Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1917-02-10
Mass Meeting Last Night
Goes on Record Against
Draining Lakebed.
COMMITTEE OF Is
ENDS ITS LABOR
Nine Months Investigation of Plans
Of Preventing Inundati0n Of Big
Part Of City Concludes With
Decision to DO Nothing.

! The Committee of Fifteen for Flood
Prevention last night was thanked
and discharged, the action by the
mass meeting Of citizens and prop
erty' owners going to demonstrate
plainly that the people Of the city do
not want a cessation of the flood con-
dtions which prevail for about 4
month each year, in considerable
area of the thickly settled portion of
city. bringing financial loss, personal
inconvenience, disease and death to
the people of the city.
There was lengthy discussion-and
at times it appeared there was going
to be some real warm argument
There was opposition and dissensio1
on almost every detail that was men
toned. Information as to cost of
work of about the same nature, at
other places, was placed before the
mass meeting. There was passed a
resolution to invite a New Orleans
firm CT drainage engineer to send
representative here. Put finally a
vote was taken-a series of votes, as
it were, amidst some confusion. BY
so to A, the meeting decided it want
ed something done. BY SO to 80, it
was decided to adopt the plan cali
ing fora pumping station. and not the
plan calling for the canal to Bayou
Bartholomew. Then attention was
called to the fact that II of the SO
majority votes were cast by men who
live outside the city, to the southeast,
and hence We're said to have no right
to vote on the question. Then the mo-
ton was made to discharge the COM
mite. There was a great chorus Of
"ayes," and only four "noes," Chair
man Boyce said 81 than you,' and the
crowd dispersed.
Result Not Unexpected.
The outcome of the campaign of
work which has been under way al
most a year, in which a vast amount
of valuable data was gathered, was
not surprise to many of those at the
meeting, men who have watched the
manner in which big public affairs are
generally conducted by the mass of
the people.
General Thomas Green, toward the
close of the meeting. said he had bee.
attending mass meetings in Pine BLUFF
for 40 years, and has yet to see one
such meeting result in anything for
the good of the community.
So many different persons were in
opposition to the matter, for various
or sundry reasons, that those who
sincerely believe the city will suffer
financially and otherwise through a
continuationof present conditions,
gave up hope Of getting favorable &C.
ton, before the meeting had been in
session very long.
Owners of property southeast of
the city, II of whom, it is said, were
present, opposed the plan to drain
the lakebed section into Bayou Bar
tholomew, because of probable DAM
age to their property. And their OPP
position carried them so far as to
make their leaders disagree serious
ly with the estimate OF Major Parkes
as to first cost and maintenance cost
of the pumping plant, the principal
feature of the alternative plan. To
the pumping plant plan, owners of
city property objected because it
would mean more taxes for them to
pay. A petition, signed by 70 owners
of property, mainly in East Second
avenue, filed with the chairman of
the meeting, objected TO that feature
of the plan which calls for the build
ing of a levee in an alley north Of
Secondavenue. And there was OPP
position yother individuals to some
of the minor details Of both plans,
the result being that in the final
analysis, bare half dozen Of the men
| in the meeting actually favored any
one plan.
Little Interest Shown.
| That bare one-fourth of the peo-
pie of the city had shown any in
terest whatever in the matter of rem
edying the flood condition, was plain
ly demonstrated by postcard vote
taken by the Committee of Fifteen,
the results of which were announced
by Chairman Boyce at the opening Ct
the meeting.
There were sent out by the COM
lmittee 1000 postcards, to persons
WHOSE names are in the telephone
book. Attached to each card was a
return postcard, with blanks to ne
filled out by the citizen. giving an ex-
preston of his views in the matter.
OF the 1000 cards sent out. only 27s
of the return cards came back. and
10 of these were blank. Fourteen
persons favored the adopting OF the
pumping plant plan; there were 60
Ipersons to say they favored leaving
THE definite plan to be selected by
the committee: 1923 persons opposed
CONTINUED on page five)