THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER COMMISSION
THE condition of this rich valley of the Lower Mississippi,immediately after and since the war,constituted one of the disastrous effects of war most to be deplored.
Fictitious property in slaves was not only righteously destroyed,but very much of the work which had depended upon the slave labor was also destroyed or greatly impaired,especially the levee system.
It might have been expected by those who have not investigated the subject,that such important improvements as the construction and maintenance of the levees would have been assumed at once by the several States.
But what can the State do where the people are under subjection to rates of interest ranging from 18to 30per cent.,and are also under the necessity of pledging their crops in advance even of planting,at these rates,for the privilege of purchasing all of their supplies at 100per cent.profit?
It has needed but little attention to make it perfectly obvious that the control of the Mississippi River,if undertaken at all,must be undertaken by the national government,and cannot be compassed by States.The river must be treated as a unit;its control cannot be compassed under a divided or separate system of administration.
Neither are the States especially interested competent to combine among themselves for the necessary operations.
The work must begin far up the river;at least as far as Cairo,if not beyond;and must be conducted upon a consistent general plan throughout the course of the river.
It does not need technical or scientific knowledge to comprehend the elements of the case if one will give a little time and attention to the subject,and when a Mississippi River commission has been constituted,as the existing commission is,of thoroughly able men of different walks in life,may it not be suggested that their verdict in the case should be accepted as conclusive,so far as any a priori theory of construction or control can be considered conclusive?
It should be remembered that upon this board are General Gilmore,General Comstock,and General Suter,of the United States Engineers;Professor Henry Mitchell (the most competent authority on the question of hydrography),of the United States Coast Survey;B.B.Harrod,the State Engineer of Louisiana;Jas.B.Eads,whose success with the jetties at New Orleans is a warrant of his competency,and Judge Taylor,of Indiana.
It would be presumption on the part of any single man,however skilled,to contest the judgment of such a board as this.
The method of improvement proposed by the commission is at once in accord with the results of engineering experience and with observations of nature where meeting our wants.
As in nature the growth of trees and their proneness where undermined to fall across the slope and support the bank secures at some points a fair depth of channel and some degree of permanence,so in the project of the engineer the use of timber and brush and the encouragement of forest growth are the main features.
It is proposed to reduce the width where excessive by brushwood dykes,at first low,but raised higher and higher as the mud of the river settles under their shelter,and finally slope them back at the angle upon which willows will grow freely.In this work there are many details connected with the forms of these shelter dykes,their arrangements so as to present a series of settling basins,etc.,a deion of which would only complicate the conception.
Through the larger part of the river works of contraction will not be required,but nearly all the banks on the concave side of the beds must be held against the wear of the stream,and much of the opposite banks defended at critical points.
The works having in view this conservative object may be generally designated works of revetment;and these also will be largely of brushwood,woven in continuous carpets,or twined into wire-netting.This veneering process has been successfully employed on the Missouri River;and in some cases they have so covered themselves with sediments,and have become so overgrown with willows,that they may be regarded as permanent.