The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1883-05-29
"TOE THE SCRATCH"
WE WANT EITHER PROOF OR GORE.

We WANT EITHER PROOF OR GORE.
The Argus takes refuge in personal abuse
of US, to avoid standing by the grave accu-
sations it has repeatedly made against Mr..
Linegar, and, very evidently with pur-
pose, il exhibits an ob,useness with refer
ence to the simplest matters connected
with legistive bill while pending, that is
really aggravating. But we do not intend
to allow the Argus to thus unceremoniously
gather its tail between its hinder extremi-
ties and sneak off like sckened, cowardly
cur from fight which it Ito its sorrow no
doubt began; we intend if possible, to
hold it to its own vomit and make
| it either eat the vile excres-
cence or justify itself in besmirching
the name of representative man.
1t seems to us that the Argus ought-is
in duty bound to explain. 1t ought to
do this, not only in justice to Mr.. Linegar,
but in justification of itself. 1t must prove
its insinuatons rejecting upon the honor
of Mr., Linegar to be true, or stand convic-
ted of SANDER, or of being itself the tool of
some person, or combination of persons,
whose interests are not the peoples inter
ests and are, therefore, threatened with in
jury by the execution of the provisions of
Mr., Lnegar's street filing bill--men who,
using the Argus as their willing weapon,
have sought to kill the bill even before it
was born, and are, now that the Till is q
law, using the same instrument in their
efforts to save themselves and to cheat the
people out of the benefits the bill would
confer upon them.
| In terms that cannot be misunderstood,
the Argus has stated positively, that House
Bill No. AIT WAS the result of the plottings of
set of INSCRIPTIONS men, whose Infamous
purpose it was to plaster every foot of
ground in the city with heavy mortgage
and ultimately to perpetrate the most
gigantic robbery every attempted: wrench
from the hands of the property holders, by
excessive taxation, the results of their daily
toll, crush them under the weight of an
enormous bonded debt, confscate their real
estate and send them forth beggars among
strangers at last. Only the most positive
proof could justify SO serions charge as
this and we insist that the Argus should
furnish it to us and the public, or acknowl-
edge its great error and ask pardon of
those whom 1t has soseriously accused. We
insist now as always, that House Bill No.
AIT contains nothing that could be
tortured into basis for the Argus charge,
that 1t does not contain line or a sentence
that does not plainly indicate purpose on
the part of the author or authors
| to protect the people, the
small property holders especially, against
any possible attempt on the part of de-
signing few to Cypress them with the cost
of any extensive public Improvements made
on the special assessment plan. We insist
(AND WE CHALLENGE THE ARGUS OR ANY
ONE TO PROVE oTHERwTsE), that House
Bill Mo. AIT contains no provision giving
the city council of any city, any important
power that was not conferred by previous
laws, excepting, perhaps, one, 1.-The power
to condemn land to obtain dirt for public
Improvements, and this is certainly not q
power that could be used to the detrlment
of property holders. We insist that, so far
from furnishing any proof of the correct
ness of the Argus charge, the bill itself,
from its title to its concluding clause, is a
complete refutation of such charge and ex
actly the reverse of what the Argus says it
is. Under the city charter the city council
could to morrow raise the grade of the en-
tire city to ten feet, more or less, above the
level of the levees, could orderal the streets
filled Immediately up to this grade on the
special assessment plan, and could enforce
immediate payment on the part of property
holders, at the risk of having their property
sold to the highest bidder House Bill
AIT provides for dividing the city into dis
tricts as small or as large as may be deemed
advisable, for raising the grade OF sucl
districts, one at time, to any level desired
for filling the streets of such districts, ont
or any part of one at time, up to sucf
level for doing this work on the specia
assessment plan and giving property hold
ers twenty years in which to pay this spe
cial assessment. 1t does not give the city
council power to compel property holders
to give bonds or mortgages Saturday the
editor Of the Argus very kindly offered lie
the important information that the title of
legislative bill always expresses the con
tents Of the bill itself We beg leave nov