The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1910-05-19
Mayor Parsons Welcome.

Mayors City Officials Visitors and
Friends
On behalf of the people of Cairo,
take great pleasure in extending to
you a most cordial welcome to our
city. We have always enjoyed the
privilege Of receiving visitors within
our borders and have been honored
with the presence of many distni-
guished guests. | feel sure that all
the people of Cairo are glad to have
you here, and will endeavor to show
il by their attention to you while you
remain with us.
Personally. this is an occasion to
which | have looked forward with ex-
traordinary interest. No event that
has ever taken place within the lin.
its of our city has appealed to me
with as much interest as this, unless
possibly, 1t may have been the visits
of two of the presidents OF the United
States, who have honored Cairo with
their presence during my term Of Of
flee as mayor.
| am pleased to see that a goodly
number of members have been able
TO lay aside their home duties, tenn
.porarily, to come to the metropolis OF
Southern Illinois, for the purpose d
discussing matters directly concern
ing the duties and obligations Of the
office they fill.
toward the south - so far AS its
geographical location is concerned
being about on a parallel with Nor
folk, Virginia,
Tt, therefore naturally partakcs
somewhat OF the characteristics 81
hospitality which are so general con
Heeded to the south, at the same time
having among it's citizens, people
from the North, who are accredited
with benig most active and progress
siye. Such combination of people
Ought to, and does, in this case
bring results of the highest type, both
as to business and pleasure, and We
invite you to unite with the home peo
people and become Cairoites for the
time being.
During the past four or five years
the city of Cairo has expended nearly
a million dollars in the construction
|of sewers, street filling, paving and
sidewalks, and the good work still
goes on. The amount of work that
has been done includes over 35 miles
of sewers, Y miles of paved bricf
streets, 20 miles of concrete side
walks, besides hundreds of thousands
of cubic yards of filling. Up to the
time Of the commencement of these
public improvements, Cairo had beer
hardly more than a country village
with mud streets and other condi
tions In harmony with unimproveC
thoroughfares,
New churches have been built dur
ing this time, and several new schoo
buildings, SO that Cairo today stands
well up with the best religious ant
educational institutions of any cit,
ID the state.
Public service corporations have
increased their ability to better care
for the interests of the people very
materially. and the several railroads
which come into the city furnish &C
commodations for passengers am
freight that are equal to those which
arc granted to much larger communi
ties. and yet there remains much fol
lis to do. The city is still without {
Home in which to transact It's bust
ness, but the people feel that the.
can better afford to delay securing
this Improvement than to pOstpont
the building of streets, which SEEM
to be the foundation for the up-build
ling of every community.
All of the work that has been done
so far has been accomplished withou
Opposition from any source - tni
Improvement ordinances having beef
secured by the unanimous approva
of the city council, and judgment TO
all improvements has been rendered
in the County Court without opposi
tion OF any kind.
The people of the city invite yo'
to inspect thoroughly the work tina
has been done, both as to quantit
| and quality, and If YOU can make an,
| suggestions as to how we can i'm
prove our methods, we will be glad +
hear from you.
The subjects that have been select
ed for discussion at this conventio
are of vital Importance to the hes
Interests Of the cities OF the state
| and congratulate the president 9
Ithis association in, having secured TIL