The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1886-03-27
TIE LEVEE BOUNDARY LINE.


lYazoo Herald.l
In reading the proceedings of
the Levee Commissioners of the
Yazoo-Mississlppi Delta at their
January meeting we have been
struck with two things. One, an
order of the Board directing "That
no more levee work be authorized
by this Board below Hushpuekana
Bayou in addition to that now un-
der contract" and the other the
suggestion of the engineer that
the boundary line be changed so
as to leave out seventeen miles of
the extreme southern part of what
is now the Yazoo- Mississippi lie.
vee District.
AS these seventeen miles of le
wee are absolutely necessary for
the protection of the back portions
of the district and especially to
Yazoo and Sunfower counties we
cannot see what advantage will
enure to Yazoo and Sunfower
from the Levee District if they are
not kept up. Yazoo and Sunfow.
er counties will still continue to
pay their pro-rata of the taxes, but
their pro.rata of protection will be
nothing. Is this justi
Yazoo and Sunhower counties
together, paid last year. out of
about $4,000 of levee taxes, paid
by our Levee District. $4,000.
OF the liz miles of levee to be
kept up, the II miles to be cut off
protects Yazoo and Sunfower. If
justice is done, the two counties
pay about one-fourth of the taxes
for the building of about one sixth
of the levee.
The boundary ofthe lower Levee
District extends to the Bolivar
county line and in 1880 or 1882
when there was no organization in
what now constitutes our Levee
District, for self protection, the
lower Levee District obtained leg.
islative enactment permitting them
to extend the line to and including
Hushpuckana Levee joining on to
the Richardson levee. Because
of this and because the II miles
protect only part of the lower lie.
wee District, our district intends
to cut them off. Should this be
done the danger would be great
of leaving unprotected a line alb
solutely necessary to secure us
immunity from overflow.
The claim that The lower Levee
District should take this strip and
add ii to their levee is not based
on justice and cannot be enforced.
Our district can leave out the ter.
ritory mentioned, but cannot force
the lower district to levee 1t, and
we understand that the lower dis.
trict is fully determined not to do
SO. The extension of the levee
protects a portion of their terrific.
ry, but the levee now kept up by
them extending from Niblets
Landing to the Bolivar line pro.
tects us. This strip is many times
larger than the seventeen miles
aud already they are giving to O
part Of our lcvee district more
protection than the seventeen
miles would give to them. Again
too the lower district has built
and keeps up about 900 miles Of
levee, our district keeps up 112
including the seventeen miles
The arrangement suggested by the
Levee Board leaves DeSoto, Tuni
ca, the northern part of Coahoma
Tallahatcbie, North Leflore ant
Quitman protected. 1t exposes
the extreme southern portion o
Coahoma, Lower Leflore, all o
Sunflower, and all of Yazoo to tn,
mercy of inundation. Of the mon
ey obtained from the first $500, ,00'
of bonds none has been used oil
the levee south of Hushpuckana
Of that from the 100000 to be is
sued the same result would follow
! if this order were enforced.
: The Levee District was forme,
g for the benefit and protection o
oil the counties in the Levee Dis
trict. Not to benefit the northern
part or the southern part but t
s benefit all. Each part has a righ
to expect and demand equal pre-
lection. If this is refused, if the
cannot obtain this, the burden Q
taxation should be removed an
counties outside the pale of pre-
y lection be taken out of the Leve
District. Justice demands n
:. : less.