The Bolivar County Democrat. (Rosedale, Miss.) 1887-1969, 1903-09-12

Strong Petition to the National Body
Adopted by the Local Board
of SuperyiSorS,


| It is hereby ordered by the Board of
Supervisors of Bolivar county, Misssis-
sippi, that the following memorial be
and the same Is hereby adopted, and
that this order be spread on the minutes
Of this board, and that certified copy
of same be forwarded to the national
congress
The greatest interest which the people
Of the third congressional district feel In
national legislation is centered in the
appropriations for the lower Mississippi
valley, that is, from Cairo to the Gulf
For the past twenty years we have
paid in taxes for levee purposes more
than we have paid for all other purposes
combined The federal government has
aided us in the construction and mainte-
nance OF our levees, and the system which
has been combatted so stre,uously as a
heresy in theory and an impossibility in
fact, has been demonrtrated to be
succrss.
When we began under the present or
ganizations twenty years ago, to make
our fight against the floods OF the Father
Of Waters, we realized that it was
| fight for life. The most fertile Iarda in
all the world, timbered with forests of
inestnnable value, were to be reclaimed
il we could win the fight, or remain the
habitat of the wild beasts il we lost. 1t
was q tremendous undertaking, and the
prospect Of success was remote; but the
possibilities which that success promised
inspired us to proportion our efforts to
the magnitude of the task before Us, and
the results have surpassed even our
brightest hopes. Such indeed has been
the success Of the levee system since the
great flood of 1890, which inundated all
the territory of the lower district and a
considerable portion Of the upper dis
trict, that in 1908, with higher stage
at Cairo and bigger food to contend
against, IS per cent of the lower district
and all of the upper district escaped
overflow.
With such record behind rs, we can
hope with much confidence for ultimate
success. Let us not, however, lay the
fiattering unction to our soul that the
fight is over. The price of our success
must be eternal vigilance.
We have demonstrated that the levce
system is a success, and with the data
| gathered during the past twenty years
the engineers can now estimate with
reasonable certainty the dimensions and
cost of the ultimate grade.
The question of national aid in this
matter of lcvee building is 70 sis the
question of paramount Importance, and
it is the sense of this meeting that our
Representative i'll congress can best serve
the interest of his constituents by devot-
ing his time and talents to that subject.
We are fully aware Of the fact that what
ever can be accomplished by him in con-
gress will depend upon his assignment to
the proper committee, and it is therefore
the most earnest prayer OF this body
that the speaker of the ffty.eighth con-
gress assign him to the committee on
rivers and harbors.
We are most heartily in favor OF
national aid for the levees OF Arkansas
and Louisiana, and we know that our
Representative in congress will unite
with the representatives of these sister
states i'll common fight for the levee
system from Cairo to the Gull.
In view, however, Of the fact that both
sides of the Mississippi river are equally
vitally interested in the improvement of
the river and the building and mainte-
nance of levees, and of the further fact
that the west bank is now so ably rep
resented on the committee on rivers and
harbors by Hon. ]. E. Ransdell, of Louis
lana, we submit that the equal and exact
Justice can best be done by giving the
east bank of the river like representation
and therefore we earnestly recommend
the appointment of our present repre-
sentative, Hon. B. G. Humphreys.
Ordered this 9Th day of Sept, 1908.
] q COULTER Preeideut