The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1910-05-27
MORE INDUSTRIES
CAIRO COMMERCIAL CLUB DIS.
cuSsES WAYS AND MEANS
OF SECURING THEM.
Suggestion That Cairoites Themselves
Take Advantage of City's Favor
able Conditions consid-
cred BY Speakers.

The Cairo Commercial Club met
last night at its rooms ON Washing
ton avenue. Vice President Douglas
Halliday presided and there was
goodly attendance of members. Sec
rotary Carey read various reports and
communications which were acted up
on and when these were disposed of
Mr.. Halliday presented for discussion
the matter OF doing something to fur
|ther Cairos industrial interests. His
idea was that Cairo's acknowledged
advantages as shipping and manufac,
turing point ought to be taken advant-
Eage Of by her own people and he
@oGitt have citizens who have money
Ito spare start something This ne
believed would bring the citys adj
vantages more strongly to the notice
LOT the world than any other method.
The proposition was favorably com.
mented upon by j. B. Magee, G. s.
Carey and others. The latter said
lCairo's advantages were known to
most manufacturers: they had been
known for many years and for some
reason had not been taken advantage
OF. He spoke Of one firm In Chicago
which could save $4,000 in freight
rates on raw material by establishing
its foundry in Cairo but il we who
live here did not take advantage of
the conditions he did not see how we
could expect others to do so.
Ex-Mayor Winter said perhaps the
reason was to be found in the fact
that the people who had no money
could not start anything and those
who had would not turn 1t loose.
Mr.. Carter of the Handle factory
spoke OF the advantages Cairo offered
Tor a furniture factory. with raw ma.
terfal within easy reach and freight
rates favorable. He expressed the
belief however that some of the rail-
roads offered obstacles in the way of
industrial development which were
insurmountable. in refusing to provide
needed switching facilities. He re-
TERED particularly to the Sears-Ro-
buck proposition which involved the
establishment OF great factory in
the Drainage District. but was
By the refusal Of the Illinois
Central to go into joint switching
arrangement with the Big Four: and
the firm had gone 10 Jackson, Miss.
with its plant He said the firm had
guaranteed the Illinois Central a mil.
lion dollars in freight every two
years from the Cairo plant, and had
proposed that If the company went
into the proposed arrangement and
found at the end of five years that it
was not satisfactory then the firm
would pay for whatever switches the
company had put in But the com,
pany could not be moved from its
position.
ID. S. Lansden doubted whether
Cairoites were as able to take advant
age OF the city's favorable conditions
for manufacturing as some people be-
lieved. He said the belief that there
was much idle money in Cairo was
erroneous. While there was over
three millions to the credit of de.
positors in the banks Of the city the
money was not idle He ventured to
say that 50 per cent Of it was in use.
in carrying on the business of the
city. The banks probably had little
money in their vaults beyond what
they were required to carry as re
serve funds. Besides it would re
quire practical experience to make
any industrial establishment success
full; and Cairotes had no such ex
perienee, knew nothing about them
and would naturally hesitate to put
their money into something about
which they knew nothing. He be
lieved that Cairo's only hope for in
dustrial development lay in getting
outside capital to come here, with
experience. just as Mr.. Clarke and
his associates had come, as the Sin.
ger co. had come, the Chicago Mill,
the Cannon Box Co. the Pioneer Pole
& Shaft Co, the house building COM
pany and others. How this was to be
accomplished would be a problem for
some strong committee of the Com
mercial club to work out
The sense of the meeting was that
the advertising pamphlets issued un.
der the auspices Of the Mobile e.
Ohio railroad company was one step
In the right direction.