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Pictures and Illustrations.
Map of the Mississippi and Tributaries.
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Tributes from Both Political Parties.
Remarks of General James A. Garfield, on the Mississippi River Commission Bill, in the U. S. House of Representatives, June 21, 1879.
[From Congressional Record, Vol. ix, Part ii, pp. 2283-4.]
"I believe that one of the grandest of our material national interests — one that is national in the largest material sense of that word — is the Mississippi River and its navigable tributaries. It is the most gigantic single natural feature of our continent, far transcending the glory of the ancient Nile, or of any other river on the earth. The statesmanship of America must grapple the problem of this mighty stream. It is too vast for any State to handle; too much for any authority less than that of the nation itself to manage. And I believe the time will come when the liberal-minded statesmanship of this country will devise a wise and comprehensive system that will harness the powers of this great river to the material interests of America, so that not only all the people who live on its banks and the banks of its confluents, but all the citizens of the Republic, whether dwellers in the central valley or on the slope of either ocean, will recognize the importance of preserving and perfecting this great natural and material bond of national union between the North and the South — a bond to be so strengthened by commerce and intercourse that it can never be severed." [Applause.] * * * "I rejoice in any occasion which enables Representatives from the North and from the South to unite in an unpartisan
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effort to promote a great national interest. [Applause.] Such an occasion is good for us both. And when we can do it without the sacrifice of our convictions, and can benefit millions of our fellow-citizens, and can thereby strengthen the bonds of the Union, we ought to do it with rejoicing; for in doing so we inspire our people with larger and more generous views, and help to confirm for them and for our children to the latest generations, the indissoluble Union and the permanent grandeur of this Republic. I shall vote for this bill." [Applause on both sides of the House.]"I recognize as fully as any man the growth of this country, the growth of the demand for commercial facilities. Works have been accomplished at public expense which to-day are bearing incalculable benefits to the entire country. I mentioned that great work, that wonderful piece of modern engineering and science in opening the mouth of the great river Mississippi. The results of such a work, if maintained according to present promise and according to all reasonable hope, are magnificent and incalculable in their benefit, not simply to a State, but to the entire Union, and not simply to the entire Union, but you may say the benefits are world-wide. It is making food cheaper for this world that the Mississippi River can perform its great carrying functions to bring the vast crops of products of the wheat lands and
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the granary of this country and of the world into the use of mankind in general. That is a case in which money was expended. I am most happy to think that I gave by my vote in every case aid to such an undertaking.""The Mississippi river, with its great tributaries, is of such vital importance to so many millions of people that the safety of its navigation requires exceptional consideration. In order to secure to the nation the control of all its waters, President Jefferson negotiated the purchase of a vast territory extending from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. The wisdom of Congress should be invoked to devise some plan by which that great river shall cease to be a terror to those who dwell upon its banks and by which its shipping may safely carry the industrial products of twenty-five millions of people."
"A comprehensive improvement of the Mississippi and its tributaries is a matter of transcendent importance. These great water-ways comprise a system of inland transportation spread like net-work over a large portion of the United States, and navigable to the extent of many thousands of miles. Producers and consumers alike, have a common interest in such unequalled facilities for cheap transportation. Geographically, commercially, and politically,
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they are the strongest tie between the various sections of the country. These channels of communication and interchange are the property of the Nation. Its jurisdiction is paramount over their waters, and the plainest principles of public interest require their intelligent and careful supervision, with a view to their protection, improvement, and the enhancement of their usefulness."9
Chapter I. — Historical Notes.
In the early days of European discoveries and rivalries in the Mississippi Valley, its comprehensive river system played a prominent part on the stage of public affairs. The discovery of the river in 1541, by De Soto and his Spanish troops, was, about a century later, followed by explorations by the French, under the lead of Marquette, Joliet, La Salle and others, who entered the valley from the North. La Salle, during the years 1679-1683, explored the river throughout its whole length, took possession of the great valley in the name of France, and called it Louisiana, in honor of his king, Louis XIV. Then resulted grand schemes for developing the resources of the valley, which a French writer characterized as "the regions watered by the Mississippi, immense unknown virgin solitudes which the imagination filled with riches."
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John Law, a Scotchman, at first a gambler and subsequently a bold, visionary, but brilliant financier, succeeded Crozat in the privileges of this grand scheme, and secured from the successor of Louis XIV. a monopoly of the trade and development of the French possessions in the valley. In order to carry out his wild enterprise he organized a colossal stock company, called "The Western Company," but more generally known in history as "The Mississippi Bubble." According to the historian Monette "it was vested with the exclusive privilege of the entire commerce of Louisiana and New France, and with authority to enforce its rights. It was authorized to monopolize the trade of all the colonies in the provinces, and of all the Indian tribes within the limits of that extensive region, even to the remotest source of every stream tributary in anywise to the Mississippi."
But the bubble soon burst and its explosion upset the finances of the whole kingdom.
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Some years later, in 1745, a French engineer named Deverges made a report to his government in favor of improving the mouth of the Mississippi and stated that the bars there existing were a serious injury to commerce.
But France met with too powerful rivalry in the Valley and, in 1762 and 1763, after a supremacy of nearly a hundred years, was crowded out by the English from the Atlantic colonies, and the Spaniards from the Southwest, the Mississippi River forming the dividing line between the regions thus acquired by those two nations.
The Spanish officials for the purpose of promoting colonization, and to aid in establishing trading posts on the Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansas, Red, and other rivers in the western half of the valley, granted to certain individuals, pioneers and settlers, large tracts of land. They made little progress, however, in peopling their new territory.
But whatever progress was made under the successive supremacies of France and Spain, the Mississippi and its navigable tributaries supplied the only highways of communication and commerce.
In the year 1800, soon after Napolean I became the civil ruler of France, he sought to add to the commercial glory of his country by re-acquiring the territory resting upon the Mississippi which his predecessors had parted with in 1763.
To quote the language of a French historian "The cession that France made of Louisiana to Spain, in 1763, had been considered in all our maritime and commercial cities as impolitic and injurious to the interests of our navigation, as well as to the French "West Indies, and it was very generally wished that an opportunity might occur of recovering that colony. One of the first cares of Bonaparte was to renew with the Court of Madrid a negotiation on that subject."
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Two years later the commerce of the river had grown to large proportions. Says Marbois, of that period, "No rivers of Europe are more frequented than the Mississippi and tributaries."
| Tons. | ||
| 158 | American vessels | 21,383 |
| 104 | Spanish vessels | 9,753 |
| 3 | French vessels | 105 |
| 265 | Total | 31,241 |
The tonnage of the vessels that went in ballast, not that of public armed ones, is not included. The latter took off masts, yards, spars, and naval stores."
This growing commercial movement, down the river, of the products of the Valley was checked by a foolish or arbitrary order issued on the 16th of October, 1802, by the Intendant Morales, "suspending the right of deposit" at the port of New Orleans.
Marbois well illustrates the intense indignation at this order on the part of the Western people by attributing to them the following language: "The Mississippi is ours by the law of nature; it belongs to us by our numbers and by the labor which we have bestowed on those spots which before our arrival were desert and barren. Our innumerable rivers swell it and flow with it into the Gulf Sea. Its mouth is the only issue which nature has given to our waters and we wish to use it for our vessels. No power in the world shall deprive us of this right."
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Of Morales' order James Madison, then Secretary of State, wrote to the official representative of the United States at the Court of Spain: "You are aware of the sensibility of our Western citizens to such an occurrence. This sensibility is justified by the interest they have at stake. The Mississippi to them is everything. It is the Hudson, the Delaware, the Potomac, and all the navigable rivers of the Atlantic States formed into one stream."
At this time Thomas Jefferson was President, and in view of the uneasiness of the Western settlers he hastened to send to France a special embassador to negotiate for the purchase of Louisiana territory. The opportunity was a favorable one, for France was then in danger of a conflict with Great Britain. The latter country had become alarmed at, and jealous of, Bonaparte's commercial conquests, and he, apprehending war and fearing that he could not hold Louisiana, had about determined to do the next best thing — dispose of it to one of England's rivals.
Marbois, the historian of Louisiana, from whom we have above quoted, was chosen by Napoleon to represent France in the negotiations with the representative of the United States sent by Jefferson. His account of the cession — the consultation between Napoleon and his minister — and of his remarks and motives, forms one of the most instructive and interesting chapters of modern history. Napoleon foreshadowed his action by the following remark to one of his counsellors: "To emancipate nations from the commercial tyrrany of England it is necessary to balance her influence by a maritime power that may one day become her rival; that power is the United States. The English aspire to dispose of all the riches of the world. I shall be useful to the whole universe if I can prevent their ruling America as they rule Asia."
In a subsequent conversation with two of his ministers, on the 10th of April, 1803, on the subject of the proposed
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cession he said, in speaking of England: "They shall not have the Mississippi which they covet."In accordance with this conclusion, on the 30th day of the same month the sale was made to the United States. When informed that his instructions had been carried out and the treaty consummated, he remarked: "This accession of territory strengthens forever the power of the United States, and I have just given to England a maritime rival that will sooner or later humble her pride."
Under the stimulating influence of American enterprise the commerce of the Valley rapidly developed. In 1812 it entered upon a new era of progress by the introduction, for the first time upon the waters of the Mississippi, of steam transportation.
The river trade then grew from year to year, until the total domestic exports of its sole outlet at the seaboard — the port of New Orleans — had, during the fiscal year 1855-6, reached the value of over eighty million dollars.
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New Orleans during the year ending June 30, 1879. They were $63,794,000But the river has during the past two years entered upon a new and important era, and is now co-operating with railways in transportation to the seaboard. Capitalists who control some of the great trunk lines through the grain producing States west of the river — notably Mr. Jay Gould and associates — have recently invested largely in barge lines to receive and transport down the Mississippi grain which their roads bring to its banks.
Another step of equal importance to the welfare of the Mississippi was taken a year ago. The control of its improvements was transferred by Congress from the domain of politics to a board of skilled engineers, known as the Mississippi River Commission. The various conflicting theories of improvement which have for years past done much to defeat the grand consummation desired will now be satisfactorily adjusted in a scientific and business-like manner.
A third important step, and the first in order of time to inaugurate the new era of river commerce and regain its lost prestige was the completion of the jetties by Captain James B. Eads. The record of the fiscal year which has since ended on June 30, 1880, shows that the total exports of merchandise from the mouth of the Mississippi were $90,442,000 in value, or an increase of more than $26,000,000 over those of the year previous.
This wonderful increase but foreshadows the magnitude of the new commercial movement from the interior down the Mississippi to the seaboard, which is bound to follow the corning comprehensive and systematic improvement of its channel from its headwaters to the Gulf.
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Chapter II. — Descriptive Notes.
The Mississippi and tributaries, considered as a drainage system, extend through nearly the whole length of the United States, from Canada to the Gulf, and across more than half its width, or from the summit of the Rocky Mountains to the summit of the Alleghanies.
The Mississippi basin, in its strict sense, comprises the following minor basins, or subdivisions:
| Square Miles. | |
| Lower Mississippi | 65,640 |
| Red | 92,721 |
| Arkansas | 184,743 |
| Missouri | 537,090 |
| Upper Mississippi | 179,685 |
| Ohio | 207,111 |
| Total | 1,257,545 |
Of the many divisions and sub-divisions of the river 240 are considered of sufficient importance to be named upon the river map in Walker's Statistical Atlas of the United States. They may be classified as follows:
| Red and tributaries | 17 |
| Arkansas and tributaries | 28 |
| Missouri and tributaries | 70 |
| Ohio and tributaries | 58 |
| Others not included in the above classification | 61 |
| Total | 240 |
Probably as many more streams of minor importance are omitted from the map.
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Considered from a commercial standpoint the Mississippi and tributaries intersect or border nineteen States and three Territories, as follows:
Alabama,
Arkansas,
Dakota,
Illinois,
Indiana,
Indian Territory,
Iowa,
Kansas,
Kentucky,
Louisiana,
Minnesota,
Mississippi,
Missouri,
Montana,
Nebraska,
New York,
Ohio,
Pennsylvania,
Tennessee,
Texas,
West Virginia,
Wisconsin.
Steamers can now transport freight in unbroken bulk from St. Anthony's Falls to the Gulf of Mexico, a distance of 2,161 miles, and from Pittsburg to Fort Benton, Montana, 4,333 miles. Lighter craft can ascend the Alleghany, an extension of the Ohio river, to Clean, New York, 325 miles above Pittsburg, and the Missouri to Great Falls, near where that river leaves the Rocky Mountains.
The outline map preceding this chapter has been prepared to illustrate the comprehensive nature of this great river system. Its Briarean arms reach out in all directions and embrace nearly the whole United States.
The cross-mark on each stream indicates the present head of navigation, and in nearly every instance continuous navigation.
The following table represents the mileage of the navigable portion of each above its mouth.
| Missouri | 3,127 | Alleghany | 325 |
| Mississippi | 2,161 | Osage | 303 |
| Ohio | 1,021 | Minnesota | 295 |
| Ked | 986 | Sunflower | 271 |
| Arkansas | 884 | Illinois | 270 |
| White | 779 | Yazoo | 228 |
| Tennessee | 759 | Black (Ark.) | 212 |
| Cumberland | 609 | Green | 200 |
| Yellowstone | 474 | St. Francis | 180 |
| Ouachita | 384 | Tallahatchie | 175 |
| Wabash | 365 | Wisconsin | 160 |
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| Deer Creek | 116 | Rock | 64 |
| Tensas | 112 | Black (La.) | 61 |
| Monongahela | 110 | Macon | 60 |
| Kentucky | 105 | Boeuf | 55 |
| Bartholomew | 100 | Big Horn | 50 |
| Kanawha | 94 | Clinch | 50 |
| Muskingum | 94 | Little Red | 49 |
| Chippewa | 90 | Big Cypress and Lake | 44 |
| Iowa | 80 | Big Black | 35 |
| Big Hatchie | 75 | Dauchite | 33 |
| St. Croix | 65 |
The total present navigation of these rivers — 43 in all — is 15,710 miles — more than four times the length of the ocean line from New York to Liverpool, and more than four times the distance by rail across the continent from New York to San Francisco.
But it will be largely increased in the near future, when certain proposed and needed improvements are made on some of the upper streams. The possibilities in this respect are well illustrated by the condition of the Upper Mississippi. Of it the Select Committee of the United States Senate on Transportation Routes to the Seaboard said in their report in 1874: "The Mississippi has for several years been successfully navigated by steamboats from the falls of St. Anthony to Sauk Rapids, a distance of seventy-eight miles. During navigable seasons small steamboats are also run on the various reaches of the river from Minneapolis to Leech Lake, the entire distance being about 675 miles."
It is safe to assert that by improving several tributaries the total navigation may be extended at least 1,000 miles.
Extensive and comprehensive as are these natural waterways, they are not sufficient to satisfy the popular and commercial demand for inland water transportation. Many artificial extensions have already been constructed, and many more are projected or proposed.
