Year: 1877

In view of the reported success of the
Eads jetties, some apprehension has been
manifested lest the work of dredging South
west Pass might cease. On this subject the
opinion of Brigadier General A. A. Hum
phreys, chief of engineers, has been given.


The act of August IA, 1876, pro-
vides that the appropriation for South
west Pass "shall not be available
whenever and so long as there shall
be an open channel of eighteen feet
of water at mean tide to and from the sea
through the South Pass of the Mississippi
river to the port of New Orleans"


In regard to this General Humphreys
states:


According to the report of Major Com.
| stock, of the ninth instant the channel of
| the South Pass at it's gulf end has a depth
of twenty feet and a width of 200 feet, but
/ on the eighteenth of November last Major
| ComstOck reported the width of the dredged
channel OF the South Pass at its river end
to be from thirty to ninety feet in width,
with depth of eighteen and half feet;
and in his report Of the ninth of January
he states that soon after the report of the
commission was made nineteenth of No
vember last) dredging and other work on
the channel of the South Pass at its river
end was stopped.


We have no report upon its present con-
dition or that its width has been increased
| since that date.


An open channel is one through which
vessels may pass at all times without OBJ.
structiOn or delay, and, in my opinion,
channel of eighteen and half feet depth,
with width ranging from thirty to ninety
feet is not the "Open channel of eighteen
feet of WATER" upon proof of the existence
of which the appropriation for the mouth
of the Mississippi river would cease to be
| available


Moreover, we do not know what the pres
ent depth and width of that channel may
be, and am of opinion that the necessities
of commerce require that the appropriation
for the improvement OF the mouth of the
Mississippi river should continue to be
available.


am further of opinion that the "Open
channel of eighteen feet of water pre-"
scribed in the river and harbor act of Au-
gust IA, 1876, was designed to be one whose
permanenee was reasonably well estab-
lished and the use OF which might be
oountsd on by the commerce of New Or
leans.


As far as / am informed the existing
channel of, South Pass at its river end, does
not fulfill any of these conditions.


IL bocLl5 W mo budb lho pEopoE pEOVI VI
the existence of an open channel of eighteen
feet of water at mean tide to and from the
sea through the South Pass of the Missis-
sippi river to the port of New Orleans
should be the fact that the deep draft ships
trading to that port have abandoned the
Southwest Pass, the channel they now
use, and pass to and from the sea by the
South Pass. When that condition shall
exist there will no longer be any necessity
for maintaining q deep channel through
the Southwest Pass, and the expenditure
of the appropriation for it should cease.
This must have been the condition looked
for by Congress in prescribing the terms
upon which the appropriation for keeping
the mouth of the Mississippi river open
should cease to be expended.


The monthly reports Of the number and
draft of vessels for the past six or seveR
months show very conolusively that there
has been no abandonment Of Southwest
Pass, and consequently there is no reason
for abandoning the work or necessity for
apprehension at present.