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Flood Prevention Canal Would Cost' $352,000. The Independent has received the following article from W. D. Gray of Batesville, who is interested in pro tecting our town and farming lands from flood waters. It was written af ter he had read the write-up in the Independent some days ago of the De partee Creek drainage proposition in Oil Trough. La^t July Mr. Giay had an article in this paper on the same subject and quite a few land owners affected have signified their belief that the canal would be of great ben efit to them. He believes if the gov ernment would sponsor the proposi tion, it could not fail to be put over. Many believe that the opening of this canal would also be the beginning of an era of pi'osperity for Newport. The article from the pen of Mr. Gray follows: “In a recent write-up of the Depar tee Creek drainage proposition in Oil Trough published in the Independent, it is proposed to follow the Departee creek basin to a point opposite Au gusta, a distance of 29 miles. It was also proposed! to make the canal 200 feet wide, but it did not say how deep. After studying this matter over, I would suggest that entirely too much work has been proposed to get, prob ably, no better results than the orig inal route from the he^d of Oil Trough bottom to Bradford, a dis tance of approximately 18 miles. This would shorten the new proposed route eleven miles and cut the cost one-third. Another thing: the tee into the canal 3 miles from the head of Oil Trough bottom. At the same time, also all future time, it would take all the water off the hills, and thus relieve the Departee basin of all flood water from hills which is a big detriment to farmers in that' locality. Besides, Departee would become a DRY STREAM BELOW THE CANAL, and by burning out the drift piles, would within itself become an economical drain for land situated in the basin. At any rate it would reduce the problem of drainage to a minor question. This canal can be dug for 10 cents per cubic yard. (This work is being done today in South east Missouri for 10(4 cents per cu bic yard.) With the water of Depar tee creek to work with, which would be available in 15 miles of the canal, we ought to get the.work done as stated above, or even cheaper. A ca nal 50 feet wide and 20 feet deep and j 18 miles long would call for the ex-1 cavation of three million, five hun-1 dred and twenty thousand cubic yards of dirt. It will be ALL dirt—no , rocks to handle in this project. “The above number of cubic yards, | at 10 cents, would be three hundred ; and fifty-two thousand dollars ($352,- i 000)—that is w.hat the work would cost. I like to know, approximately,' what an improvement will cost, don’t you? Then one can tell whether he can afford to pay the bill. “The above canal ought to carry, when running full, one-third of the volume of water in the river. The reason is that the canal would have I quicker the water can be gotten Irom one side of the bottom to, the other, so much the better. I favor a deep rather than a wide ditch, say 20 feet •deep—this would cause the flood wa ter to begin to divert earlier in flood conditions, and continue to relieve Newport of White river water longer and would also prove to be of partic ular benefit if you were at the same time experiencing unusual flood wa ter from Black river. During the great August flood of 1915 a man was heard to exclaim, “Newport is saved, White river is ■going across and down the Departee creek channel.” His theory was cor rect, but evidently he had never seen Departee creek channel, which is as crooked as a dog’s hind legs, full of brush and drift, with no chance for the water to go in a hurry as it has to do in order to relieve flood condi tions about Newport. You will bear in mind too, please, that the water had to go over the high bank at Oil Trough before it could get into the < Departee creek channel. IN THE MEANTIME, SO GREAT A VOL UME OF WATER HAD PASSED OIL TROUGH, THAT COMBINED WITH BLACK RIVER FLOOD WA TERS, NO POWER ON EARTH COULD SAVE NEWPORT FROM A DISASTROUS OVERFLOW. Had there been a flood prevention canal at the head of the bottom at Oil Trough one-third of this water would have been diverted and Newport could have taken care of the flood from Black. Another reason I am opposed to following the meanderings of Depar three times the tall ot the river, so in ! carrying volume would have equal j capacity to a stretch of the river 150 j feet wide, and 60 feet deep—or 300 feet wide and 30 feet deep—or 600 feet wide and 15 feet deep. Rea(| this carfully. These figures are authen- j tic, and authentic figures will not lie. | You do not need to believe any one; ] figure it for yourself. The width of | the river at the ferry at an average! stage of water, I should say, is about 500 feet. The cable is 700 feet. Take j theoretically, 15 feet off your high j water there and you can see I have made no wild statement when I con- j tend that this proposed canal would j make a stage of over 26 feet at Newport unlikely. Then the benefit: Instead of the banks being fearful of backing farming operations on ac count of the menace of