The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1882-02-16
A WORD WITH GRANDMOTHER
ARGUS.


evenings Argus and which he had not time
to notice in yesterday mornings BULLETIN,
Alderman G. o. Patier is made to say that
he wants "action by, and report from, that
joint committee, appointed on the 2lst Of
September, or the appointmentof commit.
tee that will act, or action by the
council of the right charac-
ter without the Intervention of
committee, Here are three propositions,
all of which can be answered by two state
ments of fact. First, that joint committee
is not ready to report fully, and has nothing
to report that has not already been verbal
ly reported in council, until o conference
is had with the railroad company. This
the latter has until now, avoided, by ignor-
ing the committees notices. Secondly, that
the committee has acted. What il mas
done has been for days the subject of
criticism.
The Argus then ventures to say for itself,
that sit is now conceded the city has no
legal claim on the G. d st. L. road, by
which it can require the road to keep up its
levees for it, it might as well stand out and
say it will not let the road into town until
it builds water works and paves the streets,
as to stand on the point it makes. Ger
taiuy the city has no legal claims against
the company, and certainly again the city
might require the railroad company to
build water works, or pave the streets as q
condition of obtaining something of value
from the city. Why might it not do this
Has the city of East ST. Louis the right to
demand, and make the Cairo d 81. Louis
railroad company pay, several thousand
dollars in money, or its equivalent, for
night OF way over street, and is the city OF
Cairo compelled to give its streets away I'M
conditionaly and for absolutely nothingi
"Moral" claims, continues grandmother
Argus, do not count in dealings between
corp irations, and if there MAS disposition
TO make them count, it would be impossi-
bic to tell where they commenced or end
ed."-Correct so far as il goes. But grand.
mother Argus might have gone further and
said, without violating truth, that
experience has shown that neither
moral nor legal claims count with the
Ciaro and St. Louis railroad company. All
the moral" or equitable claims the city has
against the company, are moral or cquita'
bic, instead of legal, because of tie com
pany's shameful disregard Of legal obliga-
tions, aud its underhanded tricks, by which
it transformed what legal claims the city
had against it into mere moral ones and
thus swiuded the city out Of about hun.
dred and twenty thousand dollars.
In conclusion grandmother Argus assumes
the role of philosopher, and says; "rhe
judgment of good men is often at fault on
financial questions, and the honest errors
of the city fathers in regard to finances,
even though considerable be involved, will
be overlooked, excepting when they EXHIBIT
the stupidity OF people who bite of their
noses to spite their faces. THE judgment
of the council is no more apt to be at fault
tban ,Lat q tIn m tlnr AR that
of any of the citizens who dchounce the
council. And the judgment OF the council
in endorsing the action Of the joint com.
mittee with reference to the narrow guage
road is not at fault 1t IL evidently the
judgment Of the council that it would be
a good thing for the city to make the mar
row guage road come in on the outside of
new Lcvcc street, and thus strengthen the
new levee, which il not as strong "a 1t
might be- or that it would be good thing
for the city to make the narrow guage road
conform 10 certain conditions, should it
come in on the inside of new Levee street
thus compelling the city toprotect it against
danger from high water. In this
judgment the council IL certainly not at
fault and upon this Judgment the council is
likely to act, or, rather, to rest, until con
ference is had. The ntmation that the
road will be driven to seek another south
ern terminus if the council remains firm in
It's judgment, is too laughable to be con-
| sidered for moments all "buncombe."
1t is not likely that the
company will abandon It's valuable
grounds and dcpots here simply because 1t
is not allowed to enter the city without
question. The council will gain its point
without, loosing anything whatever there.
fore the remark about "bi,ing of noses to
spite faccs' does not apply to 1t.
But the grandmother has been induced
to look upon the whole matter from a
standpoint Of opposition to the interests Of