cy of the important work on the South
Pass of the Mississippi River seems now to be assured. There has been
no failure whatever in the maintenance of the maximum channel during
the six months ended August 9 last. This experiment has opened a
broad, deep highway to the ocean, and is an improvement upon the
permanent success of which congratulations may be exchanged among
people abroad and at home, and especially among the communities of
the Mississippi Valley, whose commercial exchanges float in an
unobstructed channel safely to and from the sea.

A comprehensive improvement of the Mississippi and its tributaries is
a matter of transcendent importance. These great waterways comprise
a system of inland transportation spread like network 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 unequaled facilities for cheap transportation.
Geographically, commercially, and politically, 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.

The channel of the Columbia River for a distance of about 100 miles
from its mouth is obstructed by a succession of bars, which occasion
serious delays in navigation and heavy expense for lighterage and
towage. A depth of at least 20 feet at low tide should be secured
and maintained to meet the requirements of the extensive and growing
inland and ocean commerce it subserves. The most urgent need, however,
for this great waterway is a permanent improvement of the channel at
the mouth of the river.

From Columbia River to San Francisco, a distance of over 600 miles,
there is no harbor on our Pacific coast which can be approached
during stormy weather. An appropriation of $150,000 was made by the
Forty-fifth Congress for the commencement of a breakwater and harbor
of refuge, to be located at some point between the Straits of Fuca and
San Francisco at which the necessities of commerce, local and general,
will be best accommodated. The amount appropriated is thought to be
quite inadequate for the purpose intended. The cost of the work, when
finished, will be ver