Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1900-12-20
Letter From Earl.

"A NooAaU VIA Guy 10 NGW Ollo0IlS,
built in veritable swamp to accom-
mod ate the thousands of cotton ship
pers who line the Mississippi river for
d distance of hundreds of miles and
who long years ago demanded ship
ping point conveniently located for
the transferance of the product Of the
fertile plantations from the river
steamer to the ocean gong vessels.
Aside from its superior location from
q commercial standpoint, the city of
New Orleans is without redeeming
feature and when the novice once be-
comes used to the scenes in the city it
Is dreary old place. In a converse
ton with civil engineer last night he
gave me some rather interesting statis-
tics regarding the existing conditions
around New Orleans and against
which continual struggle is neces-
sary on the part of the inhabitants of
the city to prevent their destruction
In the years past, when the sluggish
waters of the great Mississippi river
reached the state of Louisiana there
was nothing to hinder their spreading
over the low country with the result
almost the entire community contigu-
GUS to the river was a dismal swamp.
AS last resort the legislature OF the
state finally voted special fund for
the construction of a huge dixie or more
commonly called levey and as it ap.
pears today the undertaking was q
tremendous one. Imagine the labor
and time necessary to construct aridge
of dirt varying in height from eight to
twenty five feet and width of about
fifty feet from the Minnesota state
line to the Missouri line. When CON
structed In state like Iowa where the
dirt can be had for the moving, the
work would have been different but
imagine the work necessary in coun-
try, almost one-half of which was con
tinually flooded Far above Baton
Rouge the leyey commences and fol-
lows the snake like trail of the river
clear through the state of Louisiana.
AS one passes up the river on board a
steamboat he can only see the Chin
neys of the houses in the small towns
passed through. When ons walks
along the streets of town they see
only the spars and deck houses of the
boat. You always go up flight OF
stairs to reach the river 1T the river
should break away from the levers in
New Orleans the water would over.
spread the town at a uniform depth
of eight feet. According to my in
formant the water would be eight feet
deep in the st. Charles hotel located in
the central portion of the city and
about twelve blocks from the river
Naturally constant expense results
in the maintainence of the levey. Be
sides the regular state allowance, every
cotton raiser in the state of Louisiana
pays into the 'levey fund" the sum OF
one dollar for every bale of cotton he
produces. Besides the existing sani-
tary conditions there are numerous
other unfavorable features connected
with life In the sunny SOUTH"
am fully aware of the fact that the
beauties of southern life cannot be
distilled into words of expression MOI
painted upon the widest canvass
They, the land agents, say one mus
feel tie inspiration of its balmy air
gaze long and lasting upon its mag
niticent landscapes; cultivate its fer
tile and versatile soil, but, one of tn.
beauties of this great and seemingly
growing nation is the suffrage of fret
thought and have been INDUCING il
a few thinks" for myself.
| To the man who seeks the life of the
uptopian, my advice is for him tt
migrate, come south. Here the mel
do not put premature humps in thei1
lspinal columns for the sake of a few
paltry dollars. Here one may be re
called by wealth of flowers transcend
ent in their beauty and unmatched il
their fragrance. Here men do moi
wear out their bodies chasing the vii
o. the wisp of fortune. Here you car
taste of luscious fruits plucked frest
from the trees. The winters are shor,
and the growing seasons are long, but
regardless of all this would advise
one contemplating locating in the
south to make a tour of inspection
first That this country is the idea
home for the capitalist do not deny
but for the man who seeks to provide
for his family and at the same time
put something awey for that inevitable
rainy day the south, that is the ex
IRENE south, should have not the leas,
indnccment.
One of the prominent abnoxiou.
features of the south is the omnipres
ent negro. The whites down here
make pretense of despising the mar
with the black face, but he is theil
mental, and they realize that without
the negro the south would have t.
hang up her shutters and display The
sign "Gone out of business"
The majority of the children of tn,
better class down here hardly know
the affections of mother. From tn,
time of their first swaddle clothes the,