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The waters of the Mississippi have a present connection with the Great Lakes by means of a canal from the Wisconsin River to Fox River and Lake Michigan, by a canal from the Wabash River to Lake Erie at Toledo, a canal from the Ohio River at Cincinnati to Lake Erie at Toledo, and a canal from the Ohio River at Portsmouth, Ohio, to Lake Erie at Cleveland — all of which canals are in turn supplemented by the water route via the Lakes, Erie Canal and Hudson River to New York city, thereby uniting the Mississippi with the Atlantic Ocean.
These four canals, and consequently the Mississippi, will soon have another connection with the Atlantic by way of the Lakes, Welland Canal, around Niagara Falls and St. Lawrence River, for the Canadian government has at great cost nearly completed the necessary connecting link.
Again, it is proposed that the United States utilize this St. Lawrence route by extending it to New York City by way of Lake Champlain and Hudson River. Such a connection has already been favorably reported on by the Select Committee of the United States Senate on Transportation Routes to the Seaboard. A noticeable feature of this route is the connection, in this way, of the Mississippi Valley with a New England State — Vermont.
It is also proposed to unite the waters of the Mississippi and the Lakes with the Atlantic at Baltimore, by means of a canal from the existing Erie Canal via Seneca Lake to an upper tributary of the Susquehanna, and thence to Chesapeake Bay.
Again, a direct connection of the Mississippi with the Atlantic at Baltimore, without use of the Lakes, is proposed, by way of the Alleghany River from Pittsburg, the Kiskiminetas and Conemaugh Rivers, thence to the Juniata valley and the Susquehanna, and down that river to Chesapeake Bay. A
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similar connection with Philadelphia is proposed by the same route from Pittsburg to the Susquehanna, and thence across to Delaware Bay.Located a little farther south is the line of the projected and partially constructed Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, intended to connect the Atlantic with the West by way of the Potomac, Youghiogheny, Monongahela and Ohio Rivers. The line is already complete from Washington to Cumberland.
Next is the proposed James River and Kanawha Canal, to connect the Atlantic with the Mississippi Valley, by way of the James, Greenbrier, New, Kanawha and Ohio Rivers. This route is already constructed from Richmond to Buchanan, Va., a distance of 197 miles. It was recently recommended by the said Senate Committee on Transportation Routes.
Still further South it is proposed to supplement the Mississippi by means of a water-line from the Tennessee River, at Guntersville, East Tennessee, via Short Creek, Wills Creek, Coosa, Etowah, and Ocmulgee rivers, and thence along the coast to Savannah, Georgia. This route was also recommended by the Senate Committee on Transportation Routes.
In the far West it is proposed to unite the waters of the Upper Missouri and Columbia rivers, thereby connecting the Mississippi Valley with the Pacific Ocean. A bill to provide for a survey and report upon this route has recently been introduced in Congress.
These various existing and proposed supplements may be seen by a reference to the map preceding this chapter.
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As a basis of stating upon subsequent pages, the facts relative to the products and commerce, it is necessary to define the term Valley States. The correct way would be to give the record of certain States and parts of States, but that is impracticable, as the statistics of the U. S. Bureau of Agriculture are arranged by States. It would be technical and unfair to include in an estimate of Valley products the statistics of whole States when they are but limited patrons of the Mississippi and tributaries. For instance, New York State, although tapped by a tributary of the Ohio, has but a trifling interest. Pennsylvania is a large patron of the Ohio in shipments from Pittsburg, yet its chief outlet is on the Atlantic slope. West Virginia sends much freight down another tributary, yet she also is more interested in transportation to the Atlantic seaboard. Alabama is intersected in the northern part by the navigable portion of another tributary, but relies mainly upon her Gulf ports for commercial outlets. Texas is a large patron of Red River, but not as much so as of her Gulf ports. So, for the purposes of a fair comparison, these five States should be omitted.
The Valley States, then, in distinction from the nineteen River States (the above-mentioned nineteen States into which the navigable streams extend), may be said to comprise for this purpose the following fourteen, viz.:
| Arkansas | Kentucky | Nebraska |
| Illinois | Louisiana | Ohio |
| Indiana | Minnesota | Tennessee |
| Iowa | Mississippi | Wisconsin. |
| Kansas | Missouri |
Of the above-mentioned three territories, Dakota and Indian Territory should be added, making a total of fourteen States and two Territories which are wholly included within the limits of the Valley. But for the purpose of a statistical review, all territories are necessarily omitted, for their products are trifling and are not stated separately in the annual reports of the Bureau of Agriculture.
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Chapter III. — The Internal Commerce of the Valley.
Under the salutary provisions of Article I, Section 9, of the Constitution of the United States, which says: "No tax or duty shall be laid on articles exported from any State — no preference shall be given by any regulation of commerce, or revenue to the ports of one State over those of another; nor shall vessels bound to or from one State be obliged to either clear or pay duties in another," the internal commerce of the valley has grown to immense proportions, being many times larger than the foreign commerce of the whole country. There is nothing to check its increase or limit its extent except inadequate transportation facilities.
An accurate estimate of its quantity and value is impossible for the reason that the subject is a new one in the statistical reports of the Government. While a careful record of foreign commerce of the country has been kept for nearly a century, the first annual report on internal commerce appeared in 1877, and the second in 1879. Exceedingly useful as are these two reports they are necessarily incomplete, for under the above quoted constitutional provision there are no duties on, and consequently no official statistics of, internal exchanges. We can, then, only reach an estimate in an indirect way.
Mr. Nimmo, in the introduction of his first report, estimated the value of internal commerce on railways alone to be sixteen times that of the total foreign commerce of the United States, and then added, "If it were possible to ascertain the value of the commerce between the different sections
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of the country on the ocean and gulf, and on the lakes, rivers, and other avenues of transportation, we should probably find that the total value of our internal commerce is at least twenty-five times greater than the value of our foreign commerce."Accepting this estimate as the most reliable which can be obtained we will use it as a basis for some statistical conclusions.
The total foreign commerce of the United States (exports and imports combined) during the last fiscal year ending June 30, 1880, was $1,503,586,897 in value.
The following is the record for the year 1879:
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| Year 1879. | Corn. | Wheat. | Oats. | Tobacco. | Cotton. | Live Hogs. |
| Bushels. | Bushels. | Bushels. | Pounds. | Pounds. | Value. | |
| United States | 1,547,901,790 | 448,756,630 | 363,761,320 | 391,278,350 | 2,367,540,900 | $145,781,515 |
| Mississippi | 24,926,400 | 417,600 | 662,360 | 382,230,000 | 4,418,010 | |
| Louisiana | 12,592,500 | 14,000 | 267,044,000 | 1,521,570 | ||
| Arkansas | 22,432,800 | 1,384,000 | 1,603,120 | 323,812,500 | 3,403,620 | |
| Tennessee | 50,897,500 | 11,852 800 | 4,986,000 | 44,160,000 | 204,457,200 | 5,865,300 |
| Kentucky | 64,736,000 | 7,681,800 | 4,687,200 | 126,880,000 | 5,907,120 | |
| Ohio | 105,686,000 | 36,591,750 | 25,716,990 | 14,091,000 | 10,246,452 | |
| Indiana | 134,920,500 | 43,709,960 | 14,028,310 | 6,636,000 | 10,274,200 | |
| Illinois | 312,221,000 | 44,896,830 | 47,670,400 | 4,550,000 | 17,966,586 | |
| Wisconsin | 39,912,600 | 20,565,720 | 34,663,200 | 5,474,900 | 2,899,026 | |
| Minnesota | 15,715,000 | 31,886,520 | 17,136,000 | 1,025,376 | ||
| Iowa | 185,189,200 | 32,786,880 | 37,256,400 | 14,892,224 | ||
| Missouri | 141,939,400 | 26,801,600 | 15,429,120 | 15,050,100 | 9,014,176 | |
| Kansas | 89,720,400 | 18,089,500 | 12,015,000 | 6,381,930 | ||
| Nebraska | 62,459,400 | 13,043,590 | 6,160,000 | 3,640,227 | ||
| Total 14 Valley States | 1,263,348,700 | 289,708,550 | 222,028,100 | 216,842,000 | 1,177,543,700 | 97,455,823 |
| Alabama | 25,403,300 | 1,502,760 | 2,675,800 | 321,759,000 | 3,105,260 | |
| Texas | 29,198,000 | 3,454,200 | 3,962,500 | 338,625,000 | 4,635,390 | |
| New York | 22,704,000 | 10,746,000 | 39,928,000 | 2,432,750 | 6,701,760 | |
| Pennsylvania | 44,506,000 | 22,307,400 | 32,531,400 | 29,617,700 | 6,255,296 | |
| West Virginia | 11,302,600 | 4,351,100 | 2,841,020 | 1,875,300 | 1,033,560 | |
| Total 19 River States | 1,396,462,600 | 332,070,010 | 303,966,820 | 250,767,750 | 1,837,927,700 | 119,187,089 |
| Per cent. of national product grown in the 14 Valley States. |
81 | 64 | 60 | 55 | 49 | 66 |
| Per cent. of national product grown in the 19 River States. |
90 | 73 | 83 | 64 | 77 | 81 |
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The result shows that the nineteen States, which to a greater or less degree are supplied with inland water transportation by the Mississippi system of rivers, produced, in 1879, 90 per cent. of the corn, 73 per cent of the wheat, 83 per cent, of the oats, 64 per cent. of the tobacco, 77 per cent. of the cotton, and contained 66 per cent. in value of live hogs; that the fourteen Valley States produced, in 1879, 81 per cent. of the corn, 64 per cent. of the wheat, 60 per cent. of the oats, 55 per cent. of the tobacco, 49 per cent. of the cotton, and contained 66 per cent. in value of the live hogs.
The conclusion which we reach from this showing is that the internal commerce of the fourteen Valley States must be in value about half that of the whole United States. If the conclusion is correct, their annual commerce is twelve and a half times the value of the total foreign commerce of the United States, or more than eighteen thousand million dollars ($18,000,000,000). It is considerably larger than the total foreign commerce of the whole world, which in the last official report of the State Department is estimated to be $13,984,000,000.
At first thought this estimate of the internal commerce of the Valley seems too large, but its reasonableness becomes apparent when we consider that internal commerce includes not only the exchanges between towns, cities, and States, for home industries and use, but shipments to the seaboard for purposes of export.
We have next to inquire how is this vast commerce transported?
In former clays, before the era of railways, the products of the Valley were carried almost entirely by river. It was also the principal passenger line. The small boats of the early Spanish and French explorers floated upon its waters. The early emigration from the East to the West relied upon the waters of the Ohio. The trading posts of the Valley
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were established upon the banks of the various navigable streams, and with the growth of towns, villages and cities, the traffic upon the Mississippi and tributaries grew to large proportions. But how is it to-day? or rather how was it prior to the fiscal year ending June 30, 1880, for we have stated that that year is an exception — the beginning of a new era?Perhaps no fairer illustration can be found showing how transported than the statistics of the receipts and shipments of the freights of St. Louis, situated as it is in the center of the Valley. For a period of five years they were as follows:
| 1874. | 1875. | 1876. | 1877. | 1878. | |
| By rail | 4,395,769 | 4,534,220 | 5,091,170 | 5,117,238 | 5,665,866 |
| By river. | 1,440,090 | 1,302,620 | 1,288,980 | 1,242,155 | 1,329,375 |
| Total | 5,835,859 | 5,836,840 | 6,380,150 | 6,359,393 | 6,995,241 |
| Per cent. by river | 24 | 22 | 20 | 19 | 19 |
In the grain trade the discrimination against the river was not so great. During the year 1878 the total bushels of grain (including flour reduced to bushels) sent east from St. Louis by rail was 15,456,225 against 10,059,142 shipped south by river.
But the contrast in shipments of cotton by river and rail from St. Louis was more marked. During 1878 there were sent as follows:
| East by rail | 223,329 bales. |
| South by river | 6,400 bales |
The shipments east by rail being more than 34 times larger than south by river.
Above St. Louis and west of the Mississippi the neglect of river transportation was very great. Mr. Nimmo says in his report: "Seven-eighths of the surplus products of the trans-Mississippi States north of the State of Arkansas
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now cross the Mississippi River on railroads at and between St. Louis, Mo., and St Paul, Minn., and are transported directly east to markets in this country and in foreign countries."The statistics of Minnesota furnish evidence to the same effect. Says Mr. Nimmo in his first report: "The total quantity of wheat exported from Minnesota during the year 1875 amounted to 23,391,000 bushels. Of this, there were shipped south by river, 2,567,694 bushels; shipped east by rail, 20,823,306 bushels. Of the quantity shipped by river, it appears that 2,316,985, or 90.2 per cent. was transferred to east and west roads at points below, showing that only 250,709 bushels, or 1 per cent. of the total wheat exports of Minnesota, was shipped south of the State of Iowa, and that 99 per cent. was shipped east."
An examination of the statistics of exports of grain from the different seaports of the country throws further light upon the manner of transportation from the interior. During the year ending June 30, 1878, the exports from three Atlantic ports contrasted with those from the port at the mouth of the Mississippi were as follows:
| Ports. | Grain. | Bushels. |
| NewYork | Corn. | 39,440,817 |
| Do. | Wheat. | 39,101,511 |
| Philadelphia | Corn. | 17,856,668 |
| Do. | Wheat. | 4,575,561 |
| Baltimore | Corn, | 19 614 833 |
| Do. | Wheat. | 8,726,507 |
| Total from the 3 ports. | — | 119,315,896 |
| New Orleans | Corn. | 5,764,678 |
| Do. | Wheat | 839,798 |
| Total | — | 6,604,476 |
In other words, the three Atlantic ports exported that year, of com and wheat, chiefly produced in the Mississippi
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Valley, 18 times more bushels than the port where the internal water-ways of the valley meet the ocean.To further illustrate the course of shipments from the Valley States we will once more refer to the testimony of the Bureau of Statistics. In his first report, Mr. Nimmo says: "To-day the railroads of the country are the most important avenues of internal commerce. During the year 1876, 83 per cent. of all the grain receipts of the Atlantic seaports was by rail, and it is estimated that over 90 per cent. of all the commerce between the West and the seaboard is now carried on over the great trunk railroads."
There were, of course, reasons for all this, and what were they? Was water transportation unsuited to the agricultural and other bulky products of the Valley? On the contrary it is admirably adapted to their transportation as the following often-quoted paragraph from a Western paper most conclusively shows:
"The tow-boat, Josh Williams, is on her way to New Orleans with a tow of thirty-two barges, containing six hundred thousand bushels (seventy-six pounds to the bushel) of coal, exclusive of her own fuel, being the largest tow ever taken to New Orleans or anywhere else in the world.
"Her freight bill, at three cents per bushel, amounts to eighteen thousand dollars.
"It would take eighteen hundred cars of three hundred and thirty-three bushels to the car, (which is an overload for a car), to transport this amount of coal.
"At ten dollars per ton, or one hundred dollars per car which would be a fair price for the distance by rail, the freight bill would amount to one hundred and eighty thousand, dollars, or one hundred and sixty-two thousand dollars more by rail than by river.
"The tow will be taken from Pittsburg to New Orleans in fourteen or fifteen days.
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"It would require one, hundred trains, of eighteen cars to the train, to transport this one tow of six hundred thousand bushels of coal, and even if it made the usual speed of fast freight lines it would take one whole summer to put it through by rail.
