Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1913-12-12
GOVERNOR HALL ON LEVEES.

The most prominent advocate OF
the Newlands scheme in Louisiana
is his Excellency the Governor of
the State. He was one OF the speak
ers at the Newlands meeting held in
New Orleans recently and vehem
emily asserted that the levees are a
failure and, sneering at the en-
gineers, both State and Federal,
who unanimously believe that the
levee system is the only practical
plan for relief from floods in the
Mississippi, with cocksureness born
of utter ignorance of the subject, the
Governor suggested that the people
are being bled to death 10y the en-
gineers i'm a futile effort to control
floods by levees which be contempt
ously designates as mounds. "
In the last few days, on return
ing from trip down the lower coast
below New Orleans, the Governor
again took occasion to denounce the
Ransdell bill and to announce that
the levee districts in that part of the
State are without funds and that
consequently they would not benefit
by the passage of the Ransdell bill,
because that measure provides that
the federal appropriations called for
in it, shall be conditioned on the
contribution by the local authorities
of an amount equal to one third of
the sums expended by the govern
ment. Is it possible that the Cover
nor is ignorant of the fact that the
levee districts possess the taxing
power and also, under legislative
authority, of issuing bonds, and does
he mean to say that the districts be-
low the city have exhausted their
power to raise money by those meth
DDS? And has he forgotten that the
State tax of 17-20th of mill, de
voted to levees, produces annually
some 100000 which would form
part of the contribution of Louisiana
to levee building under the Ransdell
bill?
We are not surprised that the
Governor is opposed to the levees,
his knowledge of the subject being
derived doubtless from observation
Of some raging creek in the hills of
MorehOuse parish, but surely he
ought to know that it is not impos-
sible, but quite practicable for this
State and its levee districts to raise
the necessary money to participate
in the appropriations carried by the
Ransdell bill. We are quite prepared
to understand that he thinks he
knows more about the Mississippi
river, its hydraulics and the best
method of controlling its food than
the United States Army Engineers
and our State Board of Engineers,
indeed it may be that he thinks he
knows more about the engineering
problems involved in the construc7
ton of the Panama canal than Col. /
Goethals, and more about the sani-
tation of the canal zone than Col. /
Gorgas, but he certainly knows
nothing about the financial aspect
OF the situation if he really believes
that the people of Louisiana can not
and will not readily raise their
quota of the funds needed to COM
plete the levee system as provided /
for by the measure which bears the
name of Senator Ransdell.
Can it be that the fact that the
bill bears that name has anything
to do with the Governors hostility
TO it2 Having given up the Supreme
Court iudgeship, with its twelve
years tenure, to take the governor
ship, his excellency will be out of a
job little more than two years from
now May it not be that he is groom
ing for race with Senator Ransdell
for the latter's seat in the Senate of
the United States and he fears the
great prestige which the passage of
the levee bill will undoubtedly
give the junior Senator?
OF course we know that Governor
Hall was elected as reformer and
that he loudly proclaimed during
his campaign that he was no poll
Jean, and abhorred politicians, but )
,wo years in office may have changed
III this and converted our unselfsh 4,
chief Executive into an ordinary I
'ffice seeker. Stranger things have $
/