The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1883-09-22
NAILED-COME AGAIN.

The Argus has at last complied with our
repeated and earnest requests to give US, or
try to give US, a few reliable figures with
regard to the street filling project. We
longed for this because we knew that the
Argus would put It's foot into it" whenever
it deviated from its policy of mere general,
indefinite assertion. And our conviction
proves to have been entirely correct.
The Argus of last evening says "at the
rate Mr.. Sarblan contracted to do the fill
ing on the Stafford Memorial Library lots,
the filling up of Cairo to obtain surface
drainage over the levees to the river would
cost about Sl5,OO0,0OO,"
The Argus must have little arithmetic
Of lis own, lightning calculator, perhaps,
which establishes arbitrary rules for arriv-
ing at mathematical results, that are not
taught in the common schools of the pres
ent day. Mr.. Sarban receives thirty cents
per cubic yard for the filling referred TO-
and careful application of the ordinary
rules taught US in the Thirteenth street
free school some half score or more Of
years ago, by Miss Hawkins, Miss French
and others, Just as able teachers as were
ever here, developes the fact that, at this
rate, for exactly 43S,0O00 90 every square
inch of surface within our great levees, not
excepting the space occupied by houses or
anything else whatever, could be filed to
the depth of just an even fifteen feet
This, it will be observed, would leave
no vacant space for Easements or cellars,
none, for vaults under the sidewalks, or
vaults in the back yards, none for cisterHs,
nothing, in short but smooth surface from
levee TO levee
There is no guess work and no "abouts'
in this thing, Figuers never lie, The
process is as simple as A B c. Here are
the figures; The levees enclose thirteen
hundred acres or $1,000 square rods, or
6,292, 900 square yards, or 5G,6l9,000 square
feet or l,35S,S56, 900 square inches. TO
raise 6,29200O square yards fifteen feet
will require Just exactly 100000 cubic
yards of earth, which at30C. per yard would
amount to exactly so ,43SO000O, no more
no less. Now, if we leave vacant space for
all the cavities above mentioned the earth
taken from them would serve to raise the
uncccupied surface in the levees several feet
higher, sufficiently high at any rate to give
surface drainage over the levees at their
highest points and this, too, Tor little
matter Of $500 10000 less than the Ar.
gus modest aud 're.lie-able" figures.
But it should be observed and distinctly
understood that for the present. at least,
there is no thought at all OF filling the en-.
tire surface of the city to point where
surface drainage can be had over the tops
Of the levees. The object is to COMMENCE
mark the word, please, Mr.. Argus, to
COMMENCE, filling the streets, only the
STREETS, The filling or lots is matter
over which the city council has no CONTROL
under existing circumstances, and must be
left with the properly holders alone. And
TIE filling Of the streets alone as proposed,
EVERY lineal foot Of street in the city, to
a depth OF fifteen feet above their present
level, would cost less than, one-ffth as
much as it would to fill the entire city to
that depth, This is demonstrable by fig.
ures also, but we haven't space for them
now.
Just come again Mr., Argus, but more
cautiously.