Year: 1878




Louisville Courier Journal


The Chicago Tribune is again
vigorously but vainly endeavOring
to destroy the Mississippi river as a
navigable stream by advocating the
expenditure of several millions of
dollars to make outlets and cut-Offs
to divert the surplus waters into the
Gulf Of Mexico. The Tribune hy-
drOgraphist, who thinks he knows
all about it, says this arrangement
will do away with the necessity of
levees altogether, and relieve the
whole Mississippi alluvial bottom
of overhOws. 1t is known that the
Chicago Tribune is bitterly opposed
to any improvement of the Missis-
sippi river whatever. 1t has fought
against any appropriation either for
the construction or repair Of levees.
1t has informed the people of the
lower valley that if they want to
keep the water off their lands they
must build their own levees at their
own expense. it is not surprising
that this Chicago Bedouin, who is
actuated only by sectional spite,
desires to destroy the river for COM
luercial purposes, and recommends
a plan looking to that end.


Against the Tribune's plan are
arrayed the opinions of the Chief of
United States Engineers and of
Captain Eads, who has studied
every popularity of the Mississippi
river for forty years, and is ac-
knOwledged to be good authority
on the subject. General Humph-
reys SAYS: exact observations
upon the Po, Mississippi and other
rivers have established that the
effect of cutoff is to raise the water
level just below its site by an
amount equal to half the fall in a
straight portion of the river of equal
length, and to depress its height
just above by an equal amount,
plus the head requisite to overcome
the eeistence due to the curvature
of the bend. If it were possible
to extend the system from the foot
of the alluvial region to its head,
the result would be to greatly raise
the flood level in the region below,
and TO depress it in the region above
the middle point" The United
States Engineers further say that the
diversion of tributaries would de
strOy navigation entirely, and that
outlets, from their liability to en-
large beyond control and deluge
the country, are to be strictly
avoided. Outlets, moreover, have
the direct effect of diffusing the
water and consequently shoaIing
the river and making it unnavi-
gable.


Captain Eads, whose experience
cannot be questioned by the diLet-
tan6 of. the Chicago Tribune, pro-
poses to. do away with levees by
the conservation, instead of the
diffusion, of the water, thus securing
the friction of the cur ent to scour
out deep channel and lower the
surface of the river. Capt. Eads
said in his recent address at New
York:


ait is wisdom to treat the river
such a way as to avoid the necessity
of Ievees altogether. The first effect
of an outlet is to lower the flood
slope, but the result is dangerous.
The river flows more sluggishly be-
low them is the result. The
crevasses should be closed, and the
slope would at once be lowered.
Closing Southwest Pass and Pass
a PCutre would result in lOwring
the fiood-line of the Mississippi
river some two feet all the way up
to Cairo. The South Pass carries
out one-tenth of the waters of the
river, which is sufficient for it. 1t.
was not intended that it should car
ry out all the waters of the river.
If you diminish the size of Missis-
sippi, you raise the slope ultimate
ly. This is a natural law. As long
as you leave the wide places, you
cannot hope for uniformity in depth
or improvement in the river. The
friction is the chief element that re-
tards the flow of the water, and this
is greater in proportion to the width
of bed in contact with the water
hence a sleeper slope is created by
the depOsiting action of the river
at all the wide places. When these
are reduced to the normal width the
bed will be deepened and the slope