The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1909-01-22
R,R, MAN TAI Ks OF
CAIRO ( TH{BES
SAYS FRISCO COMPANY LIKELY
TO BECOME PURCHASER
or PROPERTY.
WAS STARTED BYl. & N.
To Force Illinois Central to Terms
at NashyiIle---Most Valuable
Railroad Terminal Prop
erty in Cairo.

Speaking of the reports cohee. ma
the Cairo & Thebes railroad which
have been in the air during the last
several dast, a railroad man said
Yesterday he thought he could explain
why so little had been done during
the last year to prsh ii to completion
IN said he realized that the financial
depression may have had something
to dc with the cessation of work, but
this could have been only temporary.
He called attention 20 the fact that
the stopping of operations on the
Cairo 4 Thebes here came about the
same time that the Illinois Central
CO. pulled out of Nashville. This
company had gained access to that
city and had started to bui'I cost V
terminals there in competition with
the Louisville & Nashville rai'ro ID.
AS a set.off to this stroke the latter
company started the Cairo & Thebes
railroad started it through a local
organization because local organiza-
ton can always get more from the
people in the way of franchises than
foreign organization. This Cairo
& Thehcs road was started by the IL.
A. N. Co. to compete with the Illinois
Central for Cairo business, in retalia-
ton for the Illinois CentraPs in
vasion Of Nashville. 1t appears that
the latter company saw its mistake
abandoned Nashville, turned its busi-
ness back to the l.. & N. and that
ended the fight.
Now the question arises, what Is
the Louisville e Nashville going to
do with the Cairo 4 Thebes? IL has
acquired valuable terminal property
here worth many hundreds of thou
sands of dollars-given to it free OF
charge by the people of Cairo. And
this property is steadily growing in
value. The grading has been fin
ished from Cairo to Carson Martins
place, and from Santa Fe to Thebes,
leaving stretch of about fiit2en
miles between Martins place and
Santa Fee which remains to be
graded II Is settled fact that the
Cairo & Thebes Is not going to get
the rieht.of.way to the Thebes bridge
which Il wants; It will have to go
over the way the Bridge Co. wants 1t
to 60 or not go at ALL and the Illinois
Board of Railroad and Warehouse
commissioner can't help them much.
But the officials of the Louisville &
Nashville Co. are not in hurry
about this matter since they have
gotten together with the Illinois Cen
traI over the Nashville business, and
of late we hear talk Of negotiations
pending for the sale of the Cairo e.
Thebes. There was some dickering
with the Cotton Belt and Iron Noun
tain people, but the latest and most
likely prospective purchaser is the
Frisco which owns the C. & T. |. and
which can use the Cairo & Tbebes
for a direct line from Cairo to st.
Louis. going over the Thebes bridge
(of which il is one of the ownersD and
on to St Louis over its line on the
west side of the river
Il saw in The Bulletin the other
day that one of the officials Of the
Cairo 4 Thebes had said the road
would stop at Santa Fe for the time
being and cross the bridge over that
line. If that is done 1t can be set
down that the Frisco has become the
owner of the c. a. 7. property and
the l.. q n. is out of It,
'The Cairo a. Thebes terminal prop
erty in Cairo in my opinion and by
long odds is the most valuable rail
road property in Cairo" said the gen
tleman. Il do not see how they ever
got il. President Smith certainly
worked rabbits foot on the people
of Cairo. and the l.. & y people
owe him heavy debt of gratitude and
other things. even though now they
do not seem to have any use for the
property. But that qroperty will not
go begging for a buyer very. long and
the l.. & n will get their money back
with good interest