or Ransdell of Louisiana in a telegram of
congratulation, "and earnestly hope our people will continue to work
together with energy and hearty accord until we have gone way over the
top in shipbuilding and many other lines."

The expression "over the top" had not become the pest that it and other
war-time weeds of rhetoric have subsequently proven. That was a time
when one could still refer to a "drive" without causing a gnashing of
teeth.

Picking the site at the Lake Pontchartrain end of the canal, Doullut &
Williams Shipbuilding Company began to erect its shipyard. The plant
buildings were erected upon tall piling. As the dredges excavated the
material from the cut, they deposited it on the site of the shipyard
and raised the elevation several feet, so the buildings were only the
usual height above the ground. Both sides of the Canal, it should be
added, have been similarly raised by excavation material.

It was planned that the ships from the Doullut & Williams yard should
be sent out into the world through Lake Pontchartrain, which empties
into the Gulf of Mexico. There was ample water in the lake, without
dredging, to accommodate unloaded ships of this size.

But the fact that ships 400 or so feet long and drawing, when loaded to
capacity, 27 feet, were to be built at New Orleans, emphasized the
belief of those directing the work of the Industrial Canal that the
plan on which they were working was too small. An 18-foot canal would
not meet the growing needs of New Orleans. Accordingly the Dock Board
instructed the engineering department to expand the plans.

By June 11, 1918, the plans had been revised to give a 25-foot channel.
This would accommodate all but the largest ships that come to New
Orleans. The cost of such a lock and canal, George M. Wells estimated,
would be $6,000,000, or $2,500,000 more than the estimate for the
original canal. The Levee Board promptly raised its ante to $250,000 to
guarantee the interest.

When the Dock Board floated the first bond issue of $3,500,000 in
February, at 95, it reserved the option to issue another $1,000,000 of
bonds within thirty days, at the same rate.

For $1,500,000 of the new issue, the same syndicate of banks offered
97-1/2, or two and a half points higher than for the first; but for the
other million, they held the board to the original rate of 95.
President Thompson reported to the Dock Board June 11 that he
considered these "very satisfactory terms."