The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1897-06-09
GREENyLL WASHINGTON COUNTY MISS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1897
RIVER IMPROVEMENT,


[Times.Democrat1
Inc New York Commercial Bulle.
Tin and journal of Commerce alway,
very sensible and conservative ioUr.
nal, discusses the question OF the i'm
provement of the Mississippi with 8
dl'play OF common sense that we would
IKE TO see III more of its Northern
contemporaries. 1t did not lose ITS
head when few breaks occurred in
our lines of levees, but took The view
that Inc best way to judge of the food
was to wait until it was over aud then
compare our experience of it with
that OF previous years.
The other journals, with rare ex.
ceptions, shouted the levee system
isa failure" at the very first break.
and large number of them dragged
Capt. Cowden from his retreat aud
tried to breathe fresh life in the twice
dbproved outlet theory. Even the
Senate became dcmofalized by all this
bowling against levees, aud appointed
committee TO reiuvestigale the river
II is true, thai the river hos been
thoroughly Investigated and that tbp
question of Its Improvement has beeu
considered from every point of view
The fact that the ou;leters and otheI
river cranks shouted failure has been
made an excuse for ovorhauling and
going over the entire matter ouCe
more.
The Journal of Commerce takes
the position that these Investigations
should not have been insisted on un-
til the flood was over and we knew
how the levees had withstood it-a
position The Times-Democrat has al
ways maintained. Now that the over
flow is ended, 1t sees DO reason why |
we should change our system of de.
fenSe against lreshets and high water
as it thinks that the levees have ac-
complished all that was expected OF
them. There may be seine better de.
fense that we will learn in time, but for
the present the rvees Will suffice.
As for further Investigations it says:
at is doubtful If any important
facts have come to light since the last
investigation. 1t is true that the floods
Of this year covered very large ter
rltory, but when they subdued it was
found that they had done less damage
than was feared, a, compared with
other years; the breaks were few in
number and The water was exception
Sly high, the moderate stages of wa
er having been in these later years
'alrly well controlled"
The Journal of Commerce will have
nothing of Cowden and his outlets,ana
8 sick and tired of having them trot
ing out with every high water, Il
believes that he Mississippi Commjs
ion is doing good work, aud it rea-
ICES that it was never pretended that
t had the river under full control,
tut only that il was getting better a,
ontrol OF it from year to year. II
here is one fact well established by
he present high water 1t is this, for :
Though the food has been much =
reater than ever before, the land
verhowed is less aud, the damage is I
,ss than in many years of only moder- =
te rise. 1t can see no reason in this y
ears experience for changing the 9
Ian of river improvement now under :,
ay from which we have secured such -
enefclal results, and it says: q q
"The separation of the improve =
ent of the Mississippi river from ;,
her river works aud its assignment -
a commission of engineers was the -
suit of an investigation, and there ~ ~,
70 been at leNst one investigation ~
lce tho creation of the commission, -
as created for the MISSOURI river ~
cause The Mississippi commission :,
d given, if not full satisfaction, al 10 -
,st more satisfaction, than the sepa- ~
to treatment of the several reaches =,
the river. The river is not Gnder ~
ntrol, but il is probably safe to say IWiI W
at when The floods are only moder- 80
,ly high there is now little overflow, "a a.,
d when they are very high the over ~ -,
W ia less destructive than it used to ",
Year after year Capt. Cowden ~ -,
IL some benevolent gentleman, in 10
ugreSs to introduce bill to expdri- ~ -
mt with what be calls the outlet he
item, but the subject has been ex- an an
lined and reported on by eminent tio
,ineers who regard it ss quite in olC %
,ctlve. III,
This isa common-sense view Of the ,nI
tier No worse policy could have an
N suggested than that proposed oil S
ring the height of the panic that int
should abandon the levces be-
100 a few OF the weaker ones broke
| adopt the first quack remedy pro-
led to us.
Darn recently adopted the gold ~ ~