overflow, the credit of the farmers who own land in Oil Trough bottom would be come gilt-edged, "and their business something to be CONTINUALLY de 1 sired. The benefit to the business men of Newport would be incalcula . ble, but, undoubtedly if Oil Trough bottom was definitely relieved from flood menace, Newport would reap a full harvest of benefit. The benefits of this canal could consistently be spread over a large acreage:—in Oil Trough, Padgett Island, Big Bottom and on the Jacksonport side as well as the city of Newport. We are willing to concede that it will'benefit every acre of land we own in Oil Trough sinr) thp virinitv of Newnort. We would tee creek, besides the added length (in itself unnecessary), is that the canal would be crooked. Drift would be *. liable to lodge and you would lose ® some of the swifter fall that the shorter canal would have. If the ca nal is dug straight across to Bradford, it will relieve the Departee creek ba ‘sin anyway, as it would take Depar MAPAUNE THEATRE ♦ ify. Tonight ^ THE KNIFE. ^ Eeaturing Alice Brady in a ^ 4, 5 Reel SELECT Pro- + ^ duction. ^ ♦ ♦ ♦ -- ♦ ♦ ♦ LONESOME LUKE ^ ^ In a two reel Pathe Comedy ^ BRIDE AND GROOM ^ A ^ ♦ - ♦ ■JO <$► fa Admission 10 and 15 Cents.' + <>> •$> be glad indeed to be privileged to pay ' our full and fair part toward this improvement. Some say it would , benefit a half million acres of land. If this is true, and I believe it is, the cost will be so largely divided as to ! give no reason to try to hold the pro ject* up. Publicity, and facts will tend to keep it from being embarrass i ed by litigation. Newport ought to i pay a fair proportion of the cost, i based on its assessable property. I And I may add, I do not see any i cause for trouble as to eithei’. “Now, here is the other side of the picture: I am not questioning the ! good faith of any one here on any of i the subjects already discussed or to be discussed. You have a right to ' your opinion, also a right to express it. You have a right to fight any thing you don’t like or question any j thing you do not understand. I am a firm believer in the efficiency of publicity. No one can sit in the audi ence of a movie and hear the cheers < and jeers of , the crowd when the vil lian gets the worst of it or is thwart ed, without having full faith in the honesty and justice of his fellowman. | Now, to the other side of the pic ture: 1 * Newport has a levee project. Le-; , vee District No. 3 has just been au-| thorized on the opposite side of the RENGGVERRMERT IS II IN IIIEil I Results of Election Promises a Fairly Stable German Administration At An Early Date. Paris, Jan. 21.—Early returns from the German elections are interpreted | here to signify a promising prospect for the establishment of a fairly sta ble German administration at an ear ly date. The Majority Socialists and the German Democrats, who are the suc cessors of the old radical party, ap parently will go into the constituent assembly with a big lead over the In dependent Socialists. Freidrich von Payer, former vice chancellor and leader of the democrats, and the so cialist leaders, Ebert and Seheide mann, demonstrated their ability to work together in the old Reichtag. They also can count on Kronstantin Fehrenbach, the Centrist leader, as an ally in their efforts to institute a gov ernment with a basis of popular sup port. This consummation is regarded in all allied circles here as an indispens able preliminary to any peace nego tiations. The coming into power of these groups will mean the continua tion of the present armistice com mission and the probable appoint ment of Scheidemann, von Payer and Fehrenbach or Erzberger as the leading members of the German peace delegation. r m CHANCERY COURT Cases Carried Over from December Docket Were Disposed of At This Adjourned Term of Court. An adjourned term of Chancery court was held the latter part of last week, the new chancery judge, Lyman F. Reeder of Batesville, presiding. Several cases from the Vecember docket had been carried over and dis posed of by his honor, most of them being divorce proceedings. James Taggart by his brother and next friend, Samuel W. Taggart, dis abilities of minority removed. Grace Toddy by her husband and next friend, Walker Toddy, disabili ties removed. Arthur Lax vs. Leone Lax, divorce, decree granted. , Balma Davis vs. S. F. Dhvis, di vorce. Addie Owens vs. Sherman Owens, divorce. Dee Hogan vs. Alice Hogan, di vorce. Bertha Robinson vs. Elma Robin son, divorce. Archie Williams vs. Louella -Wil liams, divorce. J. D. Harris vs. Fannie Harris, di vorce. Ernest Babb vs. Ivy Babbs, divorce. Kate Nuckolls vs. Homer Nuckolls, divorce. Richard Tidwell vs. Alice Tid^well, _ Ollie Broadwater vs. W. J. Broad water, divorce. —JOIN THE C. OF C.