The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1912-01-18
Interesting Letter from
Hon. M. r. Smith

tell you and the readers OF yuul
hl1Ily esteemed paper some OF the
thiags that ] see, hear and try &c
remember. My visit was primarily
to learn more of the southern part
If louisiana, as to its overhoweC
and marsh lands and their produc
tiveness. But permit me first tC
say that | have been greatly inter
ested in the city of New Orleans
which the great jefferson crowned
as the Queen Of the Father OF Wa
ters' and destined in the march OF
time to be the most Interesting anC
probably one of the largest cities OF
the Western Hemisphere. All who
have travelled any know it to be the
most cosmopolitan city in America
outside OF New York. Its parks
are famous for their beauty, its res.
licences, while not as pretentious as
In some cities, possess II charm and
Il home-like beauty altogether unique
and found nowhere else In this
/ country that ] can recall There
! are over seventy miles Of river
frontage and about the same dis.
lance Of docks and landings for the
river and ocean traffic.
New Orleans In one of the finest
deep-water harbors in the world
and had 1t been located In the north
east or western part of the country,
il would be favorite city with the
government. 1t ought to be II great
naval port but it is not; was once
important in that respect. The L.
;. Min: established here seventy
five years ago has been recently
dismantled and moved away. Too
far de~n in Dixie land which has
not been voting right. This is but
natural, for uusanctifled human ma.
tnre is about as crooked an article
as can be found out Of limbo. And
yet, Notwithstanding, 1t Is great
city and there Is no prophet that
can forecast its future growth
The opening of the Panama Canal
will be the biggest thing for New
Orleans that ever happened to 1t "on
these mundane shores" Look at
your map and see how 1t puts the
traffic OF the entire Pacific ocean
closer to New Orleans by l 200 to
800 miles than to New York or
Boston, or Philadelphia, or Balti-
more. All that will be needed will
be energy and enterprise to make it
n wonderful city Of national and in
tcrnational commerce. A great part
of South America will be made trib-
utary to 1t and easy Of access. 1t
also has great railroad facilities and
advantages. Look for yourself and
and see the proof
But ! have not mentioned the
most important feature that will
contribute to the building Of this
city To the third in size in this coun-
try within the next century and pos
sibly sooner. 1t j. what / heard
distinguished hydraulic engineer
say last night at banquet given in
the interest Of draining the wet and
marsh lands of southern Louisiana,
the most important work or thing
that has happened In this union
since the Civil war. Don't he sur
prised when tell you what he said
1T is the drainage of 5000 600 acres
of southern Louisiana land, the
richest In the world. When | say
the richest In the world / tell you
the truth-a fact that can be and
has been demonstrated. Why il
this so? Because these low lands
have for centuries been getting the
cream off of IS states. Take your
map, trace the courses OF the Mis-
souri, and the Mississippi, the Ohio,
the Tennessee and the Arkansas
rivers. Dsn't take my word for it.
The lower Mississippi river basin
has more soil-wealth in it than any
other water basin in the world. The
waters that go through this great
basin fall from the water sheds of
% states. Think of the magnitude
Of this statement, and then think of
the silt, the vegetable matter. sedi-
ment, specks of iron, lime, copper,
lead and all other minerals known,
mixed and ground together for ages
and then deposited on the lower
Missippi, and you have some idea
of the wealth of the lands | am talk
ing about The delta lands of the
Rio Grande are not in the same
class, not to he compared with
them. The lands of Southeast Mis-
souri,, rich AS they are, do not APP
proach them in richness / have
seen and know. They are undoubt-
eddy the richest lands in the world,
the Nile lands of Egypt not except
ed. | listened until nearly twelve
O'Clock Saturday night at the st.
Charles Hotel to experts talk on
Al. "A