Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Winter 2007 - (Page 74)

Suburban housing developments and industrial maritime facilities emerged along the northern banks of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet. All of these areas flooded during Hurricane Katrina. Orleans’s position and prestige as a world trade center. The city undeniably possessed one of the world’s greatest and most strategic ports in the mid-20th century, but the port’s position was slowly being whittled away. In 1803, American control of the port of New Orleans was of paramount importance and led up to the Louisiana Purchase. This allure diminished over time especially as competition grew stiffer among Gulf ports. This was most evident of Houston which did not even have a port until the 50-mile long Houston Ship Channel opened in 1914. The booming city not only had access to Galveston Bay and the Gulf, but became New Orleans’ chief rival as the nation’s second biggest port in tonnage. If Houston could have a canal — why not New Orleans? The port of New Orleans was regarded as a laggard partly because of its hazardous water route. Louisiana Senator Allen J. Ellender expressed fears that its port facilities were not only antiquated, but that the cost of shipping cargo up the river would end up being greater than if a canal were used. If an adequate canal was built, Louisiana Senator F. Edward Hebert felt confident that, “New Orleans would enjoy unprecedented growth.” The Corps of Engineers was responsible for designing and building the project, but would not recommend it unless local support existed, which was not difficult to muster. The city’s top business and civic leaders were virtually unanimous in their praise for the project. Not only was it shorter than the traditional river route, but its maintenance was expected be of little concern, since it was supposed to be free of shoaling, currents or difficult turns. There were also starry promises of large parcels of land becoming available along its route. These would be ripe for M.A. Mathieson, vice-president of the Standard Oil Company urged that the canal be built, since, “the Mississippi River is a nightmare to all of us.” 74 LOUISIANA ENDOWMENT FOR THE HUMANITIES\Winter 2007-08 VITAL TO NATIONAL DEFENSE After having been shelved for the duration of World War II, MR-GO gained momentum in 1948 when President Harry S. Truman gave it his full support. Congress, however, did not approve it then, since there were other national factors at play — most importantly Congressional debate over the St. Lawrence Seaway. Upper Mississippi business leaders were more concerned about the potential benefits of this huge project, and for the time being ignored MR-GO. When the St. Lawrence project was approved in 1954, attention then shifted southward to MRGO amid vigorous lobbying. In 1955, Walter C. Pioser of St. Louis and head of the Mississippi Valley Association called the New Orleans canal project, “Vital to All Valley,” because of its economic value. He confirmed that it was the association’s “number one recommendation.” As to its $70 million estimated cost, Everett T. Winter, vice-president of the association, said, “The project has a favorable benefit ration to cost,” and that it would be a, “benefit [to] all water transportation using New Orleans.” He also believed in MRGO’s, “importance to national defense.” MR-GO’s professed importance to national security became a major selling point. In 1943 it was called as an essential component of the United States’ new position as a world naval leader — that would be further enhanced after the end of the war. Louisiana Senator John H. Overton was quoted in the Times-Picayune as saying, “What are fighting ships without port facilities? This great city should have her navigation keep pace with the expansion of a new area ” In 1955 Tennessee Senator Albert Gore reiterated this when he supported the canal as, “important to national defense,” adding that, “within my lifetime [it will] make New Orleans the first port of the United States.” A year later, when MR-GO was up for Congressional debate — and the Cold War with the Soviet Union was the land’s greatest fear THE HISTORIC NEW ORLEANS COLLECTION industrial and port development away from the congested riverfront, which could be redeveloped for nonindustrial uses. This was enough for the Corps of Engineers who decided that the St. Bernard Parish site would be the ideal one for the seaway — although in 1943 Jefferson Parish officials had unsuccessfully pushed for it to be put through their parish.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Winter 2007

Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Winter 2007 Contents Friends Editor’s Column Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities Katrina: Days of Terror, Months of Anguish Paintings by Rolland Golden The Historic New Orleans Collection The Great Ouachita River Flood of 1932 Jazz Notes Louisiana Architecture Louisiana: Where Land Meets Water Louisiana State Museum Through A Lens Sharply: An Interview with Michael Lewis MR-GO: A “miracle” mired in controversy Louisiana Foodways Louisiana Association of Museums New Orleans: An Autopsy Bookstand Sound Advice Forum

Louisiana Cultural Vistas - Winter 2007

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