The Cairo bulletin., 1912-04-14

| feet of water remains in the district
lit will be an easy and not expensive
matter to tow this iiotsam TO is
proper moorings and there anchor i
until the waters recede While II !,
quite possible that individual own
ers will do this to some extent yet
there is world of debris the owner
ship of which can not be established
and the value OF which Is nil. The
proper disposition OF this DRIFT now
becomes an important charge on thu
county and city officials. Blown
about by the wind il is in one place
today and possibly a mile away TO-
morrow.
A prominent lumberman with
practical ideas has made the sugses-
ton that Sycamore street from the
subway to the northerly end of the
district be strongly doomed on both
sides after being cleared of all
debris. 1t is possible TO do this BY
booming from telegraph. telephone
or trolley pole to pole in way that
will permit the boom 10 fall with the
water and in this way maintain 5
clean lane from one end o. the dis
'trict to the other. 1t is obvious that
the difficulty and expense of moving
large object atloat to a point at
least approximately where il belongs
is nothing compared TO the same ef-
fort and cost when the same object
is aground. Much that will later
have TO be dynamited out of the way
or burned can be saved provided only
action is taken now when the water
provides a safe and certain common
carrier.
The matter of the action of the
water in the Drainage District, wncn
the big fall sets in, is also ques-
ton OF great importance. Just how
much of depth will remain is only
a matter of conjecture until it is
known how low the various breaks
in the Big 4 embankment and that
of the Mobile d Ohio on the West
really are 1t would certainly pay to
obtain expert opinion on this by
soundings and otherwise and the
manufacturers in the Drainage Dis
trict should be advised as definitely
as possible just what to expect
Eventually this water Will all have
to be released but it should be at the
proper time and in the proper way,
and not before those most interested
have gained every particle of ad-
vantage and benefit that may be OBJ
tanned.
The Citizens Volunteer patrol has
thus far been pretty much Of fail
ure, by no means due to the efforts
of the Patrol Department which has
been one OF the most painstaking and
untiring committees of the relief
work Company X and the Illinois
Naval Reserves, of Alton, have
proved entirely equal to the task and
it is a matter of regret that there
are not sufficient of them to con-
tinue in this most important WORK,
Experienced flood fighters say the
greatest period of danger is at pres
ent and the patrol system more i'm
portant now than at any other time
1t is to be hoped that the new eight
hour shift will relieve the strain Of
watching in a way that will secure
perfect service during the few days
of patrol duty that remain.
The sight OF substantial business
men, with large stocks of merchan-
disc safely stored in the second
story Of their places of business, 60
ing gaily forth to night patrol duty
with PILLOWS under their arms is
Illuminating to say the least. But
there is compensation in the
thought Of the merchant, who, dis
regarding his stock Of highly perish
able goods, rushed into voluntary re-
lief work day and night until the
crisis had past, The public is noto-
riously forgetful but it will remem-
Der some things!