The herald., 1912-03-07

| ing the past rev years.
ing TO Mr.. Ransdell, this report will
probably be completed and submitted
I to Congress during the next few weeks
but too late for action by the House
this session" Why the Washington
engineers have seen fit to hold back
their report on this little Sc mile sec
| ton of the southern branch of this
waterway, and thus retard its consid-
Grafton for another year, considering
| the incalculable advantage TO this city
of it's completion, when it is appreci-
ated that the opening up of this new
trade route will mean the automatic
Inauguration of the lighterage system,
so indispensable to the economic hand
ling of this ports commerce, is one OF
those mysteries which it would be ut
ter folly for the layman TO attempt TO
unravel. The Algiers Improvement
Association, it will be remembered,
during the last session of Congress.
had requested General Estopinal to re-
quest said Washington Board of Engi-
neers to consider our Algiers canal
with the Harvey and the Company ca
nails which were supposed to have been
recommended by the local engineers
whose report had just then been sent
to Washington. General Estopinal
submitted our request and was told
that our canal would, no doubt be con-
sidered, since it was offered to the gov
eminent by the city, free of charge,
particularly if the price asked for the
other canals already connected by
locks with the river, would be too high.
The General, in a letter received here
also stated that an invitation had been
extended him by the engineers TO offer
any further suggestions he might later
desire to make. Nothing was ever.
heard of the matter since, however, un-
til a letter written within the past few
weeks by your humble servant calling
the attention of the New Orleans ex-
changes to this extraordinary delay,
resulted in the matter being revived
by the Progressive Union and the
Board of Trade, through Mr.. Leon
Locke and Mr.. Henri Gueydan, the sec
rotary and vice-president of the Inter
Coastal Canal League, which action re-
suited in the explanation by Mr. Rams
dell, Just mentioned. Probably if the
mercantile interests of New Orleans, to
whom this short, tide-water cut to the
Lafourche and the Teche, means so
much, had requested the Washington
engineers TO let this local connection
go in as a special report, such re-
quest, coming from such a source or
from our representative, would likely
have met with a prompt and favorable
response, since this little stretch on
this side of the Mississippi, can have
no direct bearing on the branch on the
other side. / had noticed that at the
Morgan City convention of the Inland
Waterway League, last October, there
we're practically no delegates from New
Orleans, strange to say, Mr.. Justin Den
echaud being the only active one seen,
outside of those from the Algiers I'm
provement Association. 1t might be
possible, nevertheless, to induce the
Washington Board of Army Engineers
to let this report go in by itself, even
yet, if the matter is promptly handled.
In this connection, it might be men, !
toned that should the government con- !
clude not to use either the Harvey or
the Company canals and should find |
that the Algiers outfall canal if pro-
jected to the river on a straight line
from Bayou Barataria, would be too
far down the river, the old Verret ca
nal could probably be secured for the
purposes of this river connection. This J
canal, which comes in to the town on
a straight line also, from a point mid
way on Bayou Barataria between the
Harvey and the Algiers outfall canals,
could, by DETECTING its course just a
little, from the point where it energies
rom the woods, be carried to the river
It the lower end of the Southern Paci-
ic long wharf" without any percepti- !
lie bend and without interfering with
his companys tracks. The locks 6
ould be located in the space between II
he Naval Station and said warf, so as
o be just below the eddy which be- v
ms at the lower line of the railroad lo
The Verret Canal formerly A
anne upto the public road, in the cen. E