The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1884-02-09
THE WORK OF THE CONVENTION.

Ahh WOkh Of THE CONVENTION.
1.-THE National Mississippi River Conven.
uon has met and adjourned. II 1t had
done nothing, that would have been bad
enough; unfortunately 1t has done worse
than nothing.
'Ihe convention met to assert the indie
pendence Of the Mississippi river In the
matter OF appropriations. 1t met to en-.
force Its claim to recosni tion on Its m erits.
This was all that there was In the move
ment.
AND at the very first moment, almost be-
Tore 1t met, the convention surrendered the
cause 1t had been sent to support. II be-
trayed It's trust, hauled down Its flag, re.
nounced Its manhood, aud crInged before
the enemy with the abject submission of
BAKER Pasha's Egyptians before the con-
querlng HI Mahdi. 1t did not even make
show Of resistance.
HAD 1t resisted 1t might perhaps have
been beaten; it might have lost everything
except honor. As 1t 10, 1t has lost every.
thing, honor included.
at met to boast OF its strength, and it
die not stand up long enough to be knocked
down. 1t met to show the country Its in
nuence In national legislation aud 1t sue.
cumoed to the first lobby that bluffed it.
IL ala not not dare TO open Its moath to
make the only declaration 1t had undertake
en- to make. Its mushy and meaningless
plattudeslwere written by men who shiv.
cred In terror Of the Canal on the one side
and OF the Cheesequakes creeks on the
other.
''The mischief Is, done and there is no
remedy.
1.-The action Of the convention repre-.
sens nothing but the cowardice of its
neryeless and homeless leaders. But we
cannot repudiate 1t. Eighteen States of
the Mississippi Valley subscribed for 1t,
hurrshed for 1t, sent 1t forth. and they are
disgraced and humiliated by Its AFFECT sur
render. st. Louis, which started 1t and
furnished 1t with a President and Score.
tary, must bear the brunt of the disgrace
and consent to be the laughing stock Of the
rest OF the country.
"And the great rver-the great Father
OF Waters; the mighty stream whose vel.
fare we have regarded ~ one OF the chief
factors in the national prosperity, must
now take its place at the tail end OF that
procession Of beggars, psupers and thieves
which makes up the RIVER and Harbor
Steal"
"This Is the work Of the vaunted conyen.
ton.
In another article the same paper says:
Read those resolutions OF the Missis.
sippi River Convention over carefully
The proportion OF sense to sound Is as Fall
staff's penny.worth Of bread to all that
sack. Not one word about the Mississippi
river appropriations being passes on by
special com mittee; not one WORT about the
improvement being passed on its
merits, and being disconnected from the
"Rlver and Harbor Stesl;" on the COZ .
trary, there is a direct admission that the
Mississippi river people are willing to swap
influence with the Hennepin canal people,
and the plain inference to be drawn from
1t is that the Mississippi river is perfectly
willing to trade votes with any other In.
1uence that turns up. This 10 the bitter
kernel of meaning 10 all the windy and
wordy "resolooting" Of yesterdays
The extraordinary action Of the St. Louis
members of the convention In making
POLITICAL recommendations, etc, 10 also
generally denounced, snd the impression
prevails that political ambitions took more
OF our delegates to the capital than did the
desire to serve the interests Of the great
valley by occurring the impr ovement Of our
noble waterway to the gulf. In this con-
nection 1t is remembered that each Of the
gentlemen 80 engaged 'has 3 record"
which, when understood at the White
House, will make his "inHuence" away
below par with Republican President.