The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1904-02-13
THE CONVENTION
ENDS WORK
(Concludcd from First Page.)

benenting just such an audience a. is
Il here assembled
Perhaps | have performed my full
bhare Of the work Of explaining the
falue of improved bridges, and in the
beginning, the merits Of iron bridges
hs compared with wooden bridges
needed just such arguments and ex.
plantations as was prepared to fur
hish. but the time for such arguments
has long since passed and need to
Say but little to this audience under
THE head of bridges
Steel bridges are now demanded in.
stead OF wood in all except perhaps
1.-Two or three counties in Illinois, and
| lin all of the townships and road dis.
Etricts with the exception Of few
Edozen or few score.
II The march Of improvement is, how.
lever. still forward and there is now
salmost as great an opening for i'm.
Iprovement in bridges as there was
forty years ago. What is the proper
Improvement for one locality is not
the most sensible demand for all
cases and all places.
/ In a wealthy and populous city, town
or county it may be best to aim
at constructing the most important
bridges of steel and concrete or per
haps Of concrete arches entirely, con.
fident in the belief that the proper
period has arrived for building per.
manent structures to endure as long
as the Pyramids.
In another locality, with less wealth,
and where other improvements must
lag in case costly bridges are erected
sound business policy will urge the
construction Of good masonry piers
and abutments, with entirely safe first
class steel superstructure, containing
as little perishable material as posi-.
BILE
In few localities with light prop
crty valuations, even the latter good
bridges ought to be sparingly con.
structed and lighter steel structures
and cheaper styles Of spbstructurea
should be substituted instead
1t is therefore good public policy
III my opinion to carefully study and
weigh each case by itself and make
such improvements as can be af'ordcl
taking care always If error mus. bt
made, to err On the side of building
little too well rather than a'littlo toe
poorly.
These general statements, according
to my notion, are moro appropriate
here than an attempt al q long an
technical dissertation on the kind Of
bridges you should construct, and J
believe | can use my allotted timc
to moro profit to you By taking q
some Of the bridge laws Of Iliiacit
and making such remarks thereon as
NY business experience has fitted NJ
TO prepare.
There are lawyers in this audience
and such persons and others will sec
many occasions for serious ana per
haps laughable criticism before an
through, but I have found IN my bust
ness career that most of what the
common people and ordinary town ant
county officials or contractors have
learned about law has been dug out
Of the statutes by the practical car
rying ont of the laws as they read
them | do not now feel so much in
awe of lawyers Is did in the begin
ming
remember an incident in my early
experience which illustrates very well
the way ordinary people look at law
One Of the first contracts | made was
drawn in 1867 by lawyer in Livings.
ton county to whom paid So to draw
just such contract as he thought the
town ought to have, because | wished
to show the commissioners | was not
trying to do lightning rod business.
The contract stated in the proper
place that time is to be the essence
of this contract Our firm was ignor.
ant of the lawyers essence and went
ahead in the usual way. which, as
most Of this audience realize. was &c
be some weeks behind time In the
completion of the bridge, The law
yer was ON hand at the time of the
acceptance and blandly explained &c
the commissioners that. as we were
behind time, and time being the es-
sence Of the contract, the town was
not obliged to pay anything for the
bridge, The commissioners were rs
much astonished at his turn as | was
myself was in a quandary and felt
like getting a new lawyer, but was
afraid | should only pay another fee
and then lose the bridge. The com
missicners asked If our firm had not
done their best to finish the bridge on
tinp ond votf can all coo what an