The Cairo bulletin., 1909-05-15
SUBJECT or ELABORATE STATE.
MENT BY PRESIDENT SMITH
OF COMMERCIAL CLUB.
NEARLY II-2 MILLIONS
Spent BY People OF Cairo and Rail.
roads to Build and Maintain
Embankments-Larg IN
tertsts at Stake.


ly to present to the Mississippi River
Commission some facts regarding the
leyees of Cairo and vicinity and the
general aspect of things respecting
the rivers, the purpose being to I'M
press the commission with the JUS
tice CT the demand for government
work in this section, to preserve the
banks against the action of the rivers.
Mr., Smith is himself largely interest
ed In land bordering on the rivers, but
SO are the people of Cairo generally
and the people of the Cairo Drainage
District. In letter of about 3,GWI
words Mr.. Smith gives the commits
sion very full and very accurate de-
scription of the state of things, includ'
ing facts and figures relating especial
~ to the levees which are matters 81
record and are of value. The gist OF
his letter is here reproduced, from
last evenings Citizen:
The Cairo Drainage District.
Within the Cairo Drainage District
Chicago Mill and Lumber Company,
Greer Wilkcrson Lumber Company,
Three States Lumber Company, Weis-
Peterson Box Company Modern
House Manufacturing Company, Up
ham & Agler Lumber Company, Pho
neer Pole and Shaft Company, w. q.
Smith Lumber Company, Van Hooten
Lumber Company; and in addition to
these industries a thirty acre tract
has recently been purchased for the
location of creosoting plant. and OPP
tons are held on other lands for in
dustrial purposes.
With the coming of the interurban
line which is now being constructed
between Cairo, Mound City and
Mounds. with prospects OF being ex.
tended to st. Louis), a number of
suburban additions have been plat
ted In the Cairo Drainage District
and others are being located. Those
already plated are. Future City,
which is largely built up, Urbandale,
and Riverside.
A concrete subway pierces the
north Cairo levee on Sycamore street
and is the only street entrance into
Cairo from the north inside the
levees. The other sl;bways pierce
the Illinois Central Railroad Com
pany's embankment on the Drainage
District, as shown on enclosure No.
2. These subways make Cairo direct.
ly interested in the protection of its
levee system. and of the banks of the
Ohio river from each river TO Cairo,
and the Mississippi river from Beech
Ridge to Cairo.
Railroad Embankments.
The Cairo, Vincenrcs a. Chicago
railroad NOW the c. c. c & st. ID
forms levee on the Ohio river side
of the Cairo Drainage District and
the taxpayers of Cairo and Alexander
county voted 100000, In bonds
bearing per cent interest. TO aid in
its construction Also, the same
amount in bonds was voted for the
construction of the Cairo e. St Louis
Railroad embankment (now the Mo
bile and Ohio railroad,) which forms
the mississippi river levee of the
Cairo Drainage Distrilt.
The Cairo Commercial Club or
ganized the Cairo e. Thebes Rail
road company, which is now under
construction from Cairo to Thebes
parallelling the Mobile & Ohio rail
road on the east bank of the Missis
sippi river from Cairo to Beech
Ridge, and the embankment between
the two latter points costing $3.50,
000.00, is so constructed as to form
levee with the proper slopes
sewer openings, etc, and is a further
protection to the interests inside Of
the levees of the Cairo Drainage Dis
trict and the City of Cairo ..,tf
The railroad companies using OF
constructing levees in this vicinit,
have agreed, threttsh frarhhise on
otherwise. to maintain them to Ger
tain heights and my understanding
is that the railroads are not expected
TO maintain the banks of the river'
upon which the levees stand, for th'
reason that the levees protect al
property interests behind them. in
GLIDING that Of the U. S. Government
May years ago the st. Louis 4
Cairo railroad permitted a Portinl
of its embankment to go into tn
river, forcing the City of Cairo .
construct New Isevee street in tn
northwestern part of the city, TO pre-
vent the city being undated durin
high water periods
Cairo's levees.
Cairo is the terminus of the Cairt
St Louis. Cairo-Memphis and Cairo
Cincinnati divisions of the MississiI
pi and Ohio river Engineering dii
trcts. and in charge of the same: ais
in the district covered by the Missi
sippi river Commission. 1t ha
about twenty miles of levees, whic
are of vital Importance to all int
ests in and around Cairo. and whic
have cost the taxpayers of Cairo an