The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1897-05-29
THE REVETMENT.

oince lue water has reCeded within
the banks much anxiety has been
caused by tho discovery Of small
oreak ln the revetment work near tho
loot OF Davis street, and consequently
caVing' Apparently tho mattress at
lnat point has slipped, and probably
Oeen carried away. The water. wash.
ing against the foot or two of hank
leit at the top of the rock work bo,
gradually cut ou! a deep hole in
which a dangerous eddy has formed
snd the caVing, in this bitten ont
place IN the revetment, has extended
10 Within few feet of the base OF the
lSVee. With the experience of The
past fresh in their minds, the people
Oh UreenVllle have freely expressed
'neir apprehensions, forgetting that
While we were formerly entirely al
the mercy of the river, we arc now
protected by costly system of eugi,
ncerlng work which has proved to be
reliable safeguard against the in.
roads of the river, except that in times
OF very high water an accident like
the present one is liable to occur. Ii
VIII De remembered that an almost
exactly similar condition existed at
almost the samo point few years
ago, and was repaired by the govern.
ment force. That state Of affairs
was far worse than the present one,
which, ii is claimed by professional
authority, can be readily remedied
by the sinking of a new mattress at
the point affected. The TINES is
we'll advised that the government will
not permit the damage to its work TO
go unrepaired. The engineering work
in the Greenvile harbor is too ella.
borate aud costly TO be permitted to
suffer, when The expenditure of o
comparative tride will suffice to put
1t in the same shape iu which j,
stood before the overflow. There is
no necessity for alarm or discourage
ment because of the small Injury 10
the revetment As soon as the stage
of wafer will admit Of it the necessa-
ry repairs will doubtless be com
menced, and this particular point he
so far streng theued aud renewed th8t |
no further uneasiness need be feared. |
1t is true that the caving will neces- |
ccssitate the relocation of the line Of
levee directly IN front of the caving
point, and the probable erection of q
new levee TO run almost In straight
line along tho west side of Walnut
street. This llnc Of leyee must de-
.,roy considerable residence proper
ty, and the necessity for i is Of course
most regrettaOle. Under present
conditions, however, this property is
uusaloablo except for fraction of
its original value, and, indeed, no
course is left except the one suggest
ed. With tho revetment work again
put IN secure shape ii woHld be posi-
to raise the surface of Walnut street,
making Of 1t a very handsome boulc-
ward at tue base of the Ievee and
making The property on TIE Cast side
more valuable aud desirable than II
now is. Gazing exists near the Blan
ton residence, st the head of the re-
vetment work, ana it may be found
necessary to replace the line of leVee
along the north front by new one
further to the east .The' sacrifice OF
property Is very unfof'h3atc, of
course ; but 1t Ia merely one of the
many vlcissitudcs to which oil are
,nbject whose lots are cast beside the
Ihe Mississippi river. However TINS
may be, there exists 10 sound reason
for croaking or dismal prophecies OF
the future. CiizoDs who are incliued
to take a gloomy view, to make a
mighty matter of the caving OF the
bank. and TO utter at home and send
abroad sentimcuts damaging to tue
citv's welfare, must remember that an
infinitely worse condition has been
moi and overcome in the past Ihat
# is absurd 10 thiuk that q maghlh'
,ent and successful work two miles
IN length viii be abandoned because
,,e mattress has slipped out Of place
and the bank Is caving IN one small
,ocket a few wards wide. Lst the
orophets of evil cheer up. The river
viil soon be low enough 10 allow the
damage to be repaired and the break
IN ,be rsyetment will be forgotten as
If # had never been. AS for tho
Ihrowiug out of Groenvile aud ieaV-
no tho conslructiou of its front pro. {
,ec,ion leyoe to the city, CreenVllIe
,,,o ,be treasury of the Levee J
Bosrd $s7O7 moro than I'saquena
,,unty $9671 more than SharRey |
county, and $2OS2 moro than Bolivar i
county. or 29 per cent of the whole
ovoo lax of five mills paid by tae
avo COMMITTEES of the district. 1t is far