196 



HESS. (PASS A IXHTRK CREVASSE THE Mit n via 1 



followed the flag of their country even to the halls 

 of tli.- Montexumas, braving death ami di*-a>c. l.ut 

 ho have been unable to gel in under the Mexican 

 War pension act." 



The claim to pensions for the* men was the 

 a* that ofPowrl f Missouri 



Ulteers. whose sunning members 

 ID 1*91. though they never went to 

 The President allows! the measure to be- 

 a law without hi* sugnat 

 Paiw a Unt r* Crtfaaae. The ( 

 and the President approval. FVb. 26. 1N97. an act 

 to provide for closing the crevasse in Pass a Loutre, 

 one of the outlets of the Mississippi. It is as 



hat I he sum of $850.000, or so much thereof as 

 may b nee**** Breby, appropr 



f any money in the Treasury n->t otherwise 



appropriated, to clow the crevasse in Pass a Lout re 



e Mississippi river, to Unexpended under th.- 



ion and acronlinj t.. the plans and specifica- 



tkms of the Secretary , .f War. 



. '2. That nothing herein contained .shall be 

 hrld or construed to destroy or impair any right or 

 rights of the United States arising under the acts 

 e i 1 .'. I*> h:t. ls7'., 



lining the contract or contracts betw 

 .Is and such persons as might become associut . . 1 

 with him and the I'nited St.v ; l.a-ethc 



legal representatives of said .1^ .-m- other 



persons associated with him, jointly or severally, 

 from any obligation, expressed or implied, arising 

 under and from said acts or other acts pertaining 

 thereto: Ptorided. That nothing herein contained 

 shall be held or construed to release in any wise the 

 executors of the estate of James B. Eads as su< -h 

 executors, or the associates of said .lam.- I'.. Kad-. 

 jointly or severally, in whole or in part, from any 

 liabili'ty which now exists, if any such liability 

 exist, for a failure to close said Pass a Lout re cre- 

 vasse, and the <|iiestion of such liability shall l>e re- 

 ferred to the Attorney-General, after a full hearing 

 to both parties, for his decision; and should the 

 decision of the An. , ral be to the effect 



that the responsibility for the closing of the said 

 Pass a I/outre crevasse rests upon the executors of 

 the estate of James B. Eads as such executors, and 

 the associates of the said James B. Eads, jointly or 

 severally, under existing laws, then upon the com- 

 pletion of the twenty years' contract for the main- 

 tenance of the channel in South Pass outlet of the 

 Mississippi river, as the same now exists, the Secre- 

 tary of War shall withhold so much of the IIK-IK y 

 tli. M to be paid to the executors of the estn 

 James B. Eads as such executors, or to the associates 

 of the said James B. Had-, jointly or severally, as 

 hall have been expended under" the author 

 this art. until the same shall be judicially or other- 

 wise legally determined in favor of such executors 

 as such executors, or said associates of .lames B. 

 Kails, jointly or severally." 



The reanon for the measure was thus set forth by 

 Mr. Reeves, of Illinois: 



"Mr. Speaker. I do not know that the House 

 needs any special information on this bill, n 

 shall only offer a word in explanation. < if t he t hroe 

 outlets of the Mississippi river, only one of i 

 known a South Pass, is navigable 'at the present 

 time. A crevasse has occurred within the last few 

 years in one of these passes, and has been const ant ly 

 enlarging, at a distance of about a mile and a quar- 

 ter below the head of the pam. The , ftV< -t of this 

 crevasse has been to draw away from the other two 

 passes of the river a jortion of the water that should 

 g through the navigable outlet of the river. The 

 engineers of the (iovernment in char-, at thi part 

 of the river inform us, and we are also informed by 



men engage.! in business on the river, that if this 



IBM is not >top|ed the entire commerce of the 



Mississippi mer be. ! is threatened. 



The Committee on liners and Harbors, after 



i.g from 1! Q . Miment and 



ot hers, among t hem busines- men from NY\\ ( irleans. 



..--I to m-pi et the condition of alTairs down 



there, and TJ of u- went to this place and closely 



examined it. The committee are unanimou-l\ of 



the opinion that unle tin- civ \a-se is stopped the 



commerce of tin- river, which is more than 



5.000.000 tons annually, i* threatened. 1 take it 



that the necessity of keeping i i-cii is not 



a question before this abtueofthe country. The 



only question is as to the necessity for doing tlii- at 



this time. The IM-M judgment we have been able 



am is that this crevasse can now be stopped 



for $250,000, wli ! until the 



high Hoods con it \\ill cost the 



'Ilincllt X; 11. The committee 



are unanimously of tin- opinion that an emergency 

 . that U is outside of and away from the 

 functions or duty of the executors of the Ka 



and that there is nothing left for us to do but 



to take this course, or jeopardise the commerce of 



the I'i 



The >lilit;ir\ Parks. The Congress passed and. 

 on March :'. 1807, the l'iv-iden! approved the fol- 

 lowing measure to prevent i> upon and 

 providing for the protection of the national mili- 

 tary parks : 



"A it rnartul. i-fr.. Thai v, TV j.erson who will- 

 fully destroys, mutilate^, defaces, injn: 



Mument. statue, marker, guidepost, 

 her structure, or who willfully destroys, cuts, 

 break-, in; HMWM any tree, vhrub. or plant 



within tin- limits of any national park shall bo 

 deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by a 

 fine of not le-s than $10 nor more than $1,000 for 

 caeh monument, statue, marker, guidepost . or other 

 struct ure. tree, shrub, or plant destroyeil.de: 

 injured, cut, or removed, or by imprisonment for 

 not less than fifteen davs and not more than one 

 or by both fine and imprisonment. 



"Sac, '2. That every person who shall trespass 

 upon any national park for the purpose of hunting 

 or shooting, or who shall hunt any kind of game 

 thereon with gun or dog, or shall set trap or r 

 other device whatsoever thereon for, the DOnon of 

 hunting or catching game of any kind, shall be 

 guilty of a mi- . punMmble by a fine of 



not more than $1,000, or by imprisonment for not 

 less than five days or more than thirty days, or by 

 both fine and Imprisonment 



"M:< . :i. That the superintendent or any guardian 

 of such park is authori/ed to arre-t forthwith any 

 person engaged or who may have I < d in 



committing any misdemeanor named in th: 

 and shall bring such person before any I'nited 

 comrni-Honei or judire of any di-trid or cir- 

 cuit court of the Tinted States within either of the 

 districts within which the park is situated, and in 

 the district within which the misdemeanor has been 

 committed, for the purfosp of holding him to 

 answer for such misdemeanor, and then and there 

 shall make complaint in due form. 



That anv person to whom land lying 

 within any national parks may have been leased, 

 who refuses to give up posses-ion of the same to 

 the ("nited Mate- after the termination of said lease, 

 and after possession has been demanded for the 

 I'nited Sr .ny park eommi ioner or the 



park superintendent, or any person retaining 

 session of land lying within the boundary nf said 

 park which he or she may have sold to the United 

 States for park purjKises and have received pay- 

 ment therefor, after possession of the same has been 