"This statement shows the wonderful superiority of the river over rail facilities."
The superiority of the Mississippi over railroads, in the shipment of grain in bulk, is well stated in the following extract from a commercial editorial in the St. Louis Republican:
"There are now three organized Mississippi river barge transportation companies — first in priority and importance, the Mississippi Valley; next the St. Louis and New Orleans; and latest the Mound City. The first-named own forty barges, equivalent to eight tows, which would require eight steamers, and these barges have an average carrying capacity of 36,000 bushels, or a total for the forty barges of 1,500,000 bushels. The St. Louis and New Orleans line has fourteen barges and three steamers, and, with about the same capacity, their transportation will equal 500,000 bushels. The number of barges belonging to the new Mound City company is not known exactly, but as yet does not exceed five; but one of these is equal in capacity to three ordinary barges, and the carrying capacity of the company may be stated fairly at 250,000 bushels — making a total transportation of grain afforded to St. Louis of 2,250,000 bushels. Now, then, suppose that all these barges could have such a demand upon them that they could be loaded near to the same time with this 2,250,000 bushels of grain? The grain here in elevators could, without difficulty, be spouted in until each cargo was completed, and the number of barges required for this amount would be only about sixty. But suppose that the shipment is to be made by cars, only one could be loaded at a time which, however, could be done expeditiously enough,
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but 5,000 cars would be required for the transportation which would make 200 average freight trains, and, of course, would require 200 engines for the hauling."
This showing would be changed and greatly improved if we had the statistics of these barge companies as they exist to-day; but it is sufficient to illustrate the remarkable facilities of river transportation.
In brief, a well-regulated navigable river offers ample accommodations for any commercial demand — it is never blocked by large shipments, it requires no double track — its natural capacity is unlimited.
Why, then, have the shippers of the Valley discriminated against the Mississippi? Chiefly because of the neglect to make needed improvements. The difficulties of an adequate and full use of this commercial highway are shown in a recent interview of an officer of the Mississippi Valley Transportation Company on the subject of grain shipments and the the condition of the river. He said: "We are doing all we can in forwarding grain, but, with the present stage of water out to Cairo, (four-and-a-half feet,) we cannot carry full cargoes." * * * "It takes us two or three times as long to make a trip now us when the water is at a good stage." * * * "There are a number of bad places between New Orleans and Cairo and it would be impossible for us to carry out full cargoes."
Another cause for the neglect of river transportation was the extension of railway lines and a very general discrimination in their favor. Whether or not this loss of river prestige was necessary we will not stop to consider. Suffice it to say, the Mississippi has recently entered upon a new era in its history, and is now co-operating with some of the great trunk lines of railways in transportation to the Gulf of the surplus products of the Valley.
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About a year ago, in a speech before the Merchants' Exchange of St. Louis, Mr. Jay Gould, in alluding to his railroads which meet the Mississippi at that point, said: "We have about 3,000 miles of railroad, all of which center here, and it is certainly to my interest to strive for the prosperity of this city. But, gentlemen, there is one great interest here which it seems to me you have neglected. I refer to the Mississippi River. You ought to utilize it more in your shipping trade. We expect to bring a great deal of grain to this point and I do not believe you are in a good condition to handle it. I believe Kansas alone will produce 50,000,000 bushels of wheat next year and probably 200,000,000 bushels of corn. Most of this corn can be brought here by our roads and we will also bring a great, deal here from Nebraska. You ought to be able to send much of this grain down the river, but you do not now have the proper means of transportation, and I think you should immediately seek to make the needed improvements."
Since making these remarks, he and other capitalists interested in the Missouri Pacific and the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific railways, which intersect the great grain fields west of the Mississippi, have invested largely in river transportation, which direct movement to the seaboard at the South is likely, during the coming year, to reaeh immense proportions.
This new southward movement, or, as we have above termed it, the new era in the commercial history of the Mississippi properly commenced a little more than a year ago, at the time of the completion of the jetties. The remarkable effect of these improvements at the mouth may be seen from an examination of the statistics of exports from New Orleans, contrasting the record of the year preceding their completion with that of the year following:
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| Bushels. | |
| Year ending August 31, 1879 | 5,117,825 |
| Year ending August 31, 1880 | 9,863,790 |
| Increase in one year or ninety-two per cent. | 4,745,965 |
| Bushels. | |
| Year ending August 31, 1879 | 1,808,084 |
| Year ending August 31, 1880 | 5,344,510 |
| Increase, in one year or one hundred and eighty-six per cent. | 3,476,426 |
The exports of cotton were as follows:
| Bales. | |
| Year ending August 31, 1879 | 1,435,336 |
| Year ending August 31, 1880 | 1,696,718 |
| Increase in one year or eighteen per cent. | 261,382 |
Another illustration of the effect of improvements is the record of the exports of a single day during the past year, viz., December 21, 1879. A New Orleans paper describes it as follows:
"Yesterday a fleet of fifteen vessels cleared at the Custom House with full cargoes. This fleet embraced eight steamships, two ships, four barks, and one schooner. Seven of them were for Liverpool, three for Havre, and one each for New York, Bremen, Malaga, Ruatan, and Pensaeola. The cargoes of this fleet form the largest exports that ever passed through our Custom House in one day. They consisted of —
| 8,800 | bales cotton for Havre. | |
| 2,200 | Bremen. | |
| 32,000 | Liverpool. | |
| 1,100 | Spain. | |
| 2,200 | New York. | |
| Total bales | 40,300 |
3,015 bbls. molasses.
810 hhds. sugar.
25,150 pieces staves.
40,000 bushels wheat.
45,579 bushels corn.
2,000 packages merchandise.
92 tons oil cake.
50 bales hay.
6 tierces lard.
38 bags oats.
48 bbls. pork.
15 boxes meat.
15 sacks coffee.
1,246 dry hides.
435 bundles wet hides.
The cotton alone was worth $2,550,000, and the total about $3,000,000."
Satisfactory as is this showing, it is not as emphatic as it would have been if improvements had been made along the whole course of the lower river as well as at its mouth. This is apparent from the following statement by the Secretary of the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce, in a communication to the writer under date of December 29, 1879: "The jetties at the mouth of the river have lessened the rates of freight both by that route and by the East. The shipments of bulk grain this year from St. Louis, by river to New Orleans, have been 6,000,000 bushels of grain, and would have been 3,000,000 more had there been a good stage of water."
The importance of keeping the inland water lines in good repair may be seen from the past demand of the Valley for transportation routes to the seaboard, but still more clearly from an examination of its probable future growth and development. In business matters we can safely judge the future by the past. What material progress, then, do we find, and what may we expect in the future? The chief of The Bureau of Statistics says of the growth of railway business: "The total freight movement of three of the
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most important trunk lines connecting the West with the seaboard increased from 10,898,989 tons, in 1868, to 25,272,755 in 1878."The statistics of corn and wheat grown in the fourteen Valley States in 1869 and 1879 show a similar increase. The record is as follows:
| Bushels. | |
| 1869 | 639,850,000 |
| 1879 | 1,263,348,700 |
| Increase in 10 years or ninety-seven per cent. | 623,498,700 |
| 1869 | 161,737,000 |
| 1879 | 289,708,550 |
| Increase in ton years or seventy-nine per cent. | 127,971,550 |
That there is ample room for still further increase in the future is apparent from a contrast of the total area of the fourteen Valley States and two Territories with that of their improved lands at the time of the last census, in 1870, viz:
| State. | Total area. | Improved land. |
| Acres. | Acres. | |
| Arkansas | 33,406,720 | 1,859,821 |
| Illinois | 35,462,400 | 19,329,952 |
| Indiana | 21,637,760 | 10,104,279 |
| Iowa | 35,228,800 | 9,396,467 |
| Kansas | 52,043,520 | 1,971,003 |
| Kentucky | 24,115,200 | 8,103,850 |
| Louisiana | 26,461,440 | 53,459,840 |
| Minnesota | 53,459,840 | 2,322,102 |
| Mississippi | 30,179,840 | 4,209,146 |
| Missouri | 41,824,000 | 9,130,615 |
| Nebraska | 48,636,800 | 647,031 |
| Ohio | 25,576,960 | 14,469,133 |
| Tennessee | 29,184,000 | 6,843,278 |
| Wisconsin | 34,511,360 | 5,899,343 |
| Dakota | 96,596,480 | 42,645 |
| Indian Territory | 44,154,240 | — |
| Total | 632,479,360 | 96,374,305 |
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The contrast shows that only fifteen per cent. of the area of these great and productive States and Territories was then improved and that eighty-five per cent. remained for development.
The coal fields of the fourteen Valley States furnish still more striking evidence to the same effect. Their product and its increase in ten years were as follows:
| Bushels. | |
| 1869 | 6,798,498 |
| 1879 | 13,935,000 |
| Increase | 7,126,502 |
or considerably more than one hundred per cent.
That increase is trifling compared with what we may expect in the near future for the coal deposits of these States are the most extensive that exist in the whole country, yet the least developed.
The immigration to the United States is increasing with unusual rapidity as the record of the past four fiscal years demonstrates.
| Year ending June 30. | Number of immigrants. |
| 1877 | 141,857 |
| 1878 | 138,469 |
| 1879 | 177,826 |
| 1880 | 457,257 |
And there are many indications that the record of the present fiscal year will be still more remarkable. A large portion of this annual inflow of settlers is received by the fourteen States.
These facts and figures clearly indicate that we may expect a regularly increasing demand for cheap, convenient and untrammeled transportation from the Valley to the seaboard until its fertile fields are adequately populated and developed.
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Unless this reasonable demand is supplied by a thorough and comprehensive improvement of the channels of the Mississippi and its confluents the natural development of the great interior States will fall for short of their possibilities and the consumers of the East as well as the producers of the West will suffer from the neglect.
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Chapter IV. — As Economical Highways.
Railroads and other highways intended for the accommodation of commerce fall very far short of success when ununwisely located. Too many have violated the laws of political economy in this respect, and have proved ruinous to their stockholders and almost useless to the public. A nation may, sometimes, for political or military purposes, construct a road through a desert or mountainous and unproductive region. But necessity instead of economy is the theory on which it acts. Commerce is governed by other considerations. It seeks that which is both useful and profitable.
The Mississippi and tributaries intersect the most fertile valley of the whole world — the productive centre of this continent. It supples transportation where most needed, and is therefore most wisely and economically located.
Railways in the past have given undue attention to commercial exchanges along parallels of latitude — between similar climates — with similar products and characteristics. The tendency of the whole Mississippi River system is the other way — from North to South — one climate to another— regions which are the reverse and complement of each other in supply and demand. In this respect also it observes a fundamental law of trade.
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The next important consideration in a transportation line is the cost of construction. Railway stockholders expect dividends, and if their road be extravagantly built, the burden is soon shifted to the shoulders of the producer and consumer along the way in the shape of excessive rates. Even if rightly located and cheaply built, railroads represent enormous capital when contrasted with rivers made by nature at no expense to the people. We can best appreciate the distinction by a glance at a few statistics.
Up to the close of 1878 there had been constructed in the United States a total of 80,831 miles of railways. Their capital account was as follows:
| Capital stock | $2,292,257,877 |
| Funded debt. | 2,297,790,916 |
| Other debt | 182,248,556 |
| Total | $4,772,297,349 |
Their cost of construction and equipment was $4,166,331,921, or $51,543 per mile.
If the Mississippi and navigable tributaries had been the work of man instead of nature, and constructed at the same expense per mile as railways and their equipments, the total 15,710 miles now navigable would have cost $809,740,000.
The mileage of the principal canals of the United States was, at a recent date, 4,096, and their cost $160,404,430, or $39,161 per mile.
The question of cheap transportation has of late years assumed great importance, for the reason that it affects both internal and foreign commerce and the welfare of both the
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producer and consumer. When the rates are too high, production is checked. It has been no unusual thing to hear of farmers in the West burning or otherwise destroying their grain because it was unprofitable to ship it abroad. The object of commercial exchanges is profit, and where that does not exist internal commerce suffers. So with foreign exchanges. If England and France and other purchasers of our grain and provisions can buy more cheaply elsewhere they are sure to do so. The competition among commercial nations is so great that a trifling overcharge in rates of transportation may cost the loss of an important market. For instance, Great Britain, in 1876, purchased from certain countries the following amounts of wheat:From Germany, $6,657,605 in value.
From Russia, 5,001,130 in value.
From Egypt, 4,778,075 in value.
From Turkey, 1,997,980 in value.
Also from Turkey, corn to the value of $11,077,925.
These rivals of the United States will, if they can supply Liverpool at cheaper rates, control that market. The subject is well illustrated by a public letter of ex-Governor Horatio Seymour, in the fall of 1878, who has carefully studied the effect of the Erie canal on freight rates. We quote the following: "Those who wish to learn the causes of our present exports must compare the cost of carrying this season with that of other years. It has been fifteen cents for a bushel of wheat by canal from Buffalo to New York. This season, at times, it has been less than five cents. The cost from Chicago to New York has been 25 cents for a bushel. In the past summer it has been taken for less than seven cents. The policy of taking charges off from commerce is not only shown upon water routes — it brought down railroad charges. In 1873 the Central road charged for taking wheat from Buffalo to New York twenty-one cents per bushel in the winter and eighteen cents in the summer months. This year the road has taken it for five cents."
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The effect of water transportation is direct and indirect. In other words it furnishes the shipper with cheap rates and also, by its competitive influence, forces railways to lessen their charges. The comparative rates of transportation of a bushel of wheat from Chicago to the seaboard at New York by water, and by rail, during a period of nine years were as follows, the water line being the Lakes, Erie Canal, and Hudson River:
| Year. | All Water. | All Rail. |
| 1868 | Cents. 25.3 | Cents. 42.6 |
| 1869 | 24.1 | 35.1 |
| 1870 | 17.5 | 33.3 |
| 1871 | 21.6 | 31.0 |
| 1872 | 24.0 | 33.0 |
| 1873 | 19.0 | 33.0 |
| 1874 | 13.0 | 28.0 |
| 1875 | 11.0 | 24.0 |
| 1876 | 10.0 | 17.0 |
It will be observed from the above statement, that every change in water rates is, with one exception, followed by a decrease in railway rates.
The comparative rates of transportion on a bushel of wheat from the center of the Valley, St. Louis, to seaboard at New Orleans by river, and to the seaboard at New York by rail, were as follows during the past three years:
| 1877. | 1878. | 1879. | |
| Cents. | Cents. | Cents. | |
| By river to New Orleans | 8.75 | 8.00 | 7.75 |
| By rail to New York | 24.06 | 20.01 | 17.75 |
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This contrast shows two things, viz, that every decrease in rates by river is accompanied by a decrease by rail and that it costs more than double to reach the seaboard at New York by rail than it does to reach the seabord at New Orleans by river. In brief, the Mississippi is the balance-wheel which is destined to regulate the railway freight movements of the great interior of the Nation. This idea was well expressed in the following editorial of the Springfield Republican, of December 13, 1880: "The Mississippi River is certain in time to play a part in regulating transcontinental freight transportation not unlike that of the Erie canal in relation to the New York railroads. The block in through freight on all the East and West roads threatened last week to set back to St. Louis, but it was relieved there by starting the corn and wheat down the river, from 300 to 400 cars at a time being loaded on barges. As trade develops and navigation improves it is plain this must become more and more common and through rail-rates will some day be fixed by the competition of the Mississippi on which navigation is never closed."
