The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1897-05-29
VILE, WASHINGTON COUNTY MISS SATURDAY, MAY 29 1897
THE LEVEE QUESTION.

uhder the above head, the Memphis
Commereial-Appcal publishes an edi.
torl@l calculated to do infiuile harm
10 the system upon which depends
chlehy the interest and welfare of the
large tract of country of which II
should be the champion and defender
Inc writer OF tho article in question
writes with a solemn assertiyenes.
which may readily mako his utter
snces accepted as coming with the
authority of knowledge and expert
ehco. The whole article has the air OF
having been delivered from the chair,
ana may be 20 accepted by others who
depend for their information OH the
SUBJECT upon the writings and utter
ahces from tho locality to be affected
by any action which may be contem.
plated by the powers that be. Just al
TINS time the future Of the levec dis
'rlcts Is III the balance Projects for
the control of the river and tho perfec-
ton OF system Of protection are oc-
cupylng the minds of law makers and
thinkers as never before; and word
htly or unwisely spoken may have the
effect Of changing the whole course of
action and making or marriug the
prospects of the leyee country for
years to come. The general tone Of
the CommerciaI.AppeaPs article is in
favor Of the no leVee system It says
the time was when it was treason to
utter q word against levees, but such
is no longer the case, and there has
been a radical change IN public opin-
ion IN some sections. Ii the change
has come 1t finds expression only in
newspaper offices far from the locality
most Interested. The opinion of the
people most concerned has undergone
no alteration. Much stress ia laid up.
Oh the assertion that CX President
Davis, in speech made twenty years
ago, declared against levees. The fact
that ex-President Davis, honored as
bis memory is, made such q mistake g
small reason why it should be clung
to aud cherished to the destruction of
the whole of the lower Mississippi
Valley
Again The article lcarueily aud
laboriously sets forth the Oft Yexca
question: that leyeea raise The bed of
the river, but vitiates its argument by
saying "This, of course, Is contrary TO
the heary upon which Eades success
fully deepened the channel at New
Orleans by constructing jetties, from
=; " 2,cn G,cn we must conclude that the car.
rents act differently IN diAerept local
tics. Az all events, the division Of
sentiment which eXisIs OH the levee
question, aud which is daily coming
u sharper conflict, will have a tenden-
~ to increase the difficulty of securing
governmental aid" Truly. Tho 9iVi. |
ion of sentiment exists only among
heorists who are lguorant of the con-
litious they pr8te of in their owl-like
visdom, and governmental aid may |
,e withheld II sII inhueuiiaI papers
. r. present public sentiment
IL the levce districts were to indulge
II such trcatises as that Of Yhiah the
)ommorcial-Appeal grayely delivers
tself. Tho article iy SO purely specu-
alive, aud Wthal go vague in Its con-
lusious that its IndctiniteueSs is lis
urest antidote. The ouly certain i'm
ression Ii conveys is that there exists
violent diversity Of opinion as to the
merits of tho lrvee system but that
unfortunately the most dangerous
it could give. II is impos
ible to suppose that such a paper az
he Commercial.ApQesI would delib-
ralclJ ujure the prosperity or future
t he lrvee country. The Vaguonees
f the article IN question skoWs that
he writer had no definite convictions
n the subject-in fact dldu't know
uything about it--bdt in his slmlcss
7ay be tries 10 do about as much
arm AS if he was actuated by the
lost vcnomous personal suimUsiW,