The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1897-08-11
HREENVILLETlME
THE SALT LAKE CITY CONVENTION.

its recent meeting:
"Whereas, the Mississippi river IL
The great outlet or dram by which the
surplus waters of The vast regions be-
tween the Rocky aud Allegheny
mountains are carried down to the
gulf of Mexico, thus necessarily Great.
ing such enormous floods As annual
" threaten with inundatlon all of the
alluvial lands south of Cairo, which
amount to more than $4,000 square
miles Of fertile lands, which furnish
homes for hundreds OF thoussn is OF
people, aud add immensely TO the
commerce aud welIlh of The nation
aud
Whereas, the inhabitants of this
magnificent delta, in he effort TO pro
tect themselves from the devastation
of these waters, have taxed themselves
10 an extent not equalled in the his
tory OF the government, and have
been unable to sufficiently advance
their protection works, uotwlthstand-
ing quite liberal assistance from the
United States government since
1882, largely by reason of the devasta-
tlon of the lands along said river and
ITS 1910 miles OF uavigabIc tribuiar'
les, aud the modern scientific aud gen
ersl system of drainage adopted in
The upper Mississippi, Missouri, aud
Ohio valleys, whereby the floods be-
come greater aud greater; and
4 ., In AE "A =
territory not only entails immense
loss to the residents, but seriously IN
terrupts The postal service Of the gov
eminent aud the operation of ;bc
great interstate railways, whereby the
exchanges of the people of the United
States are made more difficult and
costly; aud
Whereas, the effect of these over
flows Is to seriously impair the value
of the Mississippi river and its tribu'
taries as arteries of commerce., thus,
to s great extent, disabling hem from
entering into a competition with the
railroads of the valley, aud thereby
effeCting great reduction of rates Of
transportation and
Whereas, under the constitution OF
The United States this work ofTeclam-
alton cannot be accomplished by
agreement among the states directly
interested, lnasmuCh as it expressly
prohibits all compacts between the
states therefore
Be it resolved, that the work of re-
claiming the Mississippi Valley by re.
strsining the floods of the Mississippi
river 10 truly national in it's character,
aud that it should be done by the Ma
tioual government for the benefit Of
all the citizens, aud that the work Of
improving the navigation of said
river and its tributaries should be
literally advanced, so that they may
be utilized in the cheapest and best
manner possible for all purposes OF
transportation
The adoption of this resolution by
the Salt Lake City Congress is stri.
king evidence OF the wide spread and
absorbing interest now taken in the
Improvement of the Mississippi and
the security of the immensely valu.
able country which is yearly eDdsu.
gered by its floods, Ii shows that
several important matters have al
last forced themselves on public
recognition. The value and extent
of the country affected by the over
flows, the loss eDtaied, not only IL
land holders, but to the commercial
interest of the whole country, and the
tremendous struggle for self protect
ion made by the levee districts are al
last meeting with the recognition
they deserve, The resolution passed
at Salt Lake is but a forerunner Of
the emphatic demand which will be
made by the united sections compos
ing the Northwest, the Southwest
aud the middle states at the great
river convention to be held at Dsven.
port, Iowa. on the 18th and 18th Of
next October. AT that meeting the
principal subject for consideration
will be the control and care of the
river and Ievees by the government
1t will be our own fault if such
presentations are not then made as
10 place the problem of river i'm
pro vement aud land protection be-
You'd the responsibility of the i'm
poycrisbed and overtaxed leyee dis
tricts but our needs Will be made a
matter of secondary consideration if
not urged by al impcrous and over
wbelming representation. The pre-
sence of TWO or three, or half dozen
strong and earnest leaders, however
necessary, must be reinforced by o
great delegation of the men whose
vital Interest is at stake. No man
who aan Coutrive to be present, even
at personal sacrifice, can afford 10
neglect his duty TO himself and his
neighbors by remaining at home aud
shifting the burden of responsibility
TO other shoulders. The pear is ripe,
aud when the Davenport Convention
adj0urns every man in the lower val
ley should feel that he bas done
what was possible for the security Of
bis own property aud the future Pros
perily Of the finest country 10 Amer
cs.
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