It will be observed that the saving by water as indicated in the St. Louis tables ranges all the way from ten to fifteen cents per bushel. To appreciate the importance of this saving we must consider the possible total annual saving on the grain product of the fourteen Valley States.
In 1879 they produced —
| Corn | 1,263,348,700 bushels. |
| Wheat | 289,708,550 " |
| Oats | 222,028,100 " |
| Eye | 14,722,800 " |
| Barley | 16,169,200 " |
| Buckwheat | 1,653,700 " |
| Total | $1,807,631,050 |
Now, suppose half of this crop had to be transported to the seaboard, a saving of ten cents per bushel would amount to $90,381,552 annually and at fifteen per bushel to $135,572,328.
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But grain is only one item of the agricultural freights of the Valley which can best be transported by water. If to the above sum of $135,572,828 were added the possible annual saving by river transportation on the hay, coal, potatoes, cotton, tobacco, and other bulky products of the Valley the total would reach immense proportions.
We know of no better conclusion to draw from the above facts and figures than that made by the Select Committee of the United States Senate in 1874 on Transportation Routes to the Seaboard, after a full and exhaustive review of that important subject, viz: "The above facts and conclusions, together with the remarkable physical adaptation of our country for cheap and ample water communication point unerringly to the improvement of our great natural water-ways and their connection by canals, or by short freight railway portages under control of the Government, as the obvious and certain solution of the problem of cheap transportation."
The importance of this subject may be further illustrated by a glance at the total earnings of the railroads of the United States during a period of only six years. They were as follows:
| 1873 | $526,419,935 |
| 1874 | 520,466,016 |
| 1875 | 503,065,505 |
| 1876 | 497,257,959 |
| 1877 | 472,909,272 |
| 1878 | 490,103,351 |
| Total | 3,010,222,138 |
Of this total, $803,451,376 were passenger earnings, and $2,206,770,662 were freight earnings. In other words, the freight charges by the railways of the United States amount in six years to a sum greater than the whole national debt.
We do not make these comparisons for the purpose of reflecting upon railways, but to reach some statistical conclusions
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about the value and importance of the rivers of the valley. In this broad, fertile and but partially developed country, there is a room enough for both classes of highways. Railways are needed — not only those now in operation, but many more. If in the past there has been unnecessary rivalry between land and river transportation, that day is nearly ended; and now some of the leading railways of the West are co-operating with the Mississippi in transporting to the seaboard the products of the great Valley.Chapter V. — The Alluvial Lands.
If, incidentally to the improvement of navigation the rich alluvial lands of the Lower Mississippi Valley should be protected from destructive floods, and almost fabulous additions made to the taxable wealth of the country, millions of citizens would be benefited and none injured. But before stating the facts and figures it may be well to notice some of the popular misunderstandings of this important subject The Mississippi River Commission, who now have in charge the work of improvement, have, ever since their appointment been very generally called by the press the "Levee Commission," thereby conveying to the mind of the public the erroneous idea that their chief duty was to serve the interest of one section of the Valley and build levees. What are the facts? The act creating the Commission is entitled "An act to provide for the appointment of a ‘Mississippi River Commission,’ for the improvement of said river from the head of the passes near its mouth to its headwaters," which headwaters are in the State of Minnesota, near the northern boundary of the United States. Section four of the act prescribes their duty as follows: "It shall be the duty of said Commission to take into consideration and mature such plan or plans and estimates as will correct, permanently locate, and deepen the channel and protect the banks of the Mississippi River; improve and give safety and ease to the navigation thereof; prevent destructive floods; promote and
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facilitate commerce, trade, and the postal service." * * * "The Commission shall report in full upon the practicability, feasibility, and probable cost of the various plans known as the jetty system, the levee system, and the outlet system, as well as upon such others as they deem necessary." This correction is important, for such misapprehension tends to throw discredit upon a great national work.Another source of misunderstanding and opposition has been the unnecessary use of the word "reclamation" in many bills which have in the past been introduced in Congress upon the subject of river improvement. That word is not used in the act creating the Commission, nor is it one of their duties to do farming for individuals at Government expense. An emphatic disclaimer of such a purpose was made in the Ho use of Representatives by the Chairman of the committee on the Mississippi, Hon. E. W. Robertson, in a speech advocating the appointment of a Commission. He said to the bill then pending: "It contemplates the improvement of the chief avenue of transportation of a great commercial nation. It also seeks to protect from floods and pestilence over twenty-six million acres of the most fertile and productive lands upon the face of the earth. It does not, as is so often alleged, aim at the reclamation of those lands or seek to perform work which properly belongs to the individual citizen. The word ‘reclamation’ is not used in the bill. It is well that we understand the distinction at the outset of this discussion, for the wrong use and confusion of terms have given the opponents of river improvement an opportunity to misinterpret and therefore misrepresent the object we seek to accomplish. The word ‘reclamation’ has furnished them with the keynote of unjust criticism. We simply ask protection from the frequent ravages of this great river, over which no power but the General Government has legal control, in order that we who possess lands along its course may have an opportunity to reclaim and cultivate them at our own expense. The protection we ask is similar in principle
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to that furnished by the General Government, through its army and at national expense, against a warlike and dangerous enemy who would drive its citizens away from their legitimate and peaceful avocations. We ask protection from an enemy which we as individuals and States are powerless to oppose. We invoke the aid of that power who fundamental principle is the protection of its citizens."The area of the alluvial lands along the Lower Mississippi and tributaries is 41,193 square miles,
What is their present condition? We find that in 1870 but 1,969,238 acres or less than 8 per cent. of their area was under cultivation.
Why are these rich and productive lands thus neglected?
Chiefly, if not solely, because of the periodical destruction
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of crops, stock, buildings, and danger to health and even life from the overflow of the river.Mr. Morey, in his Report to the House of Representatives during the Forty-second Congress said of the floods of 1868 and 1871: "The destruction caused by the last two floods above named in the Ouachita Valley is almost incredible. A valley of almost unexampled fertility, capable of raising, beside corn, and stock in great abundance, at least seventy-five thousand bales of cotton, worth, at the average price of this season, more than $5,000,000, was inundated, plantations destroyed, buildings washed away, cattle and swine by the thousand starved or drowned, &c."
Another flood in 1874 was still more destructive. Mr. Ellis, in his report to the House, in 1876, says of it: "The loss by the flood of 1874 was $13,000,000. This year, so far as it can be ascertained, it is $2,000,000. And this makes the total sum of $15,000,000 in actual material wealth within three years."
These are but a few instances of the periodical destruction caused by the river, but they are sufficient to show why the alluvial lands are left in idleness. The result is, their values are trifling when contrasted with their possibilities if protected from the overflows.
The value of the above 1,969,238 acres, improved in 1870, presuming that they represent substantially the present area cultivated and that their values have not materially changed since that date, is $80,431,221, or $40.84 per acre.
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report, in 1876: "Millions of acres have been sold for taxes, others after advertisement have failed to bring anything whatever." It is believed $1.25 is a fair estimate of the present value per acre of those unimproved lands. We reach then, the following conclusion, viz:| Value of improved lands | $80,481,221 |
| Value of unimproved lands | 27,97,612 |
| Total value | 107,628,833 |
Now let us consider their possibilities. The totals resulting are so large that only by comparison can we appreciate the fairness of the estimate.
Probably no one will dispute the assertion that the Delta of the Mississippi is as productive as the Delta of the Rhine in the Netherlands, and if the statistics of the value of the protected lands in Holland and other provinces of the Netherlands were accessible, it would be an interesting and fair comparison because of the similarity existing between these countries. But as they are not within reach, we will take for a comparison the farm lands of New Jersey. We select that State because its farm lands have the highest value per acre, and for the further reason that no lands in this country are too fertile and valuable to be contrasted with the possibilities of the Mississippi Delta.
According to the U. S. census of 1870, the average value per acre of the 2,989,511 acres of farms in New Jersey (both improved and unimproved) was $257,523,376, or $86.14 per acre. The alluvial lands of the Mississippi, if protected and improved, would at that rate per acre be worth $2,043,858,251. As their present value is but $107,628,833, the increase would be $1,936,229,418, a sum nearly equal to the national debt. It is also a sum greater than all the gold and silver mines of California and Nevada have yielded from their first discovery, in 1848, down to the year 1876,
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their total combined products being $1,357,862,412, of which $1,064,628,502 was contributed by California, and $293,233,910 by Nevada.It certainly is not an overestimate of the productive capacity of the alluvial lands to say they will yield on an average as much as the farm lands of New Jersey. Such a comparison doubtless underestimates their capacity. The value per acre of the products of the improved lands of said State was, in 1870, $17.41.
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to the wealth of the country by the gold mines of California, which, from 1866 to 1876, averaged each year $21,462,850. It is seventeen times more valuable than the combined annual products of gold and silver of the whole United States, which, from 1866 to 1877, averaged $66,097,500. It is seven times more valuable than the annual yield of gold and silver of the whole world, which, from 1866 to 1876, averaged $33,034,500, or $159,886,980.The history of the protection and development of the Netherlands (low countries,) an exact parallel in formation to the alluvial lands of the Mississippi Valley, proves very clearly that we have not over-estimated the importance of the subject.
The United Kingdom of the Netherlands contains but 12,680 square miles, and North and South Holland, two of the eleven subdivisions of the same, but 2,209 square miles. The whole of the Netherlands are made-land having been formed by protection from the overflow of the Lower Rhine, the Maas, the Scheldt and other rivers, ninety lakes, and the Zuyder Zee. The total cost of their protection by dikes, embankments and other works was $1,500,000,000.
Holland not only has capital enough for home use, but the Dutch of Amsterdam are capitalists who have a large surplus to lend for public improvements and large enterprises in
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other nations. Yet all the wealth of this rich and commercially powerful kingdom was accumulated in an alluvial country having an area less than one-third that of the alluvial lands along the Lower Mississippi.We will profit by their example if we protect our own lands from overflow — lands which are equally productive and far more easily and cheaply protected. The Dutch are, as nation, economical and conservative. We, who claim to be progressive, should display equal enterprise in adding to the sum total of our national wealth, particularly when it can be done incidentally to a more important work — the improvement of river navigation.
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Chapter VI. — National Features.
A river system in which nineteen States and three Territories have a direct business interest, and nearly all others an indirect interest — which intersects the great productive center of the continent, and by means of cheap transportation brings the producer and consumer into easy communication — which supplies a connecting link between internal and international commerce, is something more than sectional — it is emphatically national. The navigable portions alone of the Mississippi and tributaries are distributed among the States substantially as follows:
| Miles. | Miles. | ||
| Arkansas | 2,100 | Indian Territory | 720 |
| Missouri | 1,870 | Minnesota | 660 |
| Louisiana | 1,650 | Wisconsin | 560 |
| Mississippi | 1,380 | Ohio | 550 |
| Montana | 1,310 | Texas | 440 |
| Dakota | 1,280 | Nebraska | 400 |
| Illinois | 1,270 | West Virginia | 390 |
| Tennessee | 1,260 | Pennsylvania | 380 |
| Kentucky | 1,230 | Kansas | 240 |
| Indiana | 840 | Alabama | 200 |
| Iowa | 830 | New York | 70 |
They also supply facilities for inland inter-communication by water between the following cities:
| St. Paul, Minn., | New Orleans, La., |
| Pittsburgh, Pa., | St. Louis, Mo., |
| Cincinnati, Ohio, | Kansas City, Mo., |
| Louisville, Kentucky, | Keokuk, Iowa, |
| Omaha, Neb., | Knoxville, Tenn., |
| Peoria, Ill., | Memphis, Tenn., |
| Vicksburgh, Miss., | Minneapolis, Minn., |
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| La Crosse, Wis., | Shreveport, La., |
| Wheeling, West Va., | Sioux City, Iowa, |
| Nashville, Tenn., | Quincy, Ill., |
| Little Rock, Ark., | Parkersburgh, West Va., |
| Decatur, Alabama, | Dubuque, Iowa, |
| Cairo, Ill., | Jefferson City, Mo., |
and several hundred other cities and important commercial towns, scattered as they are in different sections of a great and broad country.
They supply water transportation to a greater or less degree for States which, as we have above shown, produced in 1879 —
Ninety per cent. of the corn.
Seventy-three per cent. of the wheat.
Eighty-three per cent. of the oats.
Sixty-four per cent. of the tobacco.
Seventy-seven per cent. of the cotton, and contained eighty-one per cent in value of the live hogs.
They supply such facilities to a very large degree for fourteen of said States, which produced in 1879 —
Eighty-one per cent. of the corn,
Sixty-four per cent. of the wheat,
Sixty per cent. of the oats,
Fifty-five per cent. of the tobacco,
Forty-nine per cent. of the cotton, and contained sixty-six per cent. in value of live hogs.
If to these rivers we add the existing supplements we find that they supply facilities for inland water inter-communication between 25 States and Territories.
Adding the projected or proposed supplements above described, they will supply the same facilities for 29 States and Territories.
And adding to the above other States and Territories which rest upon the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, we find that the Mississippi and tributaries, with existing and proposed supplements, and the oceans on the east and west, will permit water inter-communication between 41 States and
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Territories, or all but 6 of the total 47 States and Territories of the entire Union.This river system is also national in law. The Supreme Court of the United States has construed the law on this subject, as follows: "Those rivers must be regarded as public navigable rivers in law which are navigable in fact. And they are navigable in fact when they are used or are susceptible of being used in their ordinary condition as highways for commerce over which trade and travel are or may be conducted in the customary modes of trade and travel on water. And they constitute navigable waters of the United States within the meaning of the acts of Congress in contradistinction from the navigable waters of the States when they form in their ordinary condition, by themselves or by uniting with other waters, a continued highway over which commerce is or may be carried on with other States or foreign countries in the customary modes in which such commerce is conducted by water."
Individuals States have neither jurisdiction, power, nor wealth sufficient to enable them to improve the Mississippi. Even John C. Calhoun, the father of State Rights, admitted this in a speech on the improvement of the river, delivered at Memphis in 1845 in which he said: "The invention of Fulton has in reality, for all practical purposes, converted the Mississippi with all its tributaries into an inland sea. Regarding it as such, I am prepared to place it on the same footing with the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays, and the Lakes, in reference to the superintendence of the General Government over its navigation. It is manifest that it is far beyond the power of individuals or of separate states to supervise it."
