The record-union., 1893-01-18
To-DAY,s CONVENTION.

TO-DAY'S CONVENTION.
The Drainage and Reclamation Con
vention to meet in this city to-day has
but one legitimate purpose, and that is
action looking to protection of low lands
by improved drainage. This takes in the
question, as an incident, how best to in
duce the Government to do its duty by its
river.
But here the line should be drawn, for
remedies for river degeneracy should be
left to the Government and it's engineers.
sThe moment the Drainage Convention
begins to discuss causes of river filling,
and propose schemes for prevention Of
them, it gets imp deep waters, for which
other organizations are prepared and
actively at work, but which this one is
not called upon TO consider. 1t can safely
proceed upon theidea of conceding every
thing that may be urged relative to mining
debris and detritus, and then dismiss it
all from consideration, keeping its
thought upon lowland reclamation, and
means to induce the Government to take
hold of river reclamation.
1t can safely be left to the Federal Gov
ernment to apply correctives as needed;
If once it enters upon the work of cor
recting and preserving the navigable
rivers it will not hesitate an instant to
brush aside causes. For in ali Govern
ment treatment frivers procedure is from
two points-that ofthe cause ofinjury and
that which contemplates a remedy for it.
1t is law established upon every OBJ
served principle Of geological science
that all silt-bearing streams will drop
portion of the burden where the current
is checked, and will add to the silt volume
from the embankments we heap up to
confne the stream. Therefore engineer
ing science always considers means to
lessen the volume of the load the stream
carries as much as possible, and to in
crease the speed of the current and the
means of discharge. Hence it is that the
aim always is to make channels as
straight as can be done, and that engin-
eers claim that treatment of the Missis-
sippi must be upon the plan of as direct
a channel as is possible from Cairo to the
Gulf
What the convention of to-day has to
do is to consider drainage of lands over
which the Federal Government will not
exercise any authority. We have rivers.
and tributaries, and flood water, and
flooded areas, and these latter need relief.
no matter what the Government does
upon the river. If it is possible with
reasonable assurance of success to i'm
prove valley drainage and thereby arrest
threatened evils, and add great values to
assessment rolls, it should be done, and
this is the true consideration for the con-
yention of to-day. Drainage is pure and
simple the question of the convention.
1t has been intimated that on certain
propositions to engage the State in recla-
NATION work, the convention may be asked
te approve the suggestion that convict la
Dor be engaged on any work undertaken.
This must not be. 1t will be the hight Of
folly to even suggest that involuntary
servitude shall have any part in any State
work of this order or outside the prison
grounds. These reasons are conclusive of
the whole matter, to-wit: Experience has
demonstrated that such labor is uneco-
snomic. The convict so employed does
'aot do a fair days work. The cost of
getting work out of the convict under
conditions that would prevail would ex-
seed the value Of his work. To employ
,sonvicts means to go to enormous ex-
pense for guards, guardhouses, trans
sportation to and from prison, and MAIN
tenance in the field.
Indeed. the scheme, if attempted. would
as surely result in jobbery as that the
sun will rise. Contractors for supplies.
clothing, quarters and so on. will simply
bleed the State, and scheming politicians
will get their grip upon the whole thing
and manage it to suit themselves, for they
never loose sleep for State interest.
Moreover, free labor has the strong claim
in any such work as may possibly be
proposed for great drainage system.
We believe the convict should be made
self-supportlng within the prison
bounds; beyond them there is no
place for him in the economy of State
work. We want in this State no expert
ments in farming out convicts such as
have so disgraced and shamed some OF
the Southern States.