The Daily Cairo Bulletin

WILL CAIRO BE TRUE TO HER OWN INTERESTS?

Two days only remain before the election. The importance of the coming election to the city of Cairo is in the choice of a Congressman: all other political questions yield precedence to this. It should be made a warning to future members of Congress from this district. Cairo should not, for an instant, hesitate to visit the treacherous member from this district with an emphatic condemnation. It is admitted on all hands that Captain Thomas in 1881 voted against the interests of Cairo at every opportunity; and that in 1882 he failed and refused to favor our interests and dodged every vote that tended to the advancement of Cairo by river improvement. And we have elsewhere shown that his claim that he gave a Marine Hospital in Cairo is a false pretense and without any foundation in truth whatever. We will be untrue to ourselves if the city of Cairo fails to show her indignation at Capt. Thomas' conduct by a vote against him approaching to unanimity. Let it be such an overwhelming majority against Thomas that it will teach Capt. Murphy that if he wants to find favor in Cairo, he can only do so by being THE CONSTANT FRIEND, THE VOTING FRIEND, OF RIVER IMPROVEMENT.

Now is our opportunity. Let us not fail to use it. As we said yesterday the occasion is above party tactics or party ties. We without hesitation declare that in the future we will support no Democrat for Congress whose record is even doubtful upon the subject of river improvement. It is not mere boasting for political effect that we say Capt. Thomas' defeat is now a foregone conclusion. His vanity, his bombast, his untruthfulness, his treachery to Cairo, his incompetency and his general absenteeism, will all meet with an overwhelming condemnation on Tuesday next. CAPTAIN WILLIAM K. MURPHY WILL BE THE CONGRESSMAN FROM THE 20TH DISTRICT. But it is known that the condemnation of Thomas by Cairo for his treachery to Cairo has been made a question before the people of Cairo, and there will be no occasion so opportune and so fit as next Tuesday to tell Captain Murphy that his heavy vote in Cairo is largely due to Thomas' desertion of our interest and his failure to support the Bills for river improvement. Cairo should thunder the lesson next Tuesday so loud that all aspirants for Congressional honors from the Cairo District will hear and take warning.

We appeal to the voters of Cairo of all parties to rally as one man against Thomas. The charges of his treachery to Cairo are not ordinary political arguments made on the eve of election. They have been made for months, and never successfully contradicted. We have the Congressional Record, showing his votes against Cairo and his neglect to vote a single time in her favor. As we said yesterday, Cairo can not afford to make a mistake next Tuesday. It would be a crime against ourselves if we should fail to give an overwhelming defeat to Thomas.

We invite inspection of the Congressional Record, if there be any who doubt the correctness of our statement of Captain Thomas' votes.

BE WARNED.

Everybody who would vote the Democratic ticket next Tuesday, should read his ticket clear through. Large numbers of spurious tickets have been circulated, which are headed "Democratic Ticket" and bear the names of some of the principal Democratic candidates, but which somewhere in the middle have the name of a Republican. Look out for them!

THOMAS IN A DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS.

A diligent search through the Congressional Record enables us to say Captain Thomas has been the merest nonentity in a Republican Congress. His name NEVER appears in the debates on any subject, and he is scarcely ever found voting upon any question. What would he do in a Democratic Congress? What influence would he have? All candid persons admit the next Congress will be Democratic. Cairo will appear in a bad light asking favors of that Congress after having voted for such a man as Thomas. He is well known at Washington as a notorious opponent of western interests. Recently the New York Sun published a list of all the members of Congress with a statement of their positions on various important measures. The following from the Sun concerning Capt. Thomas, is "short, sharp and decisive":

"Thomas, John R. (Rep.)--Dodged every vote on the River and Harbor bill, veto and all, but voted dead for the Robeson monitor steal."

THE "PAIRING" DODGE.

In the presence of an intelligent Cairo audience it was necessary for Capt. Thomas to make some sort of explanation of his votes against river improvement. And so he manufactured the story that by pairing with Gov. Curtin and NOT VOTING, he secured the passage of the bill. That was a very absurd statement on its face, and a reference to the Congressional Record (which we will exhibit to any Republican or Democrat who desires to see the evidence), shows plain proof of its absurdity. The bill came up for passage over the President's veto--two-thirds of all those voting being necessary to pass the bill. On the final vote there were 122 votes for the bill and 59 votes against the bill, and so the bill was passed--there being 181 votes in all, 122 votes were more than two-thirds of all those voting. Now if Gov. Curtin had voted against the bill, there would have been 60 votes against the bill; and if Captain Thomas had voted for the bill, there would have been 123 votes for the bill--and so the bill would have passed--there would have been 183 votes in all, and plenty of small school boys, as well as the best arithmetician, can tell Capt. Thomas that 123 is more than two-thirds of 183.

Dodging a vote in Washington, a thousand miles from this District, may be a very easy thing for Capt. Thomas. But dodging the consequences of that vote by false arithmetic is a very difficult thing before a Cairo audience.