Nevertheless individual States have as a matter of self-defense been compelled to spend immense sums of money in
54
the construction of levees to prevent the destruction of their lands by the periodical overflows of a national highway. As the efforts of each State were local, the failure of an adjoining State to co-operate was liable to result in a flank movement by the great river and render absolutely useless works constructed at enormous expense. It is impolitic for the General Government to leave such a burden upon the shoulders of individual States and thereby encourage them to feel that their protection from danger is a matter of no consequence to the Nation.In its benefits also this net-work of water-ways is national. The consumer of the East, and the producer of the West, have a common interest in cheap transportation and cheap food. The recent recognition of this principle on the floor of the United States Senate, should be considered by everyone who, through wrong information, superficial observation, or sectional feeling, imagines that the improvement of the Mississippi river is a local movement. We refer to the tribute by Senator Bayard, who said in speaking of the improvements already made at the mouth of the river, "The results of such a work if maintained according to present promise, and to all reasonable hope, are magnificent and incalculable in their benefit, not simply to a State, but to the entire Union, and not simply to the entire Union, but you may say the benefits are world-wide. It is making food cheaper for this world that the Mississippi river can perform its great carrying functions to bring the vast crops of products of the wheat lands and the granary of this country and of the world into the use of mankind in general."
The political features of the Mississippi and tributaries are also national. If to the representatives of the people
55
in Congress from the fourteen Valley States, were added those from Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Alabama, and Texas, which States are intersected by and have an extensive business interest in the navigable waters of these rivers, the result would show a very large majority in the House of Representatives. But it is unnecessary to urge this point, for all sections have a common interest in the great water-ways which intersect the granary of a common country. Instead of being an element of strife and sectional antagonism the Mississippi is a bond of the Union. In this respect nature has accomplished for the people of the great interior what President Washington was so anxious to see accomplished for a similar purpose in another direction by artificial and costly means. We refer to his favorite scheme of uniting by a canal the Potomac river and a tributary of the Ohio, so as to bind, in commercial and political ties, the Mississippi Valley to the Atlantic States. To create a similar bond of union between the Pacific States and the rest of the country, Congress, at the close of the late civil war, granted to the Union and Central Pacific Railway Companies, 20,000,000 acres of public lands, and loaned $53,121,632 in bonds.Nature has without cost bound together the many States of the North and South, and of the great Interior, in a perfect net-work of commercial ties.
This wise plan of the Divine Architect has been ignored because of the late war between the two sections, and the unnecessary prolongation of memories of the past.
But the past is dead and buried. Every material interest of the North and South requires that its grave remain undisturbed.
The problem of new and enlarged commercial intercourse and fellowship between the two sections is not a difficult one if we look to the Mississippi for a solution. This was demonstrated, a year ago, by the enthusiastic response, from both sides of the House of Representatives, to the remarks by
56
General Garfield, closing the debate on the Mississippi River Commission Bill, with the following liberal sentiment:"I rejoice in any occasion which enables Representatives from the North and from the South to unite in an unpartisan effort to promote a great national interest. [Applause.] Such an occasion is good for us both. And when we can do it without the sacrifice of our convictions and can benefit millions of our fellow citizens and can thereby strengthen the bonds of the Union, we ought to do it with rejoicing; for in doing so we inspire our people with larger and more generous views and help to confirm for them and for our children to our latest generations the indissoluble Union and the permanent granduer of this Republic. I shall vote for this bill. [Applause on both sides of the House.]"
A large majority also voted for the bill, the vote being 166 against 11, and the Mississippi passed from the domain of partisan strife to its legitimate sphere — the field of national commerce. May it now take with it from the same blighting influences the material interests of the two sections through which it flows and which it was intended to unite.
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Chapter VII. — International Features.
The Lower Mississippi is the trunk line to which the net work of water-ways covering the great interior of the United States is tributary. It is the connecting link between them and the ocean, between inland and foreign commerce. Opposite its mouth is the Gulf of Mexico, an inland sea surrounded by tropical and semi-tropical countries whose products are the reverse of those of the Valley. Commercial interchanges between countries so opposite in essential characteristics are, as has been observed, in accordance with the laws of political economy. They should constitute the most important and profitable branch of our foreign commerce. Half of this Gulf is bordered by Mexico, a great Republic of twenty-seven States and one Territory, and 9,495,157 people.
Her eastern seaports all lie very near the mouth of the Mississippi, as if intended for intimate trade relations.
On the opposite side of the Gulf, and also within easy reach of the Mississippi, are the numerous West India Islands — Cuba, Porto Rico, and one other, belonging to Spain; Jamaica, Barbadoes, the Bahamas, and fifteen others, owned by Great Britain; Martinique and four others owned by France; St. Thomas and two others, owned by Denmark; St. Martin and five others, owned by the Netherlands; Tortuga and two others, owned by Venezuela; St. Bartholemew, owned by Sweden, and Hayti and Santo Domingo, independent.
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These islands have a total area of about 95,000 square miles and a population of about 4,200,000 souls.Adjoining Mexico, and also but a short sail from the River, are the five Central American States, with a population of 2,605,410.
A little farther south is the prolific Empire of Brazil, with doors open to the commerce of the Valley. Then nine republics and three colonies, which, with the Empire of Brazil, constitute the South American States, with a total population of 25,612,810, and with a large demand for such products and manufactures as we have in excess.
Situated as they are, we would naturally expect to find these southern nations and islands contributing a varied, extensive, and enriching trade to the port where the great Mississippi, with its 15,710 miles of inland navigation, meets the Gulf.
What are the facts?
In answering this question, and for purposes of comparison, we will state, first, the total commerce for the last attainable year (usually 1879) of each country with the rest of the world.
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| Foreign commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports. | $26,000,000 |
| Exports. | 27,526,000 |
| Total | 53,526,000 |
| Share of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | $6,752,200 |
| Imports | 5,493,221 |
| Total | 12,245,421 |
or 22 per cent.
| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi (port of New Orleans) — | |
| Exports | $975,500 |
| Imports | 1,052,500 |
| Total | 2,028,000 |
| or less than 4 per cent. | |
This result is surprising, when we reflect that the largest item, or about one-third of the Mexican annual imports, is cotton, raw and manufactured, and that the neighboring Mississippi River taps the finest cotton fields upon the face of the earth. The chief item of her annual exports is silver
What our annual commercial exchanges with Mexico should be, is well stated in a recent official report by the Mexican Secretary of Finance, Senor Romero, whose long official residence in the United States and familiarity with the material interests of his own country, give weight to his remarks upon this subject. He says of Mexico as follows: "If by the increase of the mineral production of this country, the exportation of the precious metals should be increased to $100,000,000 per year and if by the increase of agricultural
60
production there should be exported of coffee alone, $50,000,000, and as much more of sugar, the importation of foreign merchandise, instead of being nearly $30,000,000, as it is now, would rise to the sum of $200,000,000 per year, assuming proportions which, although they may appear fabulous now, are in reality in no wise exaggerated. If this increase, as large as it is easy, in the production of Mexico, should be owing to North American capital and spirit of enterprise, it is certain that they would reap the benefit of the increase of importation, and that the commerce of the United States with Mexico, instead of representing $7,000,000 per annum, as it does now, would rise to $150,000,000 to $180,000,000."The Mississippi Valley by virtue of its situation and because it is the natural complement of Mexico in resources supply, and demand, should control the larger portion of the exchanges between the two countries.
As there is no existing international railway between the United States and Mexico, the River and Gulf has a monopoly of the transportation from the Valley States to the ports of that Republic.
| Foreign commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports | $46,119,000 |
| Exports | 84,537,000 |
| Total | $130,656,000 |
| Share of the same from Exports and to the United States — | |
| Exports | $12,731,000 |
| Imports | 63,649,600 |
| Total | 76,380,600 |
| or fifty-eight per cent | |
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| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi (port of New Orleans) — | |
| Exports | $447,200 |
| Imports | 1,035,800 |
| Total | 1,483,000 |
| or one per cent. | |
| Foreign commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports | $17,528,000 |
| Exports | 17,312,000 |
| Total | 34,840,000 |
| Share of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | 1,810,674 |
| Imports | 4,384,900 |
| Total | 6,195,574 |
or seventeen per cent.
| Share of the same from and the mouth of the Mississippi (port of New Orleans) — | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
| Foreign commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports | $11,813,000 |
| Exports | 13,240,000 |
| Total | 25,053,000 |
| Share of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | $3,967,000 |
| Imports | 3,225,200 |
| Total | 7,192,400 |
| or twenty-eight per cent. | |
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| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi (port of New Orleans) — | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
| Foreign Commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports | $46,887,000 |
| Exports | 58,343,000 |
| Total | 105,230,000 |
| Share of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | $8,784,400 |
| Imports | 4,293,200 |
| Total | 13,077,600 |
| or twelve per cent. | |
| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi (port of New Orleans) — | |
| Exports | $72,540 |
| Imports | 19,470 |
| Total | 92,010 |
or less than one-tenth of one per cent.
| Foreign commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports | $14,294,000 |
| Exports | 11,715,000 |
| Total | 26,009,000 |
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| Share of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | $1,551,600 |
| Imports | 2,634,000 |
| Total | 4,185,600 |
or sixteen per cent.
| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi (port of New Orleans) — | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
| Foreign commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports | $4,250,000 |
| Exports | 3,000,000 |
| Total | 7,250,000 |
| Share of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | $797,600 |
| Imports | 872,200 |
| Total | 1,669,800 |
or twenty-two per cent.
| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi (port of New Orleans) — | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
| Foreign commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports | $7,565,000 |
| Exports | 7,000,000 |
| Total | 14,565,000 |
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| Share of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | $902,500 |
| Imports | 442,800 |
| Total | 1,345,300 |
or nine per cent.
| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi (port of New Orleans) — | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
| Foreign commerce of the five Central American States with all nations — | |
| Imports | $8,085,000 |
| Exports | 14,526,000 |
| Total | 22,611,000 |
| Share of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | $1,155,700 |
| Imports | 2,251,500 |
| Total | 3,407,200 |
| or fifteen per cent. | |
| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi) port of New Orleans) — | |
| Exports | $73,300 |
| Imports | 99,850 |
| Total | 173,100 |
Or less than one per cent.
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| Foreign commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports | $80,000,000 |
| Exports | 90,000,000 |
| Total | 170,000,000 |
| Share of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Export | $8,194,000 |
| Imports | 39,375,400 |
| Total | 47,569,400 |
or twenty-seven per cent.
| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi (port of New Orleans) — | |
| Exports | $0 |
| Imports | 2,160,300 |
| Total | 2,160,300 |
| or one per cent. | |
Brazil buys chiefly from Great Britain and sells most to the United States. Her largest item of exports is coffee; and of imports, cotton goods. The United States should now control half, or $85,000,000 of her total foreign commerce, of which half, the Mississippi Valley should control $42,500,000, and that by steamship lines running directly from and to the Mississippi.
| Foreign commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports | $20,000,000 |
| Exports | 18,000,000 |
| Total | 38,000,000 |
| Share of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | $5,528,000 |
| Imports | 6,330,900 |
| Total | 11,858,900 |
or thirty-two per cent.
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| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi (port of New Orleans) — | |
| Exports | $10,000 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 10,000 |
or less than one-thirtieth of one per cent.
| Foreign commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports | $42,000,000 |
| Exports | 40,000,000 |
| Total | 82,000,000 |
| Share of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | $2,127,000 |
| Imports | 3,518,100 |
| Total | 5,645,100 |
or six per cent.
| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi (port of New Orleans) — | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
| Foreign commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports | $28,000,000 |
| Exports | 30,000,000 |
| Total | 58,000,000 |
| Share of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | $1,256,000 |
| Imports | 642,700 |
| Total | 1,898,700 |
| or three per cent. | |
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| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi (port of New Orleans) — | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
| Foreign commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports | $30,000,000 |
| Exports | 45,000,000 |
| Total | 75,000,000 |
| Shares of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | $1,305,300 |
| Imports | 1,857,800 |
| Total | 3,163,100 |
or four per cent.
| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi (port of New Orleans) — | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
| Foreign commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports | $5,800,000 |
| Exports | 5,000,000 |
| Total | 10,800,000 |
| Share of the same to and from the United States — | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
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| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi (port of New Orleans) — | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
| Foreign commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports | $7,500,000 |
| Exports | 9,437,000 |
| Total | 16,937,000 |
| Share of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi, (port of New Orleans) — | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
| Foreign commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports | $657,400 |
| Exports | 392,800 |
| Total | 1,050,200 |
| Share of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
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| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi, (port of New Orleans) — | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
| Foreign commerce with all nations | |
| Imports | $16,000,000 |
| Exports | 17,500,000 |
| Total | 33,500,000 |
| Share of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | $939,300 |
| Imports | 1,780,100 |
| Total | 2,719,400 |
| or eight per cent. | |
| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi, (port of New Orleans) — | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
| Foreign commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports | $11,000,000 |
| Exports | 12,000,000 |
| Total | 23,000,000 |
| Share of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | $1,973,700 |
| Imports | 4,855,000 |
| Total | 6,828,700 |
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| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi, (port of New Orleans) — | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
| Country. | With all Nations. | With United States. | With Miss. River. |
| Mexico | $53,526,000 | $12,245,400 | 2,028,000 |
| Cuba | 130,656,000 | 76,380,600 | 1,483,000 |
| Porto Rico | 34,840,000 | 6,195,500 | — |
| Hayti and San Domingo | 25,053,000 | 7,192,400 | — |
| British West Indies, Honduras, and Guiana | 105,230,000 | 13,077,600 | 92,000 |
| French West Indies and Guiana | 26,009,000 | 4,185,600 | — |
| Dutch West Indies and Guiana | 7,250,000 | 1,669,800 | — |
| Danish West Indies | 14,565,000 | 1,345,300 | — |
| Central America | 22,611,000 | 3,407,200 | 173,100 |
| United States of Columbia | 38,000,000 | 11,858,900 | 10,000 |
| Brazil | 170,000,000 | 47,569,400 | 2,160,300 |
| Argentine Republic | 82,000,000 | 5,645,100 | — |
| Chili | 58,000,000 | 1,898,700 | — |
| Peru | 75,000,000 | 3,163,100 | — |
| Bolivia | 10,800,000 | — | — |
| Ecuador | 16,937,000 | — | — |
| Paraguay | 1,050,200 | — | — |
| Uruguay | 33,500,000 | 2,719,400 | — |
| Venezuela | 23,000,000 | 6,828,700 | — |
| Total | 928,027,200 | 205,382,700 or twenty-two per cent. | 5,946,400 or less than one per cent. |
A total more in harmony with the possibilities of these Southern countries — commercial enterprise on the part of the United States — and the favorable situation of the Mississippi River with its 15,710 miles of inland navigation terminating opposite their ports would be:
| With all nations | $2,000,000,000 |
| With the United States | 1,000,000,000 or 50 per cent. |
| With the Mississippi River | 500,000,000 or 25 per cent. |
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The total foreign commerce of the United States with all other nations during the year ending June 30, 1879, was $1,157,415,000 of which the above total with American countries constituted but seventeen per cent. The American continent then furnishes the most open field for our commercial enterprises. It is also an inviting field as evidenced in a variety of ways, but particularly so by the visit of Dom Pedro, Emperor of Brazil, during our Centennial year, and by the addresses of the Mexican Minister during the past two years before the Chambers of Commerce, &c., in the commercial centers of the Mississippi Valley and other parts of the country.
At Chicago, in the fall of 1878, Senor Zamacona said, in addressing the Manufacturers' Association: "The admirable system of navigation on the Mississippi River, with its thirty-three tributaries, seems to be a series of canals opened on purpose to carry to Mexico the abundant products of this country."
