The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1879-10-29
A LITTLE ROAD TALK.

LITTLE hUAD IALh.
AS tits now too late to urge upon our
country readers the importance of an az
frmatlve vote upon the road tax PROPOSE
ton to be voted upon next Tuesday, we
must address ourselves directly to the
voters of Cairo. 1t is with them to say
whether the new road shall be built, or
whether our city shall remain as now,
without single wagon road passable at
all seasons, connecting it with the surround
ing country. 1t is with them to say whether
the procession of country wagons that come
in during favorable weather, shall have the
means for reaching our market at all sea-
sons, or whether, for weeks or even months
at a time they shall be fenced out
by impossible floods. 1t remains
for them to say whether we
shall have handsome turnpike, leading to
the highlands, free for the use Of every
body, as well during food time as during
seasons Of low water, or whethev we shall
remain, las now, with mud roads that stand
as damaging advertisement Of our lack of
public spirit, enterprise and liberality. 1t
remains for the voters of Cairo to say
whether our city, now ten thousand strong,
shall remain subject to periodical isolation
from those who would reach it on foot, on
/ horse back or in wagons and carriages, or
whether we shall have fine turnpike that
will invite such communication with US, at
all times and seasons of the year.
To build the proposed road-to give
Alexander county good system of wagon
roads and bridges will cost-whatl The
well-to-do mechanic or laboring man who
owns home valued at $500, would be
called upon to pay two dollars and half a
year, for three years-a total sum Of seven
dollars and fifty cents. The family grocer,
who has a thousand dollar stock, (and few
grocers pay on more than that would pay
five dollars year. The merchant, with
his $4,000 stock, would pay $40 year
every taxpayer paying fifty cents for every
hundred dollars of the assessed valuation
of his taxable property.
With our State tax reduced six cents on
the 500, as it has been, and the railroad
interest tax wiped from the tax books, as IT
has been, the total of our taxes next year,
with the road tax added, will be less than
it has been for number of years. But
admitting all that the most unreasonable
opponent Of the road can claim, that our
taxes, with the road tax added,
will remain the same, or as heavy as during
the past year and the year before, where is
the man who has the true interests of the
city and county at heart, who is unwilling
to carry that burden yet three years longer,
to secure the impetus to our prosperity that
the proposed system Of wagon roads will
give us?
We have heretofore shown that the route
selected for the road across Cache bottoms,
is the only sensible and feasible rute that
could have been determined upon. We
have shown that, while it secures good
connections with Pulaski county roads, the
interests of Alexander county are in no
manner disregarded We have shown
that the new route is not longer
than the old one. We have shown that a
permanent hlgh-water road along the old
route Is not within the reach of the peoples
means and we have further shown that the
adoption of the old route to Beech Ridge,
would involve the necessity Of building a
second high-water road to Cache bridge
an expense that neither the people Of the
city nor country would be willing to incur
Thus, every objection to the new route
seems to be answered, except the single
objection that somebody might utilize the
road embankment in the work of convert
ing an ugly pond or morass into garden or
cornfeld! Persons who urge objections of
this character are irreclaimably narrow
minded, and to argue with them is to waste
time and breath to no purpose
And now, finally, what do the business
men and merchants of Cairo, who are most
vitality interested in this project, propose to
do to insure its SUGGEST The propositions
submitted will not carry unless those who
have influence, take off their coats, and un.
hinge their tongues and work and talk for
1t from this time forth until election day
The opposition, marshaled by Mr. T. J.
Roberts, is active. Shall il be said that il
succeeded in defeating a project upon
which results are hinged Of the highest i'm.
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