General York desires me to say that the amount of
rations formerly sent should be duplicated and sent
at once. It is impossible to make any estimate,
for the people are fleeing to the hills, so rapid is
the rise. The residents here are in a state of
commotion that can only be appreciated when seen,
and complete demoralization has set in,
If rations are drawn for any particular section hereabouts,
they would not be certain to be distributed, so everything
should be sent to Troy as a center, and the General
will have it properly disposed of. He has sent
for one hundred tents, and, if all go to the hills
who are in motion now, two hundred will be required.
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 18 to
30 per 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 100 per 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.
