This has resulted in bad feeling and distrust, and now, whenever the
river rises, men patrol the banks, carrying loaded guns, and shoot
without mercy any persons who are suspected of having evil designs on
the levee.

In New Orleans, during the late flood, a strong demand was made that
some of the country levees might be cut, so that the town would be safe
from the fear of a flood.

You can imagine the bad feeling that this caused. The farmers did not
see why they should be ruined to save the city, and the city people did
not see why the farmers should mind having their fields under water, to
save the misery and distress of a flood in the city.

If the Government took charge of the work all this trouble would be
ended. The levees would be properly built, kept in repair, and guarded,
and no one would dare to interfere with the property of the Government.

It will be a splendid thing for the dwellers in the Mississippi Valley
if it is arranged that the Government controls the levees, but it will
cost the country a great deal of money. Twenty-five million dollars to
begin with, and more than five millions every year afterward, is the
estimated cost.

* * * * *

An experiment to make gold out of other metals has been attempted in
Washington.