The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1914-04-25
LOOKS GOOD FOR LOCKS.
Prospects Encouraging for Appropria-
ton from United States Govern
ment, Thinks Mayor Lemann-
Definitive Action Expected Soon.

ment, Thinks Mayor Lemann-
Definitive Action Expected Soon
| Mayor Walter Lemann, of Donald
sonvilIe, and District Attorney Philip
H. Gilbert, of NapoleonvilIe, returned
last Saturday evening from Washing
ton, D. c., where they attended the
| hearing before the commerce commit
tee of the United States senate Wed
nesday morning on the subject Of the
removal of the Bayou Lafourche dam
On behalf of the Bayou Lafourche
Lock Association they opposed an
| indefinite extension of time to the
levee boards for removing the dam
and constructing locks in its stead,
and requested of congress an imme-
date appropriation for the building
of locks that will restore Bayou La,
| fourche to it's former status as a
navigable stream and commercial
highway.
THE joint organization of the
Atchafalaya and Lafourche levee
boards was represented by President
Lefebvre Of the Atchafalaya and
| President Wigginton of the Lafourche
as well as by Major F. M. Kerr, chief
state engineer; Assistant Engineer
Joseph Monget, and Commissioner J..
A. Humphreys of the Atchafalaya
board says Mr.. Lemann.
1.-THE levee boards through Major
Kerr requested an extension of six
years within which to build the locks.
[ opposed this extension on the
ground that the boards had not TAX
en- any persistent action toward erect
ing locks, and the granting Of the
extension, judging the action Of the
boards by the past, would mean sim
six years.
II further took the position that
as Bayou Lafourche was navigable
stream and could not have been closed
except through the sanction Of con-
gress, when congress authorized the
closing of the bayou it at once as
sumed the obligation of seeing that
it was again opened to navigation by
the construction of locks; that this
obligation could not be discharged
except by the erection OF the locks,
and as the leVee boards had so far
failed to build the locks, the duty
was upon congress to provide them
at once. made 1t clear that no
one for an instant wanted the re-
moval of the dam unless replaced by
locks, but that as congress had rec
commended and authorized the build
ing of the locks, and had assumed
the obligation of constructing them,
the time had arrived for action on
the part Of congress.
1.-THE matter was taken under ad-
visement by the committee. Senators
Nelson and Smith, both Republican
members of the body, appeared ia
vorably inclined, approaching that
congress was under obligation to do
more than it had done in the past
for the Improvement of the lower
Mississippi river.
THE prospects are good that in
the pending rivers and harbors bill
now before the senate committee on
commerce there viii be inserted the
provision calling for survey by the
federal engineers, preliminary step
IN order to secure a federal appro-
priation, and in the meanwhile the
present status of Bayou Lafourehe
will remain intact. 1t is incumbent
upon everyone interested in the con-
struction of the locks to exert every
effort to the end that congress vote
at the next session an appropriation
for this purpose. Our cause is
righteous. and We are bound to sue
coed.
'sThe proceedings of the hearing
before the senate. committee will be
published and copies thereof can
be had by applying to Senator Rams
dell.''
Mr.. Lemann had prepared a very
strong brief ON the subject, and
submitted a copy to every member
of the commerce committee upon his
arrival in Washington the day before
the hearing. The document recited
the entire history of the lock con-
troversy, from the time of the clos
ing of Bayou Lafourche, and review
ed the long fight that has been
waged in the courts and otherwise,
first to prevent the damming of the
stream, and subsequently to compel
the levee boards to fulfill their OBJ
legation to restore it to its former
navigable condition by constructing
a lock to replace the dam. One of |
the legal points made is that when |
the state Of Louisiana was admitted |
into the union, it was distinctly stip-
ulated that the Mississippi river |
and every tributary thereof, as well t
as all navigable streams then exist
ing in the state, should be common
highways and dedicated to the uses
If the people of Louisiana and the
other states of the union. This pro-
Vision is contained in an old law
by Hon. E. N. Pugh, and is
to have an important bear
ng on the question at issue. The
subject was extensively covered
rom every conceivable angle in Mr..
.emann's brief, and besides this
documentary plea, eloquent and force
vi verbal statements and demands
Or justice were made before. the
Committee by Mr.. Lemann and Dis
riot Attorney Gilbert.
The members of the senate com.
nerce committee are: Clarke of /,
arkansas, chairman; Fletcher. Cham
erlain, Ransdell, Sheppard, Varda-
nan, Shields, Martin Of Virginia,
;ankhead, Simmons, Nelson, Perkins,
ninth of Michigan, Burton, Stephen
ON, Crawford and Oliver.
Session of Circuit Court. {
A regular session of the circuit !
ourt of appeals for this district was .