The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1884-02-29
THE DAILY BULLETIN.
RIVER IMPROVEMENT r.
cAIRo's PETITION TO CONGRESS

CAIRos PETITION TO CONGRESS
To the Honorable Senate and House OF Repr esen'
| tative Of the United States of America, In Con-
| gress Assembled
Your petitioner, the city of Cairo, in the
state of Illinois, situated at the junction of
the Ohio and Mississippi river', respectful.
ly represents that he arrivals OF steamboats,
and barges at the port OF Cairo, for the
year ending December 3lst, 1883, we're g.
| 179 Uhree thousand one hundred and sew
enty nIne), representing q carrying capacity,
according to custom house measurement, of
1921 AGO Zone million two hundred and
twenty-one thousand four hundred and
twenty tons, the arrivals at the port of St.
Louis, for the same period, being 1898
(three thousand three hundred and twenty
three, repres ntng a carrying capacity of
1,l00,702 Zone million one hundred thou
sand seven hundred and two tons; that
seven Of the pTiacIpal railroads Of the coun-
try, viz: The Illinois Central, the Mssissip-
pi Central, the Mobile & Ohio, the Iron
Mountain, the Waba-h, st. Louis & Pacific,
the ST. Lou & Texas and the St. Louis g.
Cairo, have their termni on the banks of
the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, at and
| opposite to Cairo the connections between
The several roads terminating in Missouri
and kentucky with those terminating In
| Illinois Icing made by means of transfer
boats of large SIZE, carrying the Gals across
| the rivers from one road to the other with
Out any change in the contents; that this
| business of transfer has been heretofore
transacted by three transfer boats, capable
of transferring 400 (tour hundred) cars
each per day; that these boats have been
found inadequate to the performance of the
services required of them and another boat
CT larger size than any other IN the country,
used for such purpose, has now been
aided to the number heretofore in use, the
four boats furnishing a capacity for the
transfer across the rivers, between the con-
Meeting roads, Of at least 1000 (slxteen
hundred) cars per day,or $4,000 (torty-
eight thousand) cars per month :;
the numberof freight cars passing over
the bridge over the Mississippi ct ST. Louis
for the month OF January, 1884, being
according to published statements, 30, l05,
| he hre A..
that the immense traffic across the rivers
at Cairo, as indicated by The above state
ments, is constantly interrupted by the
erodng banks and shifting sand bars of
the rivers, requiring constant and unremit-
ting work to prevent the destruction OF
| the inclined tracks on each river bank,
which have been constructed for approaches
for the cars from the transfer boats to the
roads, aud 10 keep open the car ferries
across the rivers from Interruptions by sand
bars that these interruptions to traffic cause
vexatious and expensive delays and losses,
adding greatly to the cost of transportation,
|
| deus Thrown upon the imme Use commerce
now concentrated at Cairo. These Difficult
ties, arising from eroding banks and shift
| ing sand bars cannot be controlled by par
| tie, having an immediate interest in their
removal at this locality, as the causes of
their existence lie beyond the immediate
locality of the trouble and can only be
reached by the operations of the govern
ment undertaken at some distance above
them. The application Of the general
system adopted by the government for the
general Improvement of the rivers, in the
interest of through navigation to those por-
tons of the rivers in the neighborheod OF
Cairo will remove the difficulties referred
to, and in view of the great general Interest
attaching to an uninterrupted traffic at this
locality your petitioner would respectfully
ask that such al appropriation be made
for the improvement of the river in the
district, extending from the mouth of the
Ohio to St. Louis, as will permit the work
of improvement to be carried on simultan-
eously in the neighborhood of Cairo as
we'll as in other portions of the district.
As is well known the alluvial formation
through which the lower Mississippi runs
extends from the gulf to Commerce, about
az miles above the mouth of the Ohio, the
channel of the river for many miles above
Commerce running through rocky forma.
ton, and it is understood that thereto Q
there exists no engineering objection to the
prosecution of the work of improvement of
the river in the interest of through navlga.
ton from and below Commerce, while the
work is also carried on in other localities
in the district, as the work from Commerce
down would not be at, cted by any work
| thn