The weekly Iberian. (New Iberia, La.) 1894-1946, 1909-07-31

New Orleans. Fuiy ~ Lieutenant
Colonel llnntinE II Beach, UNITED
States ltnt ,n".r'nR totpA ~ chang nt
tie Nov Orleans hiRirlci. sent hia NJ
port TO- the pns' yc"i ~ NhsltnFt"ft
laa' saturday III" report shows thN
interest tlmt II hcing taken - tht
genera Euvc'nnt"ni 80 ~" 'n'p'"N'#
mcrt Of lhn waterways ~ the country
aud eilnwRH rcnrtal "Xpruhitur" taf
Louisiana tmptovc,n' tI'a II "v',
T.. OOr. 900 divided az uu,ong 4he W." I
AZ the pns8.e and the vn'toua wntct
ways Of the state.
ConErtes by an nc, of 100, decided
upon - deep WATERWAYS project lot 'iif
pqescs and authorized the dredging of
a ,hanncl through Southwest Pass -
900 feet IN width and thirty i've ttct
in depth. Prior To that time the mean
depth Of South Pass had been tw.ntY
ak feet, and the rcput shows ,hat
since tie United states engineers took
charge ~ lpnl, The depth l,aa been ~
cfcnRch to twenty nine feet. The re
port SAYS thnt the number ni drap
draft steamers coming through tho
pass has increased greatly. which fact
has greatly rcdoundcd ~ tho benefit
Of The city. aa TIC steamers were nblc
ia carry full cnrgoca, aud with these
increased cargoca III" business and
earnings q The city hnyc increased
Speak ne II The amount needed tnr
the work 81 keeping open South Pass
while the work If deepening south
west Pass is going on, tlc report aal 4
that this amount should be increased
from sIm, 900 to $3.50, 900 year in or.
der 10 get the best results
The report shows that the Intention
is to abandon South 'nsR IA soon as
Southwest Pass has been dccpencd To
thirt, five feet, with n channel 900
feet wide. II Is contemplated that
this work will cost ~, ODO, 900 and that
IT viii require an annual outlay Of
800 600 - year for maintenance.
Practically the whole Of this money
Inns been appropriated, and while the
report docs not state when the work
will hc finally completed, the list IT
expenditures show that II has gone
we'll forward The government hns
acquired ! 2i1 acrcs on the west bank
~ Southwest Pass, anh during the
past year IL has completed coaling ata
tons u large steel binding and six
teen dwellings, together with plant
for the manufacture Of ice, which Is
now in working order. In addition to
this the engineers closed eleven of the
principal outlets rom Southwest Pass
into the adjacent bays ~ well m five
minor outlets, by means of sheet pill
inga Conditions have changed since
the original survey Of 1898. and be
cause of the advance Of the crest of
the barit has been found necessary to
extend the ietties TO correspond with
this advance. On June 30 the jetties
were completed and stills were put
across Cubitta Gap, the Jump and
across The head Of Pass q Lonirc
The length Of the jetties from the
head Of the pass TO the end ~ nineteen
miles, and the amount expended up to
June 80 on this work is IA 800, lG2 -
The interest Of Congress in this work
has not waned, for by nets Of May ~,
1908. and March 3, 1909. they appro
priatcd ~ 100000, and also authorized
the secretary Of war to warrant for
$6t 600 more, " IN his discretion, il
should be needed. while the commit
tee on rivers and harbors inserted an
item Of $275, coo in their bill Of March
I, 1909, for tho work
The report covers over 100 closely
typewriter pages, and deals mostly
with minor items and matters Of book
keeping. The report also covers the
work Of the other waterways of the
state aud shows that the government
has already spent ~ ,704 24477 on the
locks, while it has ex-
pended 81 $40 II in the Improvement
Of Bayou Techc. In addition to this
the United States has spent about
81 900. 900 more In improving other
streams throughout Louisiana. and on
he whole. the report is evidence Of
he fact that the government ia paying
much attention to the waterways