The people of the United States demand that these grand business opportunities be improved, that foreign commerce, and particularly American foreign commerce, be adequately developed. The first century of the Republic was necessarily chiefly devoted to home affairs, but now we need the markets of the world for our surplus products and manufactures; and the second century should be conspicuous for developing international trade relations. The demand for American commerce is riot confined to section or party — it comes from the Chambers of Commerce and Boards of Trade of the East and West, North and South, and from both political parties. Hon. Samuel J. Randall in a letter to the citizens of Galveston, in May, 1877, said: "The time has come, in my opinion, when the policy of the Government should
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be to enlarge our trade relations with Mexico and with the Central and South American States. It is well for us to study the statistics of trade between these countries, and the markets of the world, from which we find that the people of the United States are not receiving a due share of the commerce of the countries I have named."About the same time and near the beginning of the present administration, Secretary Evarts wrote to the United States consuls and other representatives residing in the countries south of us, saying: "It is believed that the period has now arrived when it would be wise for all the nations of this continent to consider more carefully how they may best enlarge their trade with each other."
The question now arises, how may these open and profitable fields be improved. Nature and common sense — the producer and consumer — demand that the neighboring Mississippi Valley, with its great water-ways terminating at the Gulf and with its surplus grain and provisions, take the lead in this new commercial movement. Direct and cheap transportation by way of the River and Gulf, in place of indirect shipments from the Valley up and down the Alleghanies and then around and back again to the Indies, Mexico and South and Central America, is the true solution of this commercial problem. New York is chiefly occupied with European trade, But the port at the mouth of the Mississippi has the time as well as favorable situation to make a success of American foreign commerce. It devolves upon her and other trade centers of the Valley to take the lead. The material interests of the entire country require it.
But the Mississippi River should also be an important factor in enlarging our European trade. This is very apparent
73
when we consider that the chief exports of the United States are agricultural products which are mainly supplied by the Valley. During the three years ending June 30, 1879, the domestic exports of the United States, and the share of the same which was agricultural, was as follows:| 1877. | |
| Total domestic exports | $632,980,854 |
| Principal items of the same — | |
| Bread and breadstuff's | $117,806,476 |
| Raw cotton | 171,118,508 |
| Provisions | 114,991,749 |
| Leaf tobacco | 28,825,521 |
| Total | $432,742,254 |
or sixty-eight per cent.
| 1878. | |
| Total domestic exports | $695,749,930 |
| Principal items of the same — | |
| Bread and breadstuff's | $181,777,841 |
| Raw cotton | 180,031,484 |
| Provisions | 123,556,323 |
| Leaf tobacco | 24,803,165 |
| Total | $510,168,813 |
| 1879. | |
| Total domestic exports | $699,538,742 |
| Principal items of the same — | |
| Bread and breadstuff's | 210,355,528 |
| Raw cotton | 162,304,250 |
| Provisions | 116,858,650 |
| Leaf tobacco | 25,157,364 |
| Total | $514,675,792 |
or seventy-three per cent.
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A large portion of these agricultural products should be exported from the port where the Mississippi meets the ocean. But the facts prove that the contrary is true; that New Orleans during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1879, controlled but nine per cent. of the domestic exports of the United States and less than two per cent. of the total imports.
| 1856 | $80,576,652 | 1868 | $58,538,524 |
| 1857 | 91,536,546 | 1869 | 75,131,704 |
| 1858 | 88,270,224 | 1870 | 107,648,042 |
| 1859 | 100,890,689 | 1871 | 93,953,081 |
| 1860 | 107,812,580 | 1872 | 89,501,149 |
| 1861 | 6,823,357 | 1873 | 104,329,965 |
| 1862 | 1874 | 93,259,299 | |
| 1863 | 5,768,514 | 1875 | 71,461,272 |
| 1864 | 4,417,693 | 1876 | 83,897,691 |
| 1865 | 3,259,882 | 1877 | 70,186,543 |
| 1866 | 96,765,083 | 1878 | 85,368,466 |
| 1807 | 82,995,294 | 1879 | 63,794,426 |
In marked contrast the total similar exports of other ports of the United States have increased as follows since 1856:
New York — from $98,763,197 in 1856 to $338,817,546 in 1879.
Philadelphia — from $6,955,324 in 1856 to $47,013,751 in 1879.
Boston — from $24,673,575 in 1856 to $48,100,019 in 1879.
Baltimore — from $10,856,637 in 1856 to $57,478,495 in 1879.
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Portland — from $861,342 in 1856 to $2,246,386 in 1879.
San Francisco — from $10,002,562 in 1856 to $35,548,417 in 1879.
Galveston — from $1,252,925 in 1856 to $16,393,877 in 1879.
How then can New Orleans and other Valley cities be made to do their part in developing the foreign trade of the United States? The remedy is very apparent. It is an adequate improvement of the channel of the Lower Mississippi, which is the connecting link between the Valley and the outside world, so that the navigation of the River, Gulf and Ocean may be continuous and unbroken; so that the centre of the Nation's production and of a vast network of inland water lines may also become a centre for the collection and distribution of foreign commerce.
The efficacy of this remedy is demonstrated by the effect of the few improvements already made at the mouth of the river. They show, as we have already statedin another connection, that the exports of corn from New Orleans increased 92 per cent. in a single year, and of wheat 186 per cent. When the necessary improvements throughout the whole length of the river channel are made, New Orleans will then be prepared to contribute her legitimate share to the sum total of the Nation's foreign commerce.
There is to-day a special international reason for improving the Mississippi. The Canadian Government is spending money very freely to complete an artificial water-way to tap the grain fields of the Mississippi Valley, and secure the carrying trade to the European market. We refer to the Welland Ship Canal, now under construction, which will unite the waters of our great Lakes with the St. Lawrence River, and the Atlantic Ocean. The official report of Gen. Q. A. Gilmore, on the proposed Florida Ship Canal, thus describes this impending danger:
76
"The British and Canadian Governments are making great efforts to secure as large a portion as possible of the carrying trade of the West, by improving its water routes to the seaboard. Within three years from the present time the completion of the Welland Canal enlargement will enable British steamships, of about 2,000 tons, to receive their cargoes of grain and provisions at Chicago, and other Lake ports, and carry them directly to Europe.In the present condition of the Lakes and Erie Canal line the average cost of carrying wheat from Chicago to New York is 8.15 cents per bushel.
By the enlargement of the Canadian canals, to he finished within a few years, British vessels can afford to carry grain from Chicago to Montreal for 6 cents per bushel; and Montreal is 250 miles nearer than New York to the European markets.
The British and Canadian Governments have nearly completed works which will cost over $30,000,000, in addition to earlier improvements on which $24,000,000 were expended, making a total of over $54,000,000 spent in order to control as far as possible the carrying trade of our grain-raising States.
With the completion of this cheap foreign water route penetrating into the very heart of our agricultural region, the United States will possess no transportation line that can compete with it on equal terms, unless the Mississippi River is improved and all obstacles are removed that stand in the way of the most economical transportation to foreign and domestic markets of the surplus products of the Mississippi Valley.
"With the improvement of this southern route accomplished the Mississippi River will become the great and successful competitor of the Canada water line for the reason that the center of the grain region is gradually working away from the latter. Moreover, the northern route will be closed by ice during five months in the year, while the other will be open at all seasons."
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While this argument was advanced in support of the Florida Canal it applies with equal force to the improvement of the Mississippi. The United States has already lost most of her legitimate share of the carrying trade of the world, and should hasten to avert any further loss of prestige in this respect.
To consummate the new commercial movement down the river, and direct trade relations with the foreign countries around the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, two other great works are needed — inter-ocean transit across Florida on the one side and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec on the other. The natural relations of both enterprises to the Mississippi are most intimate. Each may appropriately be termed a supplement or extension of the River.
This proposed work will shorten the distance between New Orleans and New York 571 statute miles each way, or 1,142 on the round trip. It will shorten the voyage between New Orleans and Liverpool 473 statute miles each way or 946 on the round trip.
The great saving of distance, via this route, together with its advantages in point of safety over the present hazardous route around the southern extremity of Florida will render it a material aid to the Mississippi in preventing the acquisition, by Canada, of the grain transportation business between the Valley and Liverpool.
On the 2nd of June, 1879, Mexico granted to Hon. Edward Learned, of Massachusetts, the right of way for a
78
railroad across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. This road is now under construction and will soon be completed.On the 18th of December, 1880, Mexico entered into a contract with Captain James B. Eads for the construction of a ship railway across the same isthmus.
These inter-ocean lines will give the Gulf of Mexico and its surroundings their first direct commercial outlet to the Pacific Ocean and its surrounding countries, with the following saving of distances over the existing railway at Panama and the existing steamship route around Cape Horn.
| Mouth of the Mississippi to Hong Kong — | Statute miles. |
| Via Isthmus of Tehuantepec (great circle) | 10,092 |
| " Panama " " | 11,912 |
| Saving via Tehuantepec (one way) | 1,820 |
| " " " (round trip) | 3,640 |
| Mouth of the Mississippi to Hong Kong: | |
| Via Isthmus of Tehuantepec (great circle) | 10,092 |
| " Cape Horn and " " | 20,594 |
| Saving via Tehuantepec (one way) | 10,502 |
| " " " (round trip) | 21,004 |
| Mouth of the Mississippi to Yokohama: | |
| Via Isthmus of Tehuantepec (great circle) | 8,549 |
| " " " Panama " " | 10,369 |
| Saving via Tehuantepec (one way) | 1,820 |
| " " " (round trip) | 3,640 |
| Mouth of the Mississippi to Yokohama: | |
| Via Isthmus of Tehuantepec (great circle) | 8,549 |
| " Cape, Horn and " | 20,018 |
| Saving via Tehuantepec (one way) | 11,469 |
| " " " (round trip) | 22,938 |
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| Mouth of the Mississippi to Sydney (Australia): | |
| Via Isthmus of Tehuantepec (great circle) | 9,188 |
| " " " Panama " " | 10,341 |
| Saving via Tehuantepec (one way) | 1,153 |
| " " " (round trip) | 2,306 |
| Mouth of the Mississippi to Sydney (Australia): | |
| Via Isthmus of Tehauntepec (great circle) | 9,188 |
| " Cape Horn and " " | 14,975 |
| Saving via Telmauntepec (one way) | 5,787 |
| " " " (round trip) | 11,574 |
| Mouth of the Mississippi to San Francisco: | |
| Via Isthmus of Tehuantepec | 3,466 |
| " " " Panama | 5,302 |
| Saving via Tehuantepec (one way) | 1,836 |
| " " " (round trip) | 3,672 |
| Mouth of the Mississippi to San Francisco: | |
| Via Isthmus of Tehuantepec | 3,466 |
| " Cape Horn | 15,908 |
| Saving via Tehuantepec (one way) | 12,442 |
| " " " (round trip) | 24,884 |
There is to-day no direct trade between the mouth of the Mississippi and Australia, the Orient, the Pacific islands, and the western coast of South America. The following statistics on this point are compiled from the last official report of the State Department on Commercial Relations:
| Foreign commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports | $245,628,000 |
| Exports | 214,808,000 |
| Total | 460,436,000 |
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| Shares of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | $6,800,000 |
| Imports | 1,185,000 |
| Total | 7,985,000 |
| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi (port of New Orleans) — | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
| Foreign commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports | $162,354,000 |
| Exports | 260,663,000 |
| Total | 423,017,000 |
| Shares of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | $1,549,000 |
| Imports | 9,043,000 |
| Total | 10,592,000 |
| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi (port of New Orleans) — | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
| Foreign commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports | $100,000,000 |
| Exports | 98,000,000 |
| Total | 198,000,000 |
| Share of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | $2,652,000 |
| Imports | 9,535,000 |
| Total | 12,187,000 |
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| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi (port of New Orleans) — | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
| Foreign commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports | $46,000,000 |
| Exports | 83,000,000 |
| Total | 129,000,000 |
| Share of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | $800,000 |
| Imports | 5,000,000 |
| Total | 5,800,000 |
| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi (Port of New Orleans) — | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
| Foreign commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports | $60,000,000 |
| Exports | 52,000,000 |
| Total | 112,000,000 |
| Share of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | 3,280,000 |
| Imports | 1,653,000 |
| Total | 4,933,000 |
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| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi (port of New Orleans) — | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
| Foreign commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports | $57,950,000 |
| Exports | 49,670,000 |
| Total | 107,620,000 |
| Share of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | |
| Imports | 800,000 |
| Total | 1,200,000 |
| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi (port of New Orleans) — | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
| Foreign commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports | $30,000,000 |
| Exports | 45,000,000 |
| Total | 75,000,000 |
| Share of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | $2,000,000 |
| Imports | 1,300,000 |
| Total | 3,300,000 |
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| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi (port of New Orleans) — | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
| Foreign commerce of all nations — | |
| Imports | $28,000,000 |
| Exports | 30,000,000 |
| Total | 58,000,000 |
| Share of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | $2,000,000 |
| Imports | 665,000 |
| Total | 2,665,000 |
| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi (port of New Orleans.) — | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
| Foreign commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports | $30,230,000 |
| Exports | 25,000,000 |
| Total | 55,230,060 |
| Share of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | 3,438,000 |
| Imports | 7,436,000 |
| Total | 10,874,000 |
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| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi (port of New Orleans). — | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
| Foreign commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports | $23,177,000 |
| Exports | 23,675,000 |
| Total | 46,852,000 |
| Share of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | 00 |
| Imports | $600,000 |
| Total | 600,000 |
| Share of the same to and from the mouth of the Mississippi (port of New Orleans) — | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
| Foreign commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports | $17,293,000 |
| Exports | 17,470,000 |
| Total | 34,763,000 |
| Share of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | $134,000 |
| Imports | 5,647,000 |
| Total | 5,781,000 |
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| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi (port of New Orleans.) — | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
| Foreign commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports | $7,500,000 |
| Exports | 9,437,000 |
| Total | 16,937,000 |
| Share of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | $750,000 |
| Imports | 530,000 |
| Total | 1,280,000 |
| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi (port of New Orleans.) — | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
| Foreign commerce with all nations — | |
| Imports | $3,742,978 |
| Exports | 3,781,717 |
| Total | 7,524,695 |
| Share of the same from and to the United States — | |
| Exports | $2,288,178 |
| Imports | 3,257,938 |
| Total | $5,546,116 |
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| Share of the same from and to the mouth of the Mississippi (port of New Orleans.) | |
| Exports | 0 |
| Imports | 0 |
| Total | 0 |
| Total foreign commerce with all nations. | Share of same to and from the United States. | Share of the same to and from the Mouth of the Mississippi. | |
| Australasia | $460,436,000 | $ 7,985,000 | 0 |
| British Indies | 423,017,000 | 10,592,000 | 0 |
| China | 198,000,000 | 12,187,000 | 0 |
| Dutch Asiatic Possessions | 129,000,000 | 5,800,000 | 0 |
| Hong Kong | 112,000,000 | 4,933,000 | 0 |
| Straits Settlements | 107,620,000 | 1,200,000 | 0 |
| Peru | 75,000,000 | 3,300,000 | 0 |
| Chili | 58,000,000 | 2,665,000 | 0 |
| Japan | 55,230,000 | 10,874,000 | 0 |
| Ceylon | 46,852,000 | 600,000 | 0 |
| Philippine Islands | 34,763,000 | 5,781,000 | 0 |
| Ecuador | 16,937,000 | 1,280,000 | 0 |
| Hawaiian Islands | 7,524,695 | 5,540,116 | 0 |
| Total | $1,724,379,695 | $72,743,116 or 4 per cent. |
0 or 0 per cent. |
In brief, a ship railway across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec will for the first time permit direct steamship communication between the mouth of the Mississippi and the foreign countries surrounding the Pacific Ocean, which have an annual commerce of $1,724,379,695 in value, of which trade the United States controls but four per cent., and the port which represents the whole Mississippi River system controls no portion.
