The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1911-03-06
THE SQUARE DEAL
BY n. r. Potter.

| Far play has generally been cree
TIED to Cairo in her dealings will
! corporations and capitalists, and thu
reputation should be maintained. d,
not discourage the goose that lay
! the golden egg.
| Nearly forty years ago leading bus.
ness men of this city discovered tina
railroads must be brought In here i
the city was to progress or grow TO
wards what had been deemed its nat
ural destiny. To this end, city AM
| county were mortgaged to their limi
to back railroad construction bonds
thereby ultimately securing two i'm
portant roads, worth all they viii
nave cost when the bonds have beer
completely extinguisheG. For nearly
four decades the policy of the city
has been to secure all the railroads
it could, cost what they might.
II ~as almost beyond belie@ when
was understood that a foreign coz.
lporation would come In here and build
! lliaa ef feaea vii AeHt asking dollar
from the city or it's citizens, in cash
bonds or anything else. All it want.
Cd was a franchise giving It right
to build the road, right of way for
It's tracks and terminals, and the
real esate it needed at a reasonable
price for cash. But. this was the
virtual proposition received and il
was, as a matter of course, accepted
gladly, Tt was the first of its kind
and perhaps would be the last, for
few, If any cities Of the sfxe of Cairo
had before received such liberal prop.
ositions.
The ground chosen for terminals
was the lowest in the city, land thalI
bore the name of a lake, because IN
high water periods it was literally
lake, a nuisance the city had found
itself unable to get rid or. 1t don
stitutcd a problem the city was IN
able to solve. The first thing the
railroad company did was 10 fill tbs
vast hole up to the city-s street
grade, and thus the greatest nuisance
hat afflicted the city was extinguish. |
ad without any cost to it.
Then on this made ground the
company proceeded to construct de-
not buildings that for attracuveness
and beauty of finish are not matched
elseWher in America. Think of hnr.
treds of feet of freight storage snel
Or warehouse covered with slate roof
and finished otherwise to CORRESPOND
his standing in rear of deDor
in architectural design and
lnish. The greatest railroad centers
If the country can snow nothing to
compare with this, ecept In magni.
.ude Of construction.
The railroad was ready for ope,a.
loh' then came local kick, which
rom the standpoit of the kickers hal
'ome appearance of justification. Tho
\. d N. Co. the virtuai builders and
owners Of the road did no, expect
0 lease or sell it when the project
y building II was formed. The com.
'any expected TO operate the road
mixing it would give line eastward
rom Cairo to connect with its ger,
raj system 1t was wiling To mako
he Thebes branch a garewav 70
AFRO for other roads NOT having ter.
hinals here, and agreed to allow
'ther companies the use of the tracks
ms agreement was with a virtual
gency company that was carrying out
ne wishes Of the l.. & N. and eypend-
ng its money.
IN It's complicated dealings with
tner companies or system, the l.. G.
Y. found it necessary 10 abandon the
Ian of building a road eastward from
afro. This left the short road from
ere to Thebes isolated long dis.
ance from the l.. & N. system. Tins
II would be impracticabIe
or the L. & N. to operate the c. &