The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1876-03-18

The following extract of u letter
from S. w. Ferguson, President
Board Lcvee Commissioners, to
the vicksburg Herald, not only
''settles" the Utopia Levce contro-
versy, but the ex- Engineer. Whose
fair proportions will under this
communication, suffer the sun
usual shrinkage," claimed for
Utopia Levee.
"Thc Utopia levee, Of which he
makes mention, was built, (at 81
cents per cubit yard, and not at Is
or 16 cents, as he would imply u
part Of it in May and June ut
which time the work was stopped
and completed in December, 1878.
The crown Of this levec isin many
places several inches lower than
the height the water reached in
this present rise, and much more
of it, but few inches above that
water level. A flood as high as
that Of 1874, wonldhave passed over
almost all of it. The present wa
ter was prevented from flowing
over only by extraordinary efforts
and lavish expenditure ofmoney;
and most serious and imminent
break was prevented, where It
gave way for want of sufficient
bfsc, by the same means. That
some one is responsible for this
condition Of affairs, cannot be
doubted; that the chief engineer
who planned and received oil that
work is the party responsible, is
equally clear. Major Vernon seeks
to dodge that responsibility by
inducing the belief that some tre-
mendous aud unhcard Of "shrink-
age" has occurred, due to work
being new, having water on both
sides, and Of some "peculiar buck
shot belonging to cypress sloughs.'
All Of which is very Ingenious,
but unhappiIy not applicable. 1t
unfortunately for him is fact,
that those portions of the levce
which are so low, were all built IN
May or June and he ran his level
over the levec and took II up on
the 9th of December. Docs he
hope or expect to make any sane
man believe that all this /" shrink
age" has taken place since Dccem.
bcr 9th nit. in earth that has been
settling since June? The grade
stakes still visible, show that the
earth has settled about seven or
seven aud a half inches from the
top Of each, just about the ordina-
ry shrinkage in lcvec of that
height, and If those grade stakes
had been tan,pcrcd with, Major
Vernon was bound to discover The
fact when he ran his level over the
levcc, on The 9th Of December, nlt,
and referred TO his bench mark. ]
make the statement that the low
portions of the levec are in that
part Of the work completed in the
early part of the Summer after a
most careful examination: and the
dead grass aud weeds which grow
on the levcc, and are still there,
and which assuredly Eave not
grown there since December, speak
for themselves and prove this fact
to the most casual observer. The
levcc moreover docs not cross any
slough, but is built over an old
/ field, and does not show the slight
est sign Of having sunk or given
awayat the base, except in some of
the newest part, and the very last
completed, and which is at least
two feet higher than those portions
before referred to, where it spread
out from not having sufficient base,
and where u most destructive
break has with difficulty bceH-prc-
vented. l can imagine no excuse
for Major Vernon's havingreccivcd
this levec rs he did. After It's
condition had been represented to
the Board, it would have been
criminal folly in that body to have
longer entrusted the safety Of the
country to his engineering skill
The levec at Mlller's bend, two
miles below Utopia, completed IL
January, 1875, under Major Yer
non, Is almost as much below