No one interested in the Mississippi and its forty-two navigable tributaries, and, indeed, no one interested in the commercial advancement of the United States, can fail to see the transcendent importance of this inter-ocean outlet for commerce with the nations resting upon the Pacific is the weakest and most neglected spot in our trade relations with the outside world.
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But the Mississippi Valley is not fully prepared to occupy these new fields of trade. Its great river outlet, which nature intended as the chief connecting link between the internal and international commerce of the United States, must first be improved, so as to permit untrammeled communication with the seaboard.
The above facts and figures show —
That the Mississippi and forty-two of its many tributaries are navigable to the extent of 15,710 miles.
That this inland navigation is distributed among nineteen States and three Territories.
That fourteen of said States, which lie wholly within the Valley, contrasted with the entire Union, produced, in 1879, 81 per cent. of the corn, 64 per cent. of the wheat, 60 per cent. of the oats, 49 per cent. of the cotton, 55 per cent. of the tobacco, and contained 66 per cent. in value of the live hogs.
That the whole nineteen States intersected by the navigable portions produced, in 1879, 90 per cent. of the corn, 73 per cent. of the wheat, 83 per cent. of the oats, 64 per cent. of the tobacco, 77 per cent. of the cotton, and contained 81 per cent. in value of the live hogs.
That the value of the annual internal commerce of the Valley is about twelve and one-half times that of the total foreign commerce of the United States, and therefore about $18,000,000,000, or larger than the total foreign commerce of the whole world.
That if we take the transportation of the freights of its central city (St. Louis) as an illustration, but nineteen per cent. of the commerce of the Valley, during the year 1878, made use of the River.
That this discrimination in the past against the Mississippi, and loss of prestige, was caused by neglect of needed
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improvements and by the extension of, and rivalry with, railways.That recently the successful completion of the jetties by Captain James B. Eads, and cooperation between the Mississippi and prominent trunk railways, notably the western roads controlled by Mr. Jay Gould, which are now paying tribute to the River in direct transportation to the seaboard, have inaugurated a new era of river commerce.
That during the single year ending August 31, 1880, the exports from its mouth — the port of New Orleans — increased as follows: Corn, 92 per cent., and wheat 186 per cent.
That to consummate and make permanent this natural and direct movement to the seaboard of the products of the Valley a general and systematic improvement of the whole river channel is needed from its headwaters to the Gulf.
That the material advancement of the great interior of the United States will be retarded unless its growing demand for in land water transportation facilities is thus supplied.
That the Mississippi and tributaries are located in fertile and well-populated valleys where most serviceable to commerce.
That they further observe the laws of political economy in that their general tendency is southward, connecting opposite climates with dissimilar products, demand and supply.
That they are remarkably well adapted to the transportation of the bulky freights of agricultural valleys, and have, in this respect, unlimited capacity.
That they were constructed by nature, without cost to the producer and consumer.
That the cost of their 15,710 miles of navigation, if constructed at the same rate per mile as railways of the United States, and their equipments, would have been $809,740,000.
That if constructed at the same rate per mile as the principal canals of the United States their cost would have been $615,219,000.
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That they supply the producer and consumer with cheap transportation.
That the transportation rates on a bushel of wheat shipped from the centre of the Valley, at St. Louis, by River to the seaboard at New Orleans, during the three years 1877, 1878, and 1879 ranged all the way from 10 to fifteen cents less than by rail to the seaboard at New York.
That if half of the total grain produced in the 14 Valley States in 1879 had to be shipped from that center by river to New Orleans instead of by rail to New York the annual saving to the seaboard at 10 cents per bushel would be $90,381,552, and at 15 cents per bushel $135,572,328.
That if in connection with and incidentally to the improvement of river navigation the rich alluvial lands of the Lower Valley susceptible of cultivation and comprising an area of 23,727,168 acres were protected from overflow, their increased value, when adequately cultivated would add to the taxable wealth of the country $1,936,229,418, a sum equal to the whole national debt.
That if they produced one bale of cotton per acre, the value of their product at 440 pounds to the bale and 11 cents per pound would be $1,148,394,931, or more than seven times that of the annual yield of gold and silver of the whole world.
That these water-ways are national in extent and in law. That they supply cheap transportation from the granary of the nation, and are therefore national in their benefits.
That they are a natural bond of union between the North and South, and a standing protest against sectional antagonisms.
That the Mississippi or trunk line of this whole system of rivers of the great Valley is a connecting link between internal and international commerce.
That it terminates opposite other American countries and islands which have a total annual foreign commerce with all nations (exports and imports combined) of $928,027,000 in value.
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That the present share of this total foreign commerce controlled by the Mississippi, — that which flows to and from its sole port — is but $5,822,800 in value, or less than one per cent.
That the river will soon be practically extended to the Pacific Ocean by the completion of the Tehuantepec Inter-ocean Railroad, and again by the construction of the Tehuantepec Ship Railway.
That these commercial outlets to the Pacific, the first ever provided for the Gulf of Mexico, will bring to the door of the Mississippi Valley new and important commercial fields — Australia, the Orient, the Pacific Islands, and the Pacific States of South America — which nations have a total annual foreign trade with the whole world of $1,724,379,695, and of which total the port at the mouth of the Mississippi controls no portion.
That commerce with these nations resting upon the Pacific is the weakest and most neglected spot in our trade relations with the outside world, and that their connection with the Mississippi Valley via the Isthmus of Tehuantepec is a matter of great National importance.
That the Valley is not fully prepared to improve these grand opportunities and contribute its legitimate share to the foreign commerce and wealth of the Nation, because needed improvements of its great river or outlet to the seaboard have been neglected.
That no power but the United States, which owns the Mississippi and tributaries, has jurisdiction over their improvement.
That to examine the various and conflicting theories of improvement and prepare and report upon a permanent plan, Congress in 1879 provided for the appointment of a board of skilled engineers, known as the Mississippi River Commission.
The Commission have submitted their report, and the appropriations for consummating this great national work now rest with Congress.
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In conclusion, this plain, simple business question arises: Will the United States neglect to keep in good repair its own commercial highways — to protect its own property, having at a moderate estimate a value of $800,000,000 — which rivers were constructed and presented by nature, and which may be made an immense source of profit to the producers and consumers who comprise the people?
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Appendix.
Act Creating the Commission.
AN ACT to provide for the appointment of a "Mississippi River Commission" for the improvement of said river from the head of the Passes near its mouth to its head waters.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That a commission is hereby created to be called "The Mississippi River Commission," to consist of seven members.
SEC. 2. The President of the United States shall, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint seven commissioners, three of whom shall be selected from the Engineer Corps of the Army, one from the Coast and Geodetic Survey, and three from civil life, two of whom shall be civil engineers. And any vacancy which may occur in the commission shall in like manner be filled by the President of the United States; and he shall designate one of the commissioners appointed from the Engineer Corps of the Army to be president of the commission. The commissioners appointed from the Engineer Corps of the Army and the Coast and Geodetic Survey shall receive Bio other pay or compensation than is now allowed them by law, and the other three commissioners shall receive as pay and compensation for their services each the sum of three thousand dollars per annum; and the commissioners appointed under this act shall remain in office subject to removal by the President of the United States.
SEC. 3. It shall be the duty of said commission to direct and complete such surveys of said river, between the head of the Passes near its mouth to its headwaters as may now be in progress, and to make such additional surveys, examinations, and investigations, topographical, hydrographical, and hydrometrical, of said river, and its tributaries, as may be deemed necessary by said commission to carry out the objects of this act. And to enable said commission to complete such surveys, examinations, and investigations, the Secretary of War shall, when requested by said commission, detail from the Engineer Corps of the Army such officers and men as may be necessary, and shall place in the charge and for the use of said commission, such vessel or vessels and such machinery and instruments as may be under his control and may be deemed necessary. And the Secretary of the Treasury shall, when requested by said commission in like manner detail from the Coast and Geodetic Survey such officers and men as may be necessary, and shall place in the charge and for the use of said
94
commission such vessel or vessels and such machinery and instruments as may be under his control and may be deemed necessary. And the said commission may, with the approval of the Secretary of War, employ such additional force and assistants, and provide, by purchase or otherwise, such vessels or boats and such instruments and means as may be deemed necessary.SEC. 4. It shall be the duty of said commission to take into consideration and mature such plan or plans and estimates as will correct, permanently locate, and deepen the channel and protect the banks of the Mississippi River; improve and give safety and ease to the navigation thereof; prevent destructive floods; promote and facilitate commerce, trade, and the postal service; and when so prepared and matured, to submit to the Secretary of War a full and detailed report of their proceedings and actions, and of such plans, with estimates of the cost thereof, for the purposes aforesaid, to be by him transmitted to Congress: Provided, That the commission shall report in full upon the practicability, feasibility, and probable cost of the various plans known as the jetty system, the levee system, and the outlet system, as well as upon such others as they deem necessary.
SEC. 5. The said commission may, prior to the completion of all the surveys and examinations contemplated by this act, prepare and submit to the Secretary of War plans, specifications, and estimates of costs for such immediate works as, in the judgment of said commission, may constitute a part of the general system of works herein contemplated, to be by him transmitted to Congress.
SEC. 6. The Secretary of War may detail from the Engineer Corps of the Army of the United States an officer to act as secretary of said commission.
SEC. 7. The Secretary of War is hereby authorized to expend the sum of one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, for the payment of the salaries herein provided for, and of the necessary expenses incurred in the completion of such surveys as may now be in progress, and of such additional surveys, examinations, and investigations as may be deemed necessary, reporting the plans and estimates, and the plans and specifications, and estimates contemplated by this act, as herein provided for; and said sum is hereby appropriated for said purposes out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated.
Approved, June 28, 1879.
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River Distances.
| Port Eads, La., (mouth of the Mississippi) to — | Miles. |
| Fort St. Philip, La | 35 |
| New Orleans, La | 110 |
| Donaldsonville, La | 189 |
| Baton Rouge, La | 240 |
| Bayou Sara, La | 277 |
| Mouth of the Red River | 308 |
| Cerro Gordo, Miss | 339 |
| Natchez, Miss | 376 |
| St. Joseph, La | 433 |
| Grand Gulf | 450 |
| Vicksburg, Miss | 483 |
| Arcadia, Miss | 537 |
| Auburn, Miss | 587 |
| Greenville, Miss | 601 |
| Arkansas City, Ark | 624 |
| Napoleon (mouth of the Arkansas River) | 662 |
| Concordia, Miss | 689 |
| Robertsonville, Miss | 727 |
| Modoc, Ark | 760 |
| Helena, Ark | 797 |
| Brinkley, Miss | 832 |
| Memphis, Tenn | 887 |
| Pilota, Ark | 914 |
| Osceola, Ark | 970 |
| State line of Arkansas and Missouri | 1,011 |
| Silver Top, Tenn | 1,065 |
| Hickman, Ky | 1,112 |
| Belmont, Mo | 1,131 |
| Cairo, Ill | 1,152 |
| Cape Girardeau, Mo | 1,202 |
| Grand Tower, Ill | 1,232 |
| Chester, Ill | 1,272 |
| St. Genevieve, Mo | 1,292 |
| Carondelet, Mo | 1,346 |
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| Miles | |
| St. Louis, Mo | 1,352 |
| Mouth of the Missouri River | 1,373 |
| Alton, Ill. | 1,377 |
| Grafton, Ill. | 1,395 |
| Mouth of the Illinois River | 1,397 |
| Milan, Ill. | 1,401 |
| Darten, Mo | 1,408 |
| West Point, Ill. | 1,420 |
| Hamburg, Ill. | 1,439 |
| Clarksville, Mo. | 1,457 |
| Louisiana, Mo. | 1,469 |
| Cincinnati, Ill. | 1,484 |
| Hannibal, Mo. | 1,499 |
| Quincy, Ill. | 1,520 |
| Canton, Mo. | 1,539 |
| Alexandria, Mo. | 1,562 |
| Keokuk, Iowa | 1,566 |
| Nauvoo, Ill. | 1,581 |
| Fort Madison, Iowa | 1,589 |
| Burlington, Iowa | 1,610 |
| Princeton, Ill. | 1,623 |
| Muscatine, Iowa | 1,671 |