— LIEUTENANT SMITH ARRIVES. Lieutenat Theodore Smith of Con way arrived from France at Newport News last Saturday *and was met there by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. S. G. Smith of Conway, who went imme diately to see their son. Lieutenant Smith is a nephew of Mrs. Bradley Graham of this city and the family are indeed rejoiced to again know he is on American shores, for he was re ported dead at one tirnd, then serious ly wounded and later blind from*gas. Lieutenant Smith was one of the first officers to go to France from Camp Pike’s training camp, and was one of Pershing’s ten thousand men, who have been there since Septem ber, 1917. He was in the battle of Cantigny, the fighting around Metz, St. Mihiel and the Argonne Forest. His organization, Battery A., Field Artillery, had the distinction of firing the first shots for America. In the fighting on the Marne, his right leg and right arm were broktn, receiving other wounds on his body also. He will be confined in a hospital for sev eral months. With the water out of the way to the extent of 8 or 10 feet, and definitely safe from a dangerous stage, a low priced bridge could be built and maintained.” river. I am appealing to your com mon sense annd your sense of justice now. It is conceded that when com pleted these two levees will hold a lot of water off of Newport, also off' the land leveed opposite Newport. Where will it go ? On someone else of course. It will render unfit alto- 1 gether land that now has some small j chance of making. These levees will j back water up to Elmo in my opinion, thus, instead of benefiting Newport as a canal would do, still further ren dering precarious farming operations in Oil Trough. Eventually, (if not now), you are going to have to en-i dorse and fight this canal through for! your own benefit and preservation. There will be the constant menace of j your levee giving way. Instead of having helped your trade territory you will have done it a business and a financial wrong, which will work^ back on you as individuals. It is , true, we have the same right as oth- 1 ers to build levees. If we do it will1 be the beginning of a levee building area that would prove inadequate in j the end to hold the water off. Why j not begin with the canal, then all j other improvements needed can be1 economically, and without waste, j added. The same argument may be j made as to bridging White river at Newport. The river could be bridged for half the money necessary j now, under pressure of such flood as are sure to come time and again. |ARKANSAS I BANK q j TRUST !COMPANY | □ NEWPORT, ARK.. ;| Approved |j ? The constant patronage and loyal- = J 8 f=§ ty of hundreds of Newport and Jack- f§ • : j|| son County people indicate the satis- if i | |l| factory nature of this bank’s service. j ] j == Strict adherence to sound and ap- \ j = proved banking practice, progressive, |§ j i =E modern methods and facilities, equal jp J I = courtesy to all patrons—these are dis ! = tinguishing features of the f|j j |I Arkansas Bank & Trust !| 4 Company j| •J51 Safety-Satisfactory Service jjfj ■ * Movement In Legislature To Make State ‘ Kiln-dry ” 1 Special to Independent. Little Rock, Jan. 22.—The unex pected of a few years ago has been realized. It is politically popular to be a prohibitionist—as well as an equal suffragist, for the two go to j gether. There is a rivalry in legislative bodies for the honor of fathering laws on both subjects, and it requires con siderable nerve to oppose either. On ly two members of the House had the! courage—to say nothing of political - judgment—to oppose the equal suf- [ frage resolution. They were Moore i [ of Newton, one of the five republi [ cans in tl?e whole assembly, and Ste vens of Columbia, who boldly voted j “no” in the midst of a flood of “ayes.” But as no opposition has developed in any quarter to anything that has for its purpose the scotching of the old Demon Rum, who has just about as many friends left as old Bill Ho henzollern. The first thing done by the House was to adopt a resolution by Judge Doyle of Lawrence county <o ratify the Fedei'al amendment for prohibi tion, and the senate adopted it Tues day, which enabled Arkansas to get in among the 32 necessary to make the amendment effective. But even that is not enough, al- I though it means that one year from today, the whole country goes dry, and all the breweries and distilleries ;; must close up or go to manufacturing dyestuffs, fertilizers, bitters, or something equally harmless. Bills are introduced to make the “bone-dry” act of 1917 even drier than it is—in fact, to make it kiln-dry. A bill by Judge Doyle prohibits the shipment of liquors into or within the state; prohibits the storage or pos sesion of liquors; the solicitation or taking of orders for liquors, the stor age of liquors in lockers or other places in any social club or fraternal organization for use therein, declar ing a nuisance all places where li quors or intoxicants are maintained for use or sale, and providing for the forfeiture of the charter of any incor poration, club 4r association violating the law. The penalty provided for violation of any section of the act, which in cludes having in possession, is a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1,000, and, at the discretion of the court, imprisonment in the county jail for not less than thirty nor more than ninety days. A bill by Mr. Talkington of White prohibits the bringing into the state of any liquors for any purpose what !GLASS TOWNSHIP CITIZEN DISAPPEARS FROM HOME. Mrs. Oscar