The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1893-06-10
A. Response To Snyder.
Delhi, La. May %, 1898.

Delhi, La, May ~, 1898.
To the Editor Of the Times-Democrat:
/ see in your paper ! letter Of r. Fl |
Snyder. Of Tensas parish, May ~. CEN
surfing the old Board of Commissioners
of the Tensas Basin Levee District, for
neglect OF duty, and that It had been
asserted in the legislature that railroad
and not ievee building had been the
principal business of the board.
was in the Legislature long enough
to find out that members could talk
very glibly about something that they
knew nothing in. the world about, as
did the member from Catahoula. The
whole contract Of the board with the
railroad company was simply ar agree
ment that when the company would
complete levee across Boeuf river
cutoff, in Arkansas. that then the
board would deed them its land and
pay tax, but it had to be built in ac-
cordance with the specifications of the
Board OF Engineers and accepted by it
When the agreement was made the
railroad obtained The certificate OF the
chief engineer that the leyee would aid
T in protecting the Tensas basin from
overflow fact which every man in the
State who knows anything about the
topography OF the country knows full
WELL
! The parishes of West Carroll, More
house, Richland, Ouachita, Caldwell.
and.the large part of Franklin are
overiowed alone from the water that
comes through that cutoff. and any
breaks of the levees on the Mississippi
below that cutoff flow down the Macon
and affects us only in Catahoula and
/ the front of Franklin parishes.
i That contract never interferred with
nor delayed us One moment in OIL
) work on the Mississippi levees, and all
the money we raised by taxation and
800, 600 worth of bonds was spent in
making levees while that contract sub
! sisted, and last year full statement
Z made by committee of the new board
was published in the New Delta, show
!. ing how much money we had receives
and where it bad gone. | know tina
every dollar of it was put into tn
levees.
!, NY friend Snyder ought to, ant
does, know that there is as much hu
! man,nature in us here as there is Il
him, and that instinctiyely we atten'
. to our greatest interest first, and a
that cutoff is but a few miles abov
q the State line, and as almost the entir
volume of water from breaks abov
that comes through there, and as W
are but little interested in breaks tina
s occur below there, common sense die
q tated that we should .sstop the large'
leaks first So we began at the hea
l. of the system and have constant
y worked down since our organization
and have the levees, down to Arkanss
CITY, as perfect as they are anywher
e In comparing the condition OF OF
IS leyees with those of the Fifth Levt
# District my friend should remembs
Ie that from the time tax was first levie
le in this State for levee purposes, OF
,e people, paid cheerfully to keep up Il
= levees in the State, when nearly Il
: entire area of the Tensas Basin Lev
! District was not benefited in the lea
- and we were overlooked all the tin
'r from water through the State OF A
u kansas and not until the year eSl d
he the thought ever occur to any one
to tax our people to build levedn in A
Of kansas Finding that our revenl
,e from taxation amounted to only 81
i. 600 and Chicot county, Ark, paid on
i about the same amount, and Des
= county, Ark, only $4,000, we then g
A0 authority to issue bonds. and WI
these we have built the most Of
IS leyees. Beside the work above Arka
sas City we built Fulton Lake a
W, Duf1in leyees, below there, at cost
IT. $50. 900, raised Fulton Lake after II
and are now raising it again. assist
the government in charging Panti
ny Forest, and spent $500 near whs
ed the breaks now exist. We have do
!, all that We could. Can my friend !
no morep His district is infinitely ms
nd interested In the levees that are brok
to at this time than we are. Why did
80 not strengthen themP Because IL
'ee had all they could do nearer hon
Us: So had we. He should be equally
zee cha ritable. We had only about 60
"a 600 acres ofland donated to us, 40
- 900 of which were original entries {
~ had never been entered because wor
ao' less. The balance were tax lands,
La in every suit to recover in the difl
ne, rent parishes we have lost them.
., land will be worthless unprotected.
n 6