The herald., 1912-02-29


tand that, therefore,. a section of 100
feet of city levee contains a much
greater area than a section of 100 feet
of country levee, and, therefore, more
territory to be maintained within the
same section, and consequently a great
amount of cost required therefor. For
instance, on our front the crown width
of our levees varies from twenty-five
| feet to 100 feet, whereas in the coun-
try it is ten feet. The slope in the city
on the land side of the levee is about
| 10 to /, whereas in the country levee
| il is 8 to /. This would make differ
ence in a levee twelve feet high Of
about 100 per cent of the area.
81 am absolutely positive that l did
not tell him to cut anything out of his
report, and i did not know until his
speech that anything had been cut out
of his report, until / made the exam
ination recently, and l find that as
compared with the report submitted to
the board and the report as copied in
his letter pressbook, that the only
thing omitted was the following para
graph:
I'm my last report mentioned that
/ had not found time to give much,
thought and consideration as to the
manner of the maintenance and care
of the levees throughout the district;
since my last report have signed pay
rolls amounting to $3,959.30, for five
weeks work, cleaning the levees of
grass and weeds and repairing revet-
ments, ETC., which pay rolls average
about 1892 per week. In examining
some of these pay rolls / find that it
cost this board from 50 cents to 1888
per station of 100 feet to clean its
levees, and it cost to build stub revet-
ments, without the material, 81 per
running foot for labor. For compari
son, in the Pontchartrain Levee Dis
trict the levees, from Protection Levee
at Carrollton, to Baton Rouge, La, cost
81 cents to 50 cents per station of 100
feet to clean same To build a revet-
ment in the Parish of Plaquemines, the
United States Government furnishing
all material last season, paid 25 cents
per running foot for labor
Il was not at the meeting at which
this report was read, as the record
shows, and /, Of course, cannot state
whether any mention at that meeting
was made by Colonel Lewis of his re-
port containing less than what his let
ter copy showed. 1t will be seen, how
ever, from the excerpt quoted, which
was omitted from his submitted re-
port, that there is not the slightest
reference whatsoever made to the num-
Der of inspectors working for the Or
leans Levee Board or that there were
not two of them earning their sala-
ries, or that he found the gangs sit
ting loafing,' or that he had proposed
to clean them out
This is evidently an afterthought of
Colonel Lewis, which he uttered for
the first time at the political meeting
referred to. / never stated to Colonel
Lewis that he would be relieved hence
forth of the necessity of signing pay
rolls, nor did he declare that hence
forth he would refuse to sign pay rolls,
and, as matter of fact, he never has
from his induction into Office signed a
pay roll, and there is no rule or regu-
lation of the Orleans Levee Board
which requires him to do so. 1 have
examined the pay rolls from the day
that he entered into the service of the
board to the present time, and there is
not pay roll signed by him. He signs
reports only that are filed with him,
which at no time are submitted to the
board. The only information the board
derives as to the contents of these re-
ports IS from the engineers report to
them.
so far as concerns the number of
inspectors in the employ of the Orleans
Levee Board. Colonel Lewis cannot be
ignorant of the fact that there has
been no increase in their number since
my connection with the board.
1T is quite evident that the whole
tenor and purpose of Colonel Lewis
speech was to convey the idea not only
Of the want of economy on the part of
the Orleans Levee Board, but that 1t
was extravagant in spite of his own
protestations. / think can safely say
that the board in many instances has
saved money by not carrying out the
suggestions made by Colonel Lewis
himself, as, for instance, it appears
that contract existed between the
Orleans Levee Board and the Hercules
Company for the building of a levee
from Upper Protection Levee to the
upper line of Audubon Park at 33 1-3
cents per cubic for earthwork and
$61.25 per thousand feet b. m. for re-
vetment. Just prior to the completion