The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1919-10-18
MEETING IN BEHALF OF LOCKS

MEETING IN BEHALF OF LOCKS.
Another step is soon to be taken
| in furtherance of the movement m
augurated many years ago to build
locks at the head Of Bayou La
fourche. This step will consist OF a
public meeting and hearing to be
held before an engineer OF the Unl-
ted States army, under the authority
of an act of congress adopted IN
1915. The purpose of the meeting
and hearing is to ascertain whether
the project is feasible; if so, to de-
termine upon the place where the
locks should be located, whether on
the site of or near the dam or at a
point above; the amount and value
of the tonnage which would use the
locks, and what proportion, it any OF
the cost of construction, should be
borne by the federal government.
The hearing will be held before Col.
Herbert Deakyne, U. S. A. engineer,
at the courthouse at Thibodaux, on
Tuesday, October %, at 10 O'Clock
a. m. All those who are interested
in the lock question are invited to
attend the meeting, and give ex-
preston to their views and ideas on
the subject, either orally or in writ
| ing. All communications or lnfoTnla-
ton of Importance should be com
mitted to writing, in tfiplicate form,
to be filed with the engineer and TO
become part cs the recoil which Wall
be transmitted by him to Washing
ton
tt is sincerely to be noped that
large delegu.lor Of citizens and bus
illness men of this city and Larish will
attend the soaring at Thibodaux, and
| that they will go fully prepared to
give any and all information on the
subject which might be desired by
the representative of the war depart
ment, to the end that a showing
might be made of sufficient strength
and Importance to awaken the III.
terest of the government in the pro-
ject.
! More than sixteen years have
passed away since the Lafourche and
Atchafalaya levee boards, upon the
authority of an act of the Louisiana
legislature, and under permission OF
the federal government obtained
through an act of congress, built the
dam at the head of Bayou Lafourche
The permission of congress to buile
the dam, was obtained under the
guarantee that locks would be bull
and the dam removed within certain
limited time at the joint expense Of
the levee boards. But the time limi
passed and the locks remained un
built and the dam undisturbed, ane
it was necessary to secure an extern
sion of time from congress. This eX
tended time has been further extend
ed from time to time, and years have
come and gone, and notwithstanding
that many and strong efforts weri
made by the people Of this city ane
section at various times to bring tht
matter to an issue nothing has evel
been accomplished.
The. daming of Bayou Lafourchs
proved a serious blow to the com
merce of Donaldsonville and the
whole of the Lafourche valley, ex
tending through hundreds of miles 81
the richest and most thickly populatec
sections of the parishes of Assump
ton and Lafourche. The cloging was
conceived with view of relieving
the people of the valley from the
danger of overflow by crevasse water
which danger required at every
springtime of the year. There was
no opposition to the building of the
dam at the time, for the reason that
| the people had been assured that
locks would be constructed and sub
stituted for the dam without delay,
and through the medium of the said
locks the bayou would receive a
copious supply of fresh water, ample
for all purposes at all times OF the
year. Had not these positive as
surances been given them the people
would never have assented to the
closing of this picturesque and i'm
portant stream.
Prior to the building of the dam,
a very important fatboat trade was
carried on in the bayou. Nearly all
of the sugar and molasses produced
by the many factories which oper-
ated along the Lafourche, at points
for many miles below, was brought
to Donaldsonville by means Of fiat
boats, drawn by mules, and was load
ed here on the many steamboats,
which piled in the river, for trans
portation to New Orleans. And dur
ing the grinding season, from the
middle Of October to the end OF De-
cember, the river front at this point
was a scene of the greatest activity.
A large number of people, residents
of this city and vicinity, were fur
nished employment at good wages
and the city shared in the prosperity
which prevailed. In the springtime,
when the water in the bayou was
high, several steamboats, went down
to points below Lockport to gather
the enormous crops of Irish potatoes