1854. and rspublished by The
Enzineeriug News for April 10. 1880
|. remedy Tor the evils OF Overflow
oa Tia Mississippi river vas proposed.
the feasibility and necessity OF N hieA
has ever since grown upon him.
Ils scheme Is this. To build Weirs
It.. tie present levees, the top IF which
shall % some tAree feet below the tops
o. tho levees, and protect them from
erosion by reyetmsut, these weirs 10 be
located az such points offer free
discharge away from the river
bank OF such overflow waters, through
natural bayous and channels. back 20
the laFser rivers near the BLUFFS There
are .reat many sach natural outlets
Ia al these swAmps, which formerly
relieved the river ~ its surplus waters,
but which ars now entirely .eveed out.
They are also largely nusd aud OBJ
structed hy Track heaps ID RATS,
or drift piles, which would have 70 DO
cleared out befors they could have
much efficiency ia discharging Hood
waters Since the highest ground ia
those bottoms Is always near the river
bank these bayous have good slope
away from the river and, In ny opin-
ION, could DO made 70 carry all the
overflow waters Ia q large Hood with
very little damage 90 the cultivated
land When once cleared out they
would gradually enlarge their capacity
as the AtcAafalya river has done. 4
lew raLH LaO LAAo HblNaAA Vas % Ob-
structed BY these "rafts" that il could
discharge but few thousand cubic feet
per second. After clearing ont II rap
idly enlarged and in 1852 IL carried
800 600 cubic feet. and there is no dan
ger that the entire Mississippi river
may ultimately find its way down this
channel If not prevented by artificial
means.
The objection offered by the levee ad.
vocates 10 this method of passing foods
is that II would cause the river TO silt
up This is another theory without
adequate foundation in facts. The river
in it's natural state always did dis
charge its excess of hood waters in this
way, especially in the region below
Vicksburg, where We have the best low
water channel
To learn just what the natural facil,-
ties are for dischsrging food waters
outside the channel would require .
more extended survey of these bottom ;
than has yet been made, but the writer
has had large acq uaiRtance with the
conditions prevailing, from surveys
and examinations he has conducted,
and it Is his firm conviction that by
simply clearing out the channels already
existing, and by providing the proper
escaping weirs. the food of 1892 could
have been passed from Carlo TO the
Gulf without flooding any but the low
lands which have never been, and prob
ably never viii be, cultivated.
A WARNING TO THE FRIENDS OF RIVER IN,
PROvEMENTs.
To oil those interested in the improve
ment OF the Mississippi river for the
benefi; of transportation, I have a word
of warning. The interests Of those liv.
ing along the river bottoms are almost
wholly in the protection from overflow
They think levees Will Do il, and
they want the Government to build
them Congress has said repeatedly
IN the bills appropriating money
for the Mississippi river. that no part
OF IL should be spent upon levees unless
IN the opinion of the Commission such
levees we're necessary to the improve
ment Of low water navigation. This
condition has not prevented the ex
penditure Of about two and a half OF
three million dollars by them for levee
building These levees are torn all ia
pieces by every high water. The food this
year - not nearly 30 large as others IN
recent years, but because the levees
were built M higher IN the lower por
tion OF the valley. the water rose highe 81
until 10 washed them away No even
moderate flood has ever been carried
between isvaes and probably never will
Be The country Is getting tired OF
this waste OF funds for the evident pro
lection o. swamp lands belonging tC
priva-e citiK-ns. II they ars told such
expenditure are necessary 20 the ira
provsmant of lov water navigation "a
tremendous hsresy whieh Is sure 10 ba
exploded some Of these days they viii
be inclined 20 conclude that since 1t i
impossible 90 hold these levees il ia i'm
possible 70 improve the river. aud TIL
therefore. th- sooner they stop the ap-
throwing money away.
The fact "a. IN my opinion. that ths
friends Of river improvement shoul a
throw the levees overbogrd, 80 far a,
a. sgency IN that Improvement "a con
csrna3 and If thsy sra 70 bs b1ilt - a.
let IL be understood they sre % prot eel
th4 country sad not TO improve th,
channel
IL Il st least worthy of thorough
investiz cation. snd % it should prove =.
be feasible IT. viii b i'm men selv chear4t
than Ieveas IL "a not frought With snl
dangers to life OF property. nnd 4
would. In the writer's opinion. ~
benefit 20 low water navigation wbiu
arthin "a the high ievees W0rli Re z ros
ttivs iniary. J b JoHvsov.
Dg TEE 90 SMOKE.