The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1915-11-27
latter that at present more than ever
helm is most needed.

SH1~AAS
/ help is most needed.
George Fl. DeRussy, of the Sham
rock Land and Planting Company OF
Belle Alliance, introduced figures
showing that the 1913 sugar crop of
Assumption and Lafourche parishes
and that portion of Ascension parish
contiguous to Bayou Lafourehe had
aggregated 120,067 tons, including
sugar, molasses and syrup. Mr.. De-
Russy filed tariff schedules of the T.
& P. Railroad to prove that freight
rates on certain commodities had
been materially increased after the
closure of Bayou Lafourche, one of
these schedules of date Feb. 2, 1904,
| (the dam was placed in the Lafourche
in 1909, ordering the cancellation
Of a previous tariff applying to SUI
gar, rice and molasses, account Ba-
you Lafourche not now being navlga-
ble."
| Further testimony as to the in
crease Of freight rates by the rail-
roads after the closure of the com
petitive water route afforded by Ba-
you Lafourche was given by Robert
! G. Martin, Jr., a prominent planter
aaof Albemarle, Assumption parish, and
others present at the hearing. They
nall stated emphatically and unequi-
fvocally that they had sustained ma
terial financial loss through the
dammiAg of the bayou, and that the
service affaeFgaflbbalf vby the railroads is
lnsu1hc1eah thegarea nslYe. ).
! Majo1Sza as4faIz eiioorsed number of
questions, conceun1g the population
Of the Lafourchsab and Atchafalaya
districts, the revenues OF the two le-
wee boards, the rate Of taxation for
/ levee purposes, the comparative
prices Of coal and oil now and be-
fore the erection of the dam, the APP
pfoximate coal nnage that would
move through tn hstream, and other
points hasgeDe assesaaring on the re-
storatiofars, the ayeLafourche as an
artery OF lEsssssrrce and navigation.
Presidapt V. NJ. LeFebvre of the
Atchafalaya board stated that the
. gross annual revenues of his organi-
nzation were S350,000, and President
wWigginton of the Lafourche board
Fgave the income of that body as
| $180,000 per annum. Both boards
are presently collecting and expend-
| ing the limit of taxation allowed by
| law for levee purposes, ten mills on
the dollar, in addition to acreage and
produce taxes Mr.. Wigginton said
| a statement showing the expenditure
of the two boards for levee work on
| the river and in carrying out the pro-
visions of the laws relating to the
Iock~and accessories, made since Jan.
| l, 1912, and also a statement show
| ing the financial status of the levee
districts on Sept. so, 1915, would be
| filed with Major Schulz within the
next ten days.
A general discussion elected vari-
Gus points of interest and Importance,
| as for illustration, that the reopen
| ing Of Bayou Lafourche would pro-
vide additional markets for the pro-
ducts grown and manufactured in the
Lafourche valley, tAus adding sub
stantially to the prosperity and ma
terial Well-being of the locality. 1t
was also brought out that whereas
considerable rice was raised in the
Lafourche country in former days,
cultivation of this crop has been al
most wholly abandoned, owing to the
brackish condition Of the water.
p Major Schulz stated that addi-
tional data and statistics could be
filed with him at any time during the
next two weeks, when the record will
be closed and the matter submitted
to the war department at Washington
fot final decision. The documents
introduced Tuesday will be arranged
in concise form and formally deposit
ed with Major Schulz, together with
briefs summarizing the arguments
and contentious of the lock adj