The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1898-06-18

| S'-''b NANH iNNbNIb AM
NINETEEN DOLLARS, and today has
now pending in Congress a bill
placing tho levees under the COM
plete control of the United States
Government, and appropriating
the sum of ten million dollars for
construction purposes, with every
prospect of the bill becoming n
law.
1t may be urged that it is not
to the interest of the Delta that
the United States Government
should take charge of our levees.
Enough money has already been
expended by the Board of Missis-
sippi Levee Commissioners in the
last thirty years to build a leyee
from Memphis to the lower end of
the levee district with an average
height of twenty feet and a crown
of Is feet with usual slopes, and if
the levees had been properly con-
structed and the money appropri-
ated for that purpose used in its
construction, we would have no
need today of governmental care
and appropriation. We are today
Just beginning to build. The only
permanent levees we have in this
district are those constructed un-
der the supervision of the United
States engineers within the last
five years,
From this showing it must ap-
pear to every one that the leyee
board has proceeded upon false
theory. The board, heretofore
composed of riparian land owners,
seeking rather their individual
protection than the protection of
the entire delta, compelled the
engineers of the board to con
struct the levees upon c6ving
banks, and the engineers pander-
ing to their wishes constructed said
levees in their interest. The con-
sequence has haer' that annually
nearly as much dirt has caYed into
the Mississippi river as has been
placed into the levees during the
same period,
Should the general government
take charge of these levees, its en-
gineers, not affected in any man
ner by local interests, viii give us
a permanent levee, and the money
that has been annually throw, into
the river will be appropriated to
tho payment of our bonded lndebt-
ednesa, which in short time will
be paid off and we relieved from
this heavy burden,
The opposition to Mr.. Catch
ings, if any there be, | believe has
grown cut of the fact that Mr..
Catchings arraigned himself upon
the side of the gold standard, or
the so called honest money with
out first having a clear understand
ing with his constituents as to
their desires, If this be sin it
must be remembered that Mr..
Catchings espoused the cause OF
the gold standard before he was
aware of the sentiment for free
silver existing IN his district,
and as soon as it became known
that such was the sentiment of the
district, he, recognizing his posi-
ton as that of representative OF
the people, Immediately pledged
himself to do all that he could to
carry out their wishes in this re-
spect. That he has done so no
man can deny, Standing squarely
upon the Chicago platform, recog-
nizing a public Office as a public
trust, he has faithfully adhered
to the views of his constituents.
Who is the man that opposes
Mr.. Catchings? We see him in
May, 1896, in a Dolly Warden pro
cession with his game cock march
ing through the streets in Green
vile, yelling himself hoarse hur-
rshing for Catchings. We hear
him proclsiming from the stump,
honestly and earnestly that it is to
the interest of the delta that Mr..
Catchings should be returned to
Congress. That no man has ae-
complished as much, nor can do
as much for the delta and the
Mississippi levees as the Hon.
Thomas C. Catchings. Young and
inexperienced, dazzled by the
olamor of Office, nominated by
five citizens of the delta, carried
away by ambition, Hon. Pat Hen
~ todov nroposes to prove to the