The Forrest City times., 1899-02-10
LEvEE BONDS.

lowing 10 the levee taxpayers Of Lee county:
 DEAR SIR-fn order that the under signed. your representatives, may vote in accordance with the will of the ma. jority of the taxpayers of the St. Fran cis Levee association, in Lee county. in regard to the bill now pending in the general assembly as to the issuance of bonds by said association to the amount of S750, 900, we ask that yo,i promptly and at once answer the ques- tions on annexed postal card. An early compliance with this request is earnestly desired. No answer will be taken as an affirmative vote on the is suance of bonds. Respectfully,
 J. E. WooD.
 J. Nj. HALL.
 The above communication is on q postal card and is addressed to each taxpayer. So far as we have been ablc to learn the levee tax payers of Lee county are practi- calIy unanimous m favor of said bonds being issued. just as they should bo. The simple truth is Lee county must have the levee at once or planting in the bottoms must bo abandoned. The annual high waters were bad enough on our bottom people before the levee was built down to opposite Mem. phis. But now, with the levee completed to that point, it must be manifest to everyone that it will not require much of an overfiow to cover the bottom lands of Lee county. No lcvee at all would be far better for Lee county than a Ievee ail the way down to Memphis, but no further down.
 The interesting fact stares the 'people of St. Francis and Lee bcounties in the face that they must Aeither have a levee or abandon the bottoms. Which of the two alter natives will they takcy Some may say that they want the levee, but they want it built by annual assess ments and collections of taxes, but not by the issuance of bonds. Let such people reflect for a moment how long it would take to build the rest of the levee by such an- snual collections, and let them not forget that Il few miles of levee so built every year will be next to no protection at all, besides the great danger of being washed away al- most as fast as built, and they are bound to change their opinions For all must admit that if we are to have levce ut all, tho sooner the better. The immediate en- hancement of land values by levee protection would, an hundred times, more than offset the cost of the ,levee. Many people arc opposed to bonds for any purpose because of their experience Tn such matters during the dark days of recon struction. But if they will think about the matter for moment they will see that bond issue is not only our only hope for levce. but also that it will not cost any more (nor tenth as much Tn the long run) than annual tax collections.
 The idea IS to issue bonds pay able after given number of years and let the annual collections pro- ceed as before. As soon as the sbonds are issued the necessary money will be obtained on them and the levee will be finished at once, while said annual collections will be placed in the treasury to meet said bonds. The rate of tax ation will not be raised ono cent, while the people, as the bcnefcla- ries of the bonds, will get their levee protection at once. instead of being forced to wait another gen. eration for such protection, and while so waiting their annual taxes would be just as heavy as if the bonds were issued, and tho levec completed by the fall or winter of the present year.
 We hope that, for the everlasting good and glory of tho rich bottom .lands o1 Lee county, our people will promptly reply to our repre- sentatives that if they arc to have the levee at all the sooner the bot ter, and that the only hope or means of such protection at once is for our legislature to come to the rescue and authorize the is- suance of bonds as indicated by the pending bill. For with levee pro- tection our bottom lands are the finest on earth, while without such protection they are httle, if any better than weight around the necks of their owner. By all means lot us have the bonds and the levee. Our people arc tired of the ruin caused by overf ows, for want of Q levee, every year.-Ma- rianna Index.
 Monkey C0tton-Pickers.