Saffel of Swifton was here a few days ago looking for hei husband, who left home -me week agi to come to Newport, and from that day to this has not been seen oi heard from. Mr. Saffel was for a number of years, a farmer living a few miles out from Swifton, but foi some time has been in the automobile business at Swifton, where he has a garage. He handles the Overland car and had a shipment of two cars sent through a local automobile com pany here, and it was to get these two cars that he came to Newport leaving Swifton on the evening train saying he would, drive them througl" next day. The cars are still here anc the required amount paid on them foi their release. Mrs. Saffel said hei husband bought a ticket for this place but it is not known whether he got ofi here or not. He had an engagemem ! to meet the state agent for the Over land car here the next day. Th< agent came, but Mr. Saffel failed t( keep his engagement. The family are very much worried over his dis appearance and are unable to accoun for his seemingly uncalled for act, a: his wife and neighbors say he had n< .domestic or financial troubles tha would cause him to disappear in this manner. He is known to have con siderable money in the Swifton bank Mrs. Saffel, who is almost crazed witl grief, came to Newport to make ai investigation of her husband’s disap pearance, and has appealed to thi Chamber of Commerce to aid her it locating her husband. MRS. SPITZER CALLED ’ TO CALICO ROCK. Dr. C. W. Garrison, state health of ficer of Little Rock, telephoned Mrs. Spitzer ye-sterday to know if she • would go to Calico Rock and assist in 4 caring for the victims of influenza in that town. Mrs. Spitzer was given a V ; leave of absence by the local board andl has gone to the relief of the i stricken ones of Calico Rock. A maim from that town yesterday, stated that business houses were closed, schools 1 suspended and whole families down. Newport and Jackson county feel honored that her nurse should be called to help in such times, for we well remember that we had to ask Little Rock for help to go to Swifton several weeks ago, when- the scourge ! struck this county so terribly. I —JOIN THE C. OF C.— MISSIONARY CIRCLE CHANGES NAME. Members of Missionary Circle No. 2 of the Methodist church met in bus 1: iness session with their chairman, |Mrs. O. E. Jones, Tuesday afternoon. : Plans were made by which the socie | ty will greatly strengthen it’s finan i cial condition. Much enthusiasm is ' being demonstrated by all the mem ; bers and it is expected that the new 1 year will prove most successful. • f The most important business of . the meeting was the changing of the name of the society from Circle No. 1 2 to “The Lelia Head Johnston Socie ty.” This was done in honor of the ■ raimiui wotk. renuuiuu tuc cucit; uy a i Mrs. Johnston. She was an untiring 1 ; worker and never failed to devote her 9 best efforts to the cause of the circle, 9 S her efforts being crowned with much I success, as the solid footing on which I ' the society now stands, will show. 9 ■ Mrs. Johnson’s untimely death is 9 i greatly mourned by all who knew her, 9 for to know her was to love her. Her a good and noble work will never cease I to be remembered and will be a beau- ■ tiful example for those who follow fl her in the fields of service. Her life . ■ must have received God’s most m blessed benediction, “She has done ; what she could.” fl —JOIN THE C. OF C.— U FUNERAL OF MACK FOUSHEE. H j The funeral ef Mack Foushee, aged ■ .39 was held at the home of his cousin, fl Mrs. Frank Rankin, this afternoon at S 2:30, the service being conducted by 1 Rev. J. F. E. Bates of the Methodist church, burial following at Walnut Grove. The body was shipped from 19 Little Rock this morning up on No. H 30 and was accompanied by the wife, |S Mrs. Rankin of this city, George H Foushee, Mr. Carpenter and Mr. |m Woodall of Little Rock, also Mrs. G. H B. Shoemaker and Mrs. S. G. Smith of that city. The pallbearers were John Purdy, fl|| Sprigg Foushee. Jeff Avera, Joe Arm- Hi strong, Mr. Carpenter $nd Mr. • Woodall of Little Rock. H —JOIN THE C. Or C.— MRS. S. A. DRIVER. Mrs. S. A. Driver was born neai Elgin, Jackson county, Arkansas, ir 1861, and died at her home in Swifton January 19, 1919. In 1878 she was married to S. A. Driver. She livec near Swifton from the time of hei marriage up to the time of her death In 1887 she joined the Methodist Epis copal church, South, and remained a faithful, conscientious member. Few women in the community were bet ter and more favorably known thar Mrs. Driver. A husband, and one daughter, Mrs. Nora Henson, survive her. Funeral services were helc Monday afternoon at the Swiftor Methodist church by Rev. M. A. Fry with interment at the Arnold ceme tery. —JOIN THE C. OF C.— The remains of Mrs. E. J. Meade who died at Moulton, Alabama, Mon day reached this city this morning or No 17 and were carried to Batesville where the funeral was held this after noon. Accompanying the remains were the husband, Dr. J. W. Case Miss Maggie Case, Mrs. A. C. Wil kerson, Miss Fannie Huddleston, Mrs Jean Diaz and Mr. and Mrs. Nathar Adler. —Join the Chamber of Commerce.—