| Fairport, Ill. | 1,680 |
| Rock Island, Ill. | 1,701 |
| Davenport, Iowa | 1,701 |
| Cordova, Ill. | 1,724 |
| Clinton, Iowa | 1,744 |
| Savannah, Ill. | 1,765 |
| Galena, Ill. | 1,801 |
| Dubuque, Iowa | 1,826 |
| Cassville, Wis. | 1,855 |
| McGregor, Iowa | 1,885 |
| Prairie du Chien, Wis. | 1,888 |
| De Soto, Wis. | 1,928 |
| Brownsville, Minn. | 1,959 |
| La Crosse, Wis. | 1,973 |
| Homer, Minn. | 2,002 |
| Winona, Minn. | 2,008 |
| Alma, Wis. | 2,047 |
| Lake City, Minn. | 2,074 |
| Red Wing, Minn. | 2,089 |
| Hastings, Minn. | 2,117 |
| St. Paul, Minn. | 2,147 |
| Falls of St. Anthony, Minn. | 2,161 |
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| Mouth to — | Miles. |
| St. Charles, Mo. | 28 |
| Hamburg, Mo. | 48 |
| Murdock, Mo. | 51 |
| Augusta, Mo. | 58 |
| Washington, Mo. | 65 |
| Bates, Mo. | 82 |
| Hermann, Mo. | 92 |
| Bluffton, Mo. | 100 |
| Barkersville, Mo. | 125 |
| Mouth of the Osage River | 130 |
| Jefferson City, Mo. | 136 |
| Burlington, Mo. | 151 |
| Eureka, Mo. | 156 |
| Searcy, Mo. | 180 |
| Arrow Rock, Mo. | 211 |
| Saline City, Mo. | 223 |
| Glasgow, Mo. | 234 |
| New Frankfort, Mo. | 248 |
| Miami, Mo. | 288 |
| Lexington, Mo. | 345 |
| Sibley, Mo. | 380 |
| El Paso, Mo. | 403 |
| Kansas City, Mo. | 431 |
| Leavenworth, Kan. | 469 |
| Atchison, Kan. | 502 |
| Petersburg, | 526 |
| St. Joseph, Mo. | 549 |
| Dallas | 580 |
| Forest City, Mo. | 607 |
| Arago, Neb. | 633 |
| Brownsville, Neb. | 661 |
| Nebraska City, Neb. | 708 |
| Liberty | 768 |
| Plattsmouth, Neb. | 784 |
| Omaha, Neb. | 806 |
| De Soto | 845 |
| Little Sioux River | 920 |
| Dakota, D. Ter | 996 |
| Sioux City, Iowa | 1,019 |
| Elk Point, Da | 1,070 |
| Yankton, D, Ter | 1,161 |
| Niobrara City, Neb | 1,214 |
| Fort Randall | 1,268 |
| Cedar Island | 1,313 |
98
| Miles. | |
| Fort Thompson | 1,424 |
| Port Pierre | 1,528 |
| Fort Sully | 1,546 |
| Little Cheyenne | 1,610 |
| Standing Rock | 1,766 |
| Fort A. Lincoln | 1,880 |
| Bismark | 1,886 |
| Fort Clark | 1,951 |
| Fort Berthold | 2,030 |
| Little Missouri River | 2,070 |
| Knife River | 2,105 |
| White Earth River | 2,155 |
| Big Muddy River | 2,225 |
| Fort Buford | 2,304 |
| Mouth of the Yellowstone River | 2,305 |
| Fort Kip | 2,401 |
| Fort Lawrence Joab | 2,456 |
| Fort Copeland | 2,565 |
| Fort Peck | 2,584 |
| Harvey's Point | 2,640 |
| Round Butte | 2,701 |
| Muscle Shell River | 2,769 |
| Carroll | 2,810 |
| Grand Island | 2,869 |
| Antoine Rapids | 2,947 |
| Eagle Creek | 3,019 |
| Fort Harvey | 3,084 |
| Fort Benton, Mon | 3,092 |
| Great Falls, Mon | 3,127 |
| Cairo (mouth, of the Ohio) to — | |
| Paducah, Ky., (mouth of the Tennessee) | 50 |
| Smithland, Ky., (mouth of the Cumberland) | 62 |
| Golconda, Ill. | 80 |
| Weston, Ky. | 105 |
| Shawneetown, Ill. | 125 |
| Uniontown, Ky. | 142 |
| Mt. Vernon, Ind. | 160 |
| Vernon, Ind. | 193 |
| Evansville, Ind. | 200 |
| Owensboro', Ky. | 240 |
| Troy, Ind. | 270 |
| Rome, Ind. | 300 |
| Alton, Ind. | 322 |
99
| Miles. | |
| Rockhaven, Ky. | 367 |
| New Albany, Ind. | 395 |
| Louisville, Ky. | 400 |
| Bethlehem, Ind. | 431 |
| Madison, Ind. | 451 |
| Mouth of the Kentucky River | 463 |
| Florence, Ind. | 480 |
| Warsaw, Ky. | 481 |
| Belleview, Ky. | 506 |
| Claysville, Ky. | 530 |
| Covington, Ky. | 541 |
| Cincinnati, Ohio | 541 |
| Palestine, Ohio | 556 |
| Point Pleasant, Ohio | 567 |
| Augusta, Ky. | 587 |
| Maysville, Ky. | 609 |
| Borne, Ohio | 637 |
| Portsmouth, Ohio | 659 |
| Ashland, Ky. | 693 |
| Huntington, Va | 700 |
| Gallipolis | 746 |
| Pomeroy, Ohio | 766 |
| Syracuse, Ohio | 770 |
| Bellville, Ohio | 808 |
| Parkersburgh, W. Va | 829 |
| Marietta, Ohio | 841 |
| Newport, Ohio | 857 |
| Powhattan | 906 |
| Belair, Ohio | 922 |
| Wheeling, W. Va | 926 |
| Steubenville, Ohio | 950 |
| Liverpool, Ohio | 976 |
| Rochester, Pa. | 994 |
| Pittsburgh, Pa. | 1,021 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Black River | 40 |
| Normand | 83 |
| Cassandria | 99 |
| Pineville | 139 |
| Montgomery | 205 |
| Campte | 261 |
| Groff's Bluff | 289 |
| Brownsville | 296 |
| Caushatta | 316 |
100
| Miles | |
| East Point | 351 |
| Shreveport, La | 456 |
| Egypt | 529 |
| Fulton | 676 |
| Lanesport | 776 |
| Rowland | 856 |
| Shawnee Town, | 901 |
| Jouesboro' | 921 |
| Pine Bluff | 961 |
| Slate Shoals | 986 |
| Mouth to — | |
| St. Charles | 88 |
| Clarendon | 134 |
| Duvall's Bluff | 175 |
| Augusta | 283 |
| Jacksonport | 360 |
| Batesville | 403 |
| Sylamore | 445 |
| Buffalo City | 509 |
| Dubuque | 616 |
| Forsythe, Mo | 669 |
| War Eagle | 779 |
| Paducah, Ky., (mouth) to — | |
| Newburg | 61 |
| Johnsonville | 116 |
| Perryville (east) | 150 |
| Saltillo | 200 |
| Pittsburg, Landing | 230 |
| Eastport, Miss | 263 |
| Georgetown, Ala | 279 |
| Tuscumbia, Ala | 295 |
| Muscle Shoals | 300 |
| Muscle Shoals | 300 |
| Knoxville, Tenn., about | 759 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Arkansas Post | 60 |
| Douglas | 90 |
| Richland | 130 |
| Pine Bluff | 164 |
| Pawpaw | 231 |
101
| Miles. | |
| Little Rock, Ark. | 278 |
| Union City | 340 |
| Dardanelle, Ark. | 394 |
| Roseville | 462 |
| Van Buren, Ark. | 526 |
| Ft. Smith | 533 |
| Weber Falls | 621 |
| Ft. Gibson, Ind. T'y | 668 |
| Wichita, Kans. | 884 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Canton, Ky. L | 50 |
| Tobacco Port, Tenn. | 71 |
| Clarksville | 125 |
| Nashville | 209 |
| Cairo | 276 |
| Rome | 339 |
| Granville | 388 |
| Gainesboro' | 419 |
| Martinsburg, Ky. | 458 |
| Rowenna | 559 |
| Richmond, Ky. | 590 |
| Waitsboro', Ky. | 609 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Diamond Island | 58 |
| Ames Island | 139 |
| Walker's Island | 179 |
| Powder River | 236 |
| Tongue River | 270 |
| Bear Island | 320 |
| Big Horn River | 402 |
| Pompey's Pillar | 441 |
| Belle Butte, Mon. | 474 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Harrisburg | 20 |
| Paris | 95 |
| Trenton | 173 |
| Port Union | 193 |
| Ouachita City | 201 |
| Grand Mary | 247 |
| Caryville | 294 |
| Wilmington | 307 |
102
| Miles | |
| Miller's Bluff | 347 |
| Camden | 384 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Chainville, Ind. | 36 |
| New Harmony, Ind. | 56 |
| Vincennes, Ind. | 112 |
| Terre Haute, Ind. | 253 |
| Newport, Ind. | 291 |
| Covington, Ind. | 319 |
| Williamsport, Ind. | 337 |
| Lafayette, Ind. | 365 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Clean, N. Y. | 325 |
| Mouth, to — | |
| Tuscumbia | 60 |
| Linn Creek | 110 |
| Warsaw | 174 |
| Osceola | 237 |
| Papinville | 303 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Patterson's Rapids | 295 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Fairview | 15 |
| Choctaw | 45 |
| Huntonia | 63 |
| Riverside | 70 |
| Callao | 91 |
| Eureka | 121 |
| Geneva | 130 |
| McLeod | 157 |
| Duren | 133 |
| Point Lookout | 211 |
| Clarksdale | 271 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Hardin, Ill. | 25 |
| Montezuma | 55 |
103
| Miles. | |
| Meredosia | 81 |
| Moscow | 128 |
| Pekin | 186 |
| Peoria, Ill | 197 |
| Rome, Ill | 217 |
| Lacon, Ill | 229 |
| Peru, Ill | 268 |
| LaSalle, Ill. | 270 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Little Sunflower River | 39 |
| Big Sunflower River | 54 |
| Yazoo City | 94 |
| Silver Creek | 140 |
| Rose Bank | 183 |
| Greenwood, Miss. | 228 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Jefferson City | 19 |
| Powhattan | 100 |
| Davidsonville | 115 |
| Pocahontas | 140 |
| Mouth of Currant River | 150 |
| Doniphan, Mo., about | 212 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Greensburg, Ky. | 200 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Jeffersonville | 18 |
| Mariana | 33 |
| Linden | 85 |
| Wittsburg, Mo. | 180 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Portwood | 6 |
| Woodstock | 21 |
| Eutaw | 42 |
| Ashley | 61 |
| Glencoe | 94 |
| Hills Place | 175 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Portage City | 160 |
104
| Mouth to — | Miles. |
| Baxter, Ark | 100 |
| Mouth, to — | |
| Morgantown, West Va. | 110 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Springport, Ky. | 19 |
| Lockport, Ky. | 31 |
| Monterey, Ky. | 42 |
| Frankfort, Ky. | 60 |
| Cogar's Landing, Ky. | 105 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Stoneville, Miss. | 112 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Lake Providence Landing | 112 |
| Month to — | |
| Great Falls, W. Va. | 94 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Dresden, O | 94 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Chippewa Falls, Wis. | 90 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Iowa City, Iowa | 80 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Bolivar, Tenn. | 75 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Falls St. Croix, Wis. | 65 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Sterling, Ill. | 64 |
105
| Mouth to — | Miles. |
| Mouth Washita, La. | 61 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Floyd, La. | 60 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Rayville, La. | 55 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Fort Ouster, Mon. | 50 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Clinton, Tenn. | 50 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Searcys, Ark. | 49 |
| Red River to — | |
| Jefferson, Tex. | 44 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Bovina, Miss. | 35 |
| Mouth to — | |
| Minden Landing, La. | 33 |
106
List of Authorities.
Adams, J. Q — Letters during the negotiations at Ghent in 1815, respecting the navigation of the Mississippi by the British. Washington, 1822.
Bache, F. — View of the Valley of the Mississippi. Philadelphia, 1884.
Beltrami, J. C. — Discovery of the sources of Mississippi. London, 1828.
Beltrami, J. C. — Defense of his discovery of the sources of the Mississippi. New York, 1825.
Ellet, C. — The Mississippi and Ohio Rivers, containing plans for the protection of the delta from inundation. Philadelphia, 1853.
Ellet, C. — Physical Geography of the Valley of the Mississippi. Washington, 1851.
Falconer, T. — Discovery of the Mississippi. London, 1844.
Flint, T. — History and Geology of the Mississippi Valley. Two volumes in one. Cincinnati, 1832.
Flint, T. — Recollections of the Last Ten Years Passed in the Valley of the Mississippi. Boston, 1826.
Foster, J. W. — The Mississippi Valley and its Physical Geography, including sketches of the topography, botany, climate, geology, and mineral resources, and of the progress of development in population and material wealth. Illustrated by maps and sections. Chicago, 1869.
French, B. F. — Historical Collection of Louisiana, 5 vols. New York, 1846-'53. Containing La Salle's expedition,
107
Marquette's voyage, Hennepin's narrative, Mimbre's voyage down the river, etc.Gayarre, Charles — History of Louisiana under Spanish Domination. New York, 1854: Redfield.
Gayarre, Charles. — History of Louisiana under French Domination, 2 vols. New York, 1854: Redfield.
Hart, A. M. — History of the Discovery of the Valley of the Mississippi. St. Louis, 1852.
Hennepin, L. — A New Discovery of a Vast Country in America, extending above four thousand miles, between New France and New Mexico, with a description of the Great Lakes, cataracts, rivers, plants, and animals. London, 1698.
Hutchins, Thomas. — An Historical Narrative and Topographical Description of Louisiana and West Florida, comprising the River Mississippi with its principal branches and settlements, etc. By Thomas Hutchins, geographer to the United States. Philadelphia, 1784: Robert Aitken.
James, J. A. and U. P. — James' River Guide — cities, towns, etc., on the navigable waters of the Mississippi Valley. Cincinnati, 1856.
Marbois, Barbe. — The History of Louisiana, particularly of the cession of that colony to the United States. Philadelphia, 1830: Carey & Lea.
The author was the official representative of France in the negotiations with the minister sent from the United States to purchase Louisiana.
Part II, 227-316 gives an interesting account of the cession and Bonaparte's conversations, on that subject, with his ministers.
Monette, J. W. — History of the Discovery and Settlement of the Mississippi Valley, 2 vols. New York, 1846.
Pike, Z. M. — Account of Expeditions to the Sources of Mississippi, and to those of the Arkansas, Kansas, La Platte, and Pierre Jaune Rivers, 1805-'07. Philadelphia, 1810.
108
Schoolcraft, H. R. — Journal of Travels from Detroit through the Great Chain of Lakes to the Sources of the Mississippi in 1820. Albany, 1821.
Schoolcraft, H. R. — Narrative of an Expedition through the Upper Mississippi to Itasca Lake in 1882. New York, 1834.
Schoolcraft, H. R. — Summary Narrative of an Exploratory Expedition to the Sources of the Mississippi in 1820, resumed and completed by the discovery of its origin in Itasca Lake in 1832. Philadelphia, 1853.
Shea, J. G. — Discovery and exploration of the Mississippi; narratives of Marquette, Allouez, Mimbre, Hennepin and Douay. New York, 1852.
Shea, J. G. — Early voyages on the Mississippi, by Cavelier, St. Cosme, La Sueur, Gravier, and Guignas. Albany, 1861.
Thiers, Adolphe — The Mississippi Bubble. New York, 1859: W. A. Townsend, & Co.
Brackenridge, H. M. — Voyage of the Mississippi, in 1811. Pittsburg, 1814.
Gass, P. — Journal of the Corps of Discovery, under Lewis and Clarke, from the mouth of the Missouri to the Pacific, 1804-6. Pittsburg, 1807.
Lewis (M.) & Clarke, (W.) — History of the Expedition to the Sources of the Missouri, 1804-6. Prepared for the Press, by P. Alien. Philadelphia, 1814.
The Senate and House documents relating to the Mississippi and its various tributaries such as Committee Reports, Executive Documents transmitted from the War Department, and Miscellaneous Documents are over five hundred in number. We have made a compilation of the same, but believing they will be of little service to the general public will omit them from this publication.
109
But the two following publications by the War Department, are of general interest:
Humphreys, (A. A.) & Abbott, (H. L.) — Report upon the Physics and Hydraulics of the Mississippi. Upon the protection of the alluvial region against overflow and upon the deepening of the mouths. Based upon Surveys and Investigations made under the acts of Congress directing the topographical Survey of the Delta of the Mississippi River, with such investigations as might lead to determine the most practicable plan for securing it from inundation and the best mode of deepening the channels at the mouths of the river. Submitted to the Bureau of Topographical Engineers, War Department, 1861. Washington, 1876.
Parke, John, G — Laws of the United States relating to Public Works for the Improvement of Harbors and Rivers, from August 11, 1790 to August 14, 1876. Compiled in the office of Engineers, United States Army. Washington, 1877.