The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1882-12-21

The company now obtained a temporary
righ.of-way further inland, but maintained
its track on that portion Of the leyee
which the river had left. But
this temporary right-of.way was on
low ground, was being constantly
washed into the river and was overlooked
when the river was up. As the river
abraded the land the tracks of the company
were moved further inland, and when the
river WAS up over the tracks, operations on
the road were stopped. In the meantime
the city finished its twenty-five thousand
dollar levee, and the railroad company
formed scheme by which it sought to in
veigle the city authorities into giving it
perpetual protection from the Mississippi
river at tue sole expense Of the people of
the city, BY trade in which very little,
if any, money was expended, the company
tlre,n as the Post Dispatch says, (thc egis-
| lature Of Illinois Is not in the habit OF
| granting rigLts-of.way over the streets of
cities to railroads or any other corpora
tions), but from the Cairo Trust company,
of stripot land along the innel base Of
the citys new levee In order to reach
this new right Of way the company would
have to cross the upper end of the princi-
| pal public avenue in the city, which has
| nearly always served and does pow serve
as the principal highway Leading into the
city from the county above, and it had also
to cross over the city's cross ievee. But
without knowing whether the city council
would permit it to cross this highway and
this !evee without any conditions whatever,
the company proceeded at once to form its
embankment along this new righf-)f way,
both inside and outside Of the cross leyee.
1t seemed very much as though the com
pany expected tomarch right over the street
aud the evee into the protecting arms Of
the city, without the ceremony
Of formal permission from the city council,
and certainly without submitting to any
conditions whatever. In view of this fact
the council enioined the company from
laying its track over The street and cross
levee aforesaid, and saught a conference
with the officers Of the company, for the
purpose Of agreeing upon some reasonable
terms upon which entrance into the city
should be grantcd--some slight Compensa-
ton to be paid the city by the railroad
company for the important privilege of
appropriating the perpetual protection
against the river afforded by the city's new
levee. But the officers of the company
were angry and probably had no time to
confer-they were busiy engaged in re-
organizing the company under a new
name-reorganizing the city of Cairo out Of
several hundred thousand dollars CT stock
and getting rid Of hundreds of other smoll-
er creditors, among them many widows
and orphans and labors, aud thereby
securing nearly half a million dollars to
the Holland stock holders of the concern.
After series of conferences finally Sc
cured, in which the city council gave the
company to understand tiat fair division,
between the city and the company, Of the
expense Of securing the company's track
against all danger from the river by furth
er strengthening the new levee, was all the
council wanted, proposition was made by
President Whtehouoo himself, to the
effect that the company would do its
share Of the work proposed, provided the
Wabash company would do the other share.
The Wabash didn't respond "within
brief space Of time to this proposition;
but the city agreed to take the Wabash
company's place, which proher wasa
haugtiIy rejected by President Whitehouse.
In other words the city sought to take the
company up on the compauy's own propo
sition and the company treated the offer
with contempt and now gives out that the
city counsel "enjoiued 1t from entering the
city except by paying an cxhorbltant sum
for the right" The Stiffness Of this state
ment will appear in all its force when it is
stated that tho company's own proposition
probably involved greater expense than
that made by the city council
But seeing that it could not enter the
city through the council chamber, the com.
pany sought to come in through the court
house, by setting up the claim that the
street which it intends to cross, which has
been and, il still, q, times, the only means