The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1915-08-21


porarily pending the construction of
locks, and the construction Of locks
| should have been initiated eleven
years ago and long since completed.
The Lafourche levee board has an
annual revenue Of over 175,000.
$4,000 of this is first dedicated to
paying the interest on bonds, leaving
S150,000 dedicated annually by law
to the locks. Without in any way
crippling the work which this board
/ is doing on the Mississippi river, $15,-
900 of this S150,OOO, or one-tenth of
its revenues, could be set aside an
nually for the locks. Similarly with
the other board. The total receipts Of
the Atchafalaya district in 1914 were
| $430,890.48, with expenditures Of
| S402, ,144.88. $4,000 Of this dedi-
Gated to interest, leaves $380,890.48
dedicated for locks. Had this been
done since 1904 by the two boards, a
fund would have been created more
than sufficient to pay for the locks.
With the joint organization doing
nothing toward constructing the locks,
we find the federal government refus-
ing to appropriate a cent for Bayou
Lafourche, for although in the rivers
and harbors bill of 1913 provision was
made for improvements on Bayou La
fourche, the federal engineers dis
approved doing any work until some
steps were taken toward constructing
locks. And thus, the state ignoring
its obligation by failing to start work
on the locks, has cut itself off from
federal aid for Bayou Lafourche.
The time has arrived when the
boards should cease spending the peo-
pies money on the incidentals of the
locks legislation without taking any
steps toward constructing the locks
themselves. The time limit for the
opening of Bayou Lafourche by locks
expires in 1917 and the war depart
ment, realizing that unless work is
started now the locks cannot be COM
pleted by that time, is now inquiring
what the state is doing toward carry
ing out its contract with the federal
government.
The obligation now these many
years disregarded can no longer be
disfegarded on the plea that all the
resources of the joint organization
must be spent on the Mississippi riv-
er levees. The plea of the Atchafa-
laya levee board of it's inability to do
anything at this time toward the con-
struction Of the locks is disproved by
the record. It has sufficient funds to
spend $4,000 annually on incidental
work on Bayou Iafoureare, and at the
same time. 60 ahead with the other
work on the Mississippi river. In
deed, at the meeting of June 10, 1915,
it admitted it's ability in addition to
the above to set aside the entirely in
adequate sum Of $4,000 annually.
The effort to assist this joint organ
ization in securing funds with which
to build the locks was defeated by the
influence of members Of the Atcha-
falaya district. A bill introduced to
amend the act of 1900 so as to permit
the Joint organization to issue bonds
in denominations to be fixed by the
organization was vigorously fought
and defeated, yet an earnest effort is
made in the special session of 1915 to
saddle on this same Atchafalaya dis
trict bond issue of $500,000 to pay
for back levees, canals and drainage
work. And this, 1nirable dictu, upon
the theory that the taxes paid in the
district of Ascension, Assumption and
Lafourche not being today used for
levees on Bayou Lafourche, should be
used for this kind of work. These
very taxes are already under the law
dedicated to locks and can by no leg
islation today be diverted therefrom.
Does this kind of record show dis
position to keep faith with the state
and the United States?
The demands of the people of the
Lafourche valley-a people who have
patiently waited these eleven years
coupled with the demand of the fed
eral government for definite action,
should be met by the governor direct
ing the joint organization to set aside
at once a small proportion of it's total
revenues to meet the principal inter-
est of bonds or notes, the proceeds
of which to be used Immediately in
constructing locks.
What was true in 1888 and in 1898
that the best interests Of the La
fourche section required that Bayou
Lafourche be open to navigation to
the Mississippi river-is truer today.
AS said by Col. Lansing Fl. Beach at
hearing before the committee of COM
merce of the United States senate
held in March, 1914, ssThe Lafourche
is practically village street; do not
believe you will find a dozen places
on the whole length of that stream
that you could not throw a baseball
from one side to the other" The La
fourche section, recognized as the
most populous rural section of the
United States, if not of the world,
paying as it does large amount of
taxes into the treasures of these two
boards, is entitled to have the La
fourche restored to its ancient and
natural condition of communication
with the Mississippi river. The people
living in this section have during
these eleven years sustained in dam
ages and additional charges in the
way of increased freight rates, more
than sufficient to pay for the con-
struction of locks. The intolerable
from sanitary standpoint
on Bayou Lafourche have been con-
demned by the State Board of Health,
and the Conservation Commission of
Louisiana has pointed out that the
construction of locks in Bayou La
fourche would be of the greatest
benefit to the oyster industry.
The question now being asked as to
how the joint organization is to pro-
vide funds with which to construct
the locks was answered in 1900 when
the authority was given it to construct
the locks, for it was then pointed out
that the closing Of Bayou Lafourche
by locks would result in saving to
the joint organization Of over $780,