The Cairo bulletin. [volume] (Cairo, Ill.) 1872-1878, 1876-01-07
THE LEvEE TROUBLE.

Mayor eilsked ana the Ievec Com.
mittcc S,&tatncd-M Meeting Of the
COMMITTED and the ContractOr-No
Definite Understanding Arrived nj
the Ia,Arcrs Demanding ti,eir
ray nud tntuse 90 Resume work.
yntlI sct&.d win city vii.
ling 10 Cts,pIy with the Terms oi
che ContrSrt--Tnc Mayors Action
severely disicised-I1is Honor mid
Not Na,crS,iizc Yesterday.
For years td years the action OF the
waters of It'd Mississippi river on the
banks aboveLh his city has been matter
of soicitude I'D frequent discussion with
the citizens A Cairo. 4 year or 80 ago
the cutting byay OF the banks became
more serious han ever. and almost daily
large quantlts of earth went into the
river. and IL lScame evident that sooner
or ater at lctt portion of the levee-
which by com ttent authority has been
pronounced thk best in the United States
must also goInto the river. They were
doomed, and Dc time for them to fall
came even soouefuian was expected, for
with the dcciic a, last Falls rise in the
Mississippi at leasAtwo hundred feet in
one place, ana oncNiundrcd in another
place was undermiIti and fell into the
river, aud the city rs exposed to the
freaks of that most \reacherous Of all
great streams, the Mississippi.
SOMETHING HAD b Bg:DoNE.
The citizens we're thrown into a pariox-
ism of excitement, and the 'levse ques-
ton was sal the talk. Somethin.
had to be done, and that TOO, at once.
There was no line to loose. 10 attempt
to repair the break in the OIL lcycc was
considered foll', for all tn work that
might be put Oh It one day, would be in
the river before the next. In this condi-
ton Of affairs twas determined to.
BULB a NEwLEvEr.
But here a question. and a very impor-
tant one, presntel ITSELF The city
treasury was empty, and where was the
money to pay Tor the construction of a
new levee to cjme from: Where could
it be borrowed: or could 1t lie bor-
rowed at all were questions that
pcrplexed and puzzled those in authority.
But our citizen saw the necessity for i'm
mediate action and number of the
most enterprisng and public spirited
came forward AID advanced the means 10
pay tor the contraction OF the new lcvcc
ale ROUTE.
Mr.. John +. lIely was appointed en-
gineer. and selected and laid out the route
on which the lew leyce should be built
and Col. Taybr on behalf OF the City
Property Company, freely dedicated the
line selected for levee purposes, ant
executed to tie city deed for the same
The line of he new lcvce il 80 wei
known that i is unnecessary TO say any
thing about i here.
THE CONTRACT
for constituting the levec was awarded
to Mr.. RobL Bagnell, of Cape Girardeau
Missouri.
THE WORK WAS COMMENCED.
and though, in consequence OF we
weather an1 scarcity Of teams and la
borers, IT moved along very slowly Il
first, the committee of the city council
Mr. IIcly, engineer in charge OF tn,
work, aud the public generally were sat
islied, aud believed Mr.. Bagnel wa.
doing all he could TO push the work to
completion The work was being done
faithfully ald well, aud everything wa.
lovely.
That portion of the new embankment
from the C'oss levee to the graveyard
ridge was completed according to con.
tract: and that portion OF it from the
graveyard fidge to what is known rs
ITwDER HOUSE RIDGE
almost con pletcd according 10 the terms
of the contract. But here
THE WORK STOPPED.
And why: Because his honor. the mayor,
who Ol9it TO have the interest Of the city
at heart, stopped it. Since the first sur
yey was made, new brcake has occur
red In the old levee at the foot of Thirty
fourth street, and the lcvee committee
and Engineer IIely, for the purpose OF
keeping the new levce at n greater dis.
lance from this new and dangerous cut in
hn al Il \ Ix.io oh Ia m
change the lnie of the new lcvec, and
move it straight to Powder House
ridge" and thence along the top Of the
ridge to the first survey, and thence ON q
straight line to the Mississippi levee.
Another reason, and n good one, fol
changing the route was because between
five and six hundred feet more OF lcvec
on direct line to the old Mississippi
levce would be built in the event the city
should desire to extend it, than on the
first line. The mayor objected to thu
change in the levee, because the new lin,
Of leyee would be over ''priyate prop
crty.' when, in fact, built on either line
the property over which it runs belong
to the Property Company, aud Colone
Taylor has given hi consent to III
change.
THE NEWS
of the mayors action was made known
to the people of the city through his lctte
published yesterday morning, and wa
not only a matter ofsurprisc and astonish