The herald. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1905-1953, 1920-10-07
MORGAN Street
LEVEE CAVES
Passengers Unnecessarily Inconveni-
cnced.-Ferry Company Shows Its
Contempt For Algiers Public
Welfare.

The sudden caving of the banks at
/ Morgan street which destroyed the
moOTings, the approaches, and the
/ ferry house of the Southern Improve
ment and Ferry Company was an act
of providence for which no one is to
| Shame The loss to the Ferry Co.,
is estimated from $4,000 to $4,000,
and this may grow larger as the cav
ing bank may destroy further prop
erty 1t was early Saturday after
noon when it was first noticed that
| the banks were beginning to cave.
! 1t was at this time that the large
| piling to which the Josie was moored
suddenly went out of sight. From
this time on until the present time
there has been a continual washing
away. and the ground is continually
sinking More than $50 feet have
already gone into the river and ii is
street car tracks on top of the levee
will also slip into the river.
This great destruction by Mother
Nature will necessitate the rebuild
ing of the levee and the new line OF
the levee will perhaps follow a sur
vey and recommendation made some
five years ago; namely, starting at
Pelican Ave, and the river and end
ing in the vicinity past the Johnson
Iron Works. This would leave on
the outside of the levee most of the
square on which the court house is
located. much property on Delaronde
ST., and Bouny St.
This levee would nave been built
four years ago, but for the activity
of several of our citizens who made
a hurried trip to Washington to stop
the building of the levee along this
line. The present condition of the
cave. however, will necessitate build
ing the levee far enough back so as
to leave a sufficient batture.
Ferry Patrons Inconvenience.
During Saturday and Sunday, the
Southern improvement and Ferry
Company took advantage of this acct
dent and Immediately laid up one of
the boats and made the trips of the
one remaining boat every half hour
instead of every ten minutes. 1t
stands to reason that there would be
considerable less danger to operate
two boats at a regular schedule than
to operate only one boat at half hour
SchoduIas nausino an acpum n n ion of
a crowd that taxed the capacity of the
only remaining gangway from the
pontoon to the top of the levee. Level
minded citizens who have weighed the
situation point out that the Ferry
Company by operating the boat on
half hour schedule subjects the pass
engers to a greater hazard than if
they were operated at a 10 minute
schedule. They state that if the
Ferries were run at a regular 10-min-
ute schedule there would only be a
small crowd of people to cross the
dangerous bridge that remains. With
the boat running on the half hour
schedule. the crowd becomes so large
that ii is really dangerous to have so
many people at one time on this
bridge which As being watched every
minute as the passengers go to and
fro. Twenty people may safely cross
bridge, but ten times this many
may cause it to collapse. 1t always
has been the policy of the Ferry Com
pany to jump at anything that will
give them an excuse to lay up boat
to save the expense of trips and wages
of the crew.
Every passenger has words OF con-
demnatipn for the Ferry Company in
the way they have been handling the
half hour crowds through only one
wheel. making passengers stand in
line for long time waiting chance
to get through.
Miss Florence Lecourt has return
ed from Browns Wells.