The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-08-28
WASHING AWAY LAND.
Mississippi River Threatens Portions
of New Orleans.

New Orleans ever since the city was
founded. as to how to prevent a portion OF
1t from falling into the Mississippi river.
is again up, and, as formerly, is causing
a great deal of dispute among engineers
The Mississippi is constantly changing It's
bed, cutting away its banks on one side
and adding them 10 the other and the
great and unsolved problem of river i'm
| provement Is how to secure a fixed bank
| The Mississippi river commission has ex-
pended about $20,0O0,00O in trying to stop
the caving in, but with only partial sue
| cess. Il suggested that by the use of
| willow mattresses, covering the sides of
the bank, the friction and consequent
washing away of the bank could be pre-
| vented. This has been tried at GreenViile
Lake, Providence and other points, but IL
| was soon discovered that the work was
| expensive and only partially successful
and that there was only a limited supply
| of willow with which to make mattresses.
Riparian property In New Orleans Is
very valuable, for the town lives by the
river, and is built to conform with it. It's
| commercial property Is situated on the
river bank, and It's factories are as near
| the Mississippi as they can get Hence
the caving In of the banks there destroys
| the most valuable property In the city as
well as interferes with commerce and man.
| ufacture. Everything that money or
science can do 10 prevent this cavlng in
has been tried. The federal government
has assisted materially in this work. and
each year an appropriation is made for
| the harbor of New Orleans. These appro-
priations are used almost exclusively to
hold the river bank and prevent further
| caving in.
Capt Eads solved the question as to
| how to open an outlet to the sea- and the
| MiGGtEgfDDi 81 "a
how to prevnt overfiows and deepen the
| channel, but the problem of bank protec-
! ton is still unsolved. Every point on the
Lower Mississippi is either being eaten
away by the river or being added to- Sand
| pats have thus grown up into fine plan
tations while other plantations have been
swallowed up. Wherever the channel APP
! proaches the bank 1t eats into It, tunnels
under it, and the land finally caves or
drops into the water. half a dozen acres
at time, and Is carried away or deposit
ted on the opposite side. where the cur
rent Is slack.
Now at New Orleans the river is eating
away the land az no less than three points,
viz, the Camalen or seventh district;
Algiers, or fifth district, and Old Fau-
bourg Margny, or third district the sec
ton over which the present trouble has
arisen.
Carrolton is the site Of the Bellies De-
moiselles plantation. The Mississippi
rushes down on the land here with such
a sweep that IL looks as though ID would
| carry everything before II. Here are the
| highest embankments or levees in the en-
tire city, and here the hardest work has
been done to keep out the Mississippi
Square after square has gone over and
slowly the city has retreated before Il and
built its levees further and further back
1t was here that the greatest damage was
done by the high water Of 1897, and some
$4,000 Of the emergency fund was spent
10 build the Carrolton levee.
The levee is twenty feet long and per
haps 100 feet broad at Its base. and Is call
ed the new levee'' because the old one
went into the river some half dozen
years ago. It was then discovered that
it was impossible to hold the river bank
and II was decided 20 retreat and to build
the new leyee two squares, or blocks
back of the old one. abandoning the prop
erty outside of this new line, which con-
tanned some 100 to 80 houses with a pop
ulation Of perhaps 900 to 800.
A great mistake was then made In the
interest of property-owners that has very
severely complicated the situation since
Under the laws OF Louisiana neither the
state nor city was held responsible to
nroperty-kolders for property Of heirs lost
by the cavng in of the river bank. II
so happened that Carrolton property-own-
ers who were thus threatened were old
original settlers of the town. for Carroll
ton was originally separated from New
Orleans and the seat Of justice Of Jeffer-
son parish. II was resolved therefore,
since the city of New Orleans and the
levee board were in no wise legally re.
spOnsible for these losses, to compensate
te property-owners rather as an act of
charity. This generosity was agreed on,
especially in view OF the fact that the
levee board had a handsome surplus IN
its treasury.
This precedent has had a most Injurious
effect. The question to-day before the city
is exactly similar to that at Carrolton
The river Is threatening to carry away
a part of the Third district. What ought
to be done until some way is found Of
checking these cavings IN is 10 retreat
before the Mississippi, to build the levees
several squares back, and TO surrender
the endangered property to the inevitable
That is what would have been done a doz-
en- years ago. but with the Carrolton prsce-
dent. II New Orleans abandon this prop
crty to the waves Il will have 10 pay the
property-owners for il. and the levee board
has got no overlooking treasury now, as
II had when the Carrolton episode occur
red II was cleaned out and left heavily
IN debt by the flood OF 1897, when TO get
the money needed to maintain the levocs
IL had 10 mortgage the revenues for sew
eral years ahead.
The legislature also. at its last session.
passed law making the city RESPONSIBLE
for land lost by caying In 20 that there
IL 10 escaping from this responsibility A.
consequence Of this. one set OF engin-
GERS refuses 20 retreat before the river
and wants 70 hold the present line Of DO
Tense AZ al cost ana hazard Another sef
insists that this will not only b. exirava-
giant and wasteful. but dangerous la the
and. rendering the overflow on the district
possible. There s. stiil n third ret which
wants 10 change the course Of the river ~
detecting the long dams, Or rather dlkes
built out into the river 70 as to throw
the current and channel on the other side
and stop the work ~ washing away the
bank