The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1913-08-12
Government Engineer From Mississ-
ippi States Quality Good For
Such Purpose.
REPORT FOLLOWS TOUR OF
INSPECTION IN DISTRICT.
Bases Opinion on Experience With
Extensive Levee Building
Projects in the South.
August il. 1913.

Hon. George Parsons, Chairman of
Cairo Drainage District.
Dear Sir:
/ was called TO Cairo by you for
the specific purpose of pronouncing
upon the fitness or unGtness of the
earth that is being used TO enlarge
| the section and raise the grade of
the levee which now environs your
Drainage District and to decide
whether this material can be re-
lied upon to form stable and se-
cure leyee, or whether it should be
pronounced to be unreliable for
such purposes. have the honor TO
report that in company with your
self, your engineer. Mr.. G. III. Miller
and other gentlemen who are inter-
ested in the matter, ! have made a
thorough examination OF the ma
terial in question, and | am now
ready to present my decision upon
The question at issue.
must premise by saying that
am without experience in dealing
with levees that combine the func-
ton of railroad road beds with the
wholly different function Of re-
straining food water, and must
treat the subject primarily from
the standpoint OF levee engineer
per SO.
shall also state that have had
no experience in testing the ntness
of earth for use in levee eonstruc-
tion by any process Of analysis,
either mechanical or chemical and
my competency for the test must
rest upon experimental knowledge
derived from many years OF
practice in building levees of many
varieties OF earth material
In the light of such experience |
do not hesitate to say that | should
myself use without any misgivings,
the class OF material that is under
consideration, upon any portion OF
the leyee in my own levee district,
which is indeed better material
than some have compelled to use,
which has caused no trouble vitiat-
ing the soundness OF the levee.
may present a concrete example in
my recent experience, OF a case pre-
senting marked similarity to your
own.
In 1904 | began the construction
of levee across a depression $500
feet wide, which was the bed OF an
old lake formerly a bend OF the
Mississippi river partly filled by
many years of accumulation. The
height OF this piece of levee is "a to
3S feet, above the former surface of
the lake beed. The completed leyee
contains something over 100000
cubic yards above its original base
plan But the foundation proved
50 unstable that more than 700,0
cubic yards of earth sank down be-
low the base plan and now eonstitu-
tes the foundation upon which the
levee proper rests. But the analogy
lies in the mode of construction and
of the barrow pits.
The work was done by steam
shovel aud dump cars on narrow
gauge tracks, But the material III
the pits was to all appearances
identical with that In your pits. ex-
eept that a larger proportion show
ed marked Instability while in the
pit. and when in the levee 1t was
found difficult sometimes to main
tain the dump which supported the
trac Six years time was required to
Six years time was required to
this levee. and three and
one half years have elapsed sin ~
its completion.
This levee was subjected to
pressure Of 80 feet depth of water
last spring, and shows nc sign oil
weakness nor instability. 1t should
be borne in mind, however, that my
leyee section has slope OF to l
on the river side, and to on the
land side, with a hanquette also OF
the land side; and the quantity os
has everything to do with
its power to resist the pressure Of
floods I conclude by saying that
the material being used is in my
opinion suitable for building levees
Of normal section. must offer an
apology for any condition that may
appear in the formulation of this
report. on the grouad of the haste
IN winch il was written to comply
with Your request for it's pFeSen-