The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1882-08-31
THE FALL TRADE.

The merchants of Cairo generally loos
forward very hopefully to the coming fall
trade, and they have good reason to. do so.
Aside from the many important and less
important enterprises in progress of compile
tiol and about to be begun within the city,
which will furnish employment and the
means of procuring the necessaries and the
comforts Of life TO the idle within the city,
there as every possible reason TO be.
lieve that the trade from without will be
unusually good.
The crops all through the section Of
country from which comes the trade of Cairo
have been exceptionally good, The South,
ern States in whose prosperity or adversely
Cairo largely shares, have not only very
large but varied crops. This year marks n
new departure IN agriculture 10 the South
and. instead of depending for food and
clothes on good cotton crop, southern
farmers have raised enough oats, wheat and
corn to supply themselves and will have a
surplus for export. The prospects for cot
ton are less favorable than could be wished
but, according to the present outlook the
crop will be from $4,000 to 100000
bales, and, with good weather during the
next six weeks, will exceed these figures.
Cairo merchants MUST seek to build up a
cotton trade IN this city.
This is not all, other branches of indus.
try are tlouushing as we'll as agriculture.
During the past five years millions Of dol
lars have been invested in mines, mills and
railroads all over the Southern States, and
this capital is becoming productive. The
development of the country Is proceeding at
a rate which must surprise those who have
given little thought to the matter. Last
year the drouth was most disastrous in It's
effect; it cut down the resources of the far
mer, enforced economy in all branches of
business and largely decreased the purchas-
ing power of the people. Railroad mana.
gers, merchants and manufacturers all had
gloomy anticipations, and yet the earnings
OF railroads centenng here show large in
crease.
This is Calro's railroad year. We have
four new lines coming to Us from almost
opposite directions. Those who look upon
our eight or ten railroads with contempt, in
the belief that the city derives no benefit
from them are hort.sighted Indeed
1t is true that railroads may
be or may not be beneficial to a city,
but whether they are or not lies to great
extent ia the hands Of the citizens. This
truth the business men of other cities have
proven Our railroads place our merchants
way ahead of all others in this section of
the country, in the way of opportunities for
establishing fratornal and business rea.
tons with the industrious people Of the
vast stretches Of fertile country through
which the iron horse runs before entering
our gates. The railroads give us great op.
portunites we ourselves must determine
how We shall use them. The sales of no
house IN the city amount to half what they
ought 10 do; there is no firm in the city
which might not reasonably expect todou.
BILE its business IN the next few years, The
great trouble wth Cairo merchants has
been that they have lacked faith Ia them
selves, in their city, in the growth Of the
country around them, in the inf uence OF
the railroad lines. We have seen other
cities accomplish what we feared to at
tempt. We admired what we feared tc
initiate. It's difficult even now to make
our citizens realize that this is no longer a
country village; that 1t is city with a
citys' opportunities, and what may be done
elsewhere may DO done here.