The Rock Island daily Argus. [volume] (Rock Island, Ill.) 1872-1873, 1873-02-28
OUR STEAMBOAT LANDING AND OUR
RIVER TRADE.
Important Considerations for the People of all
Parties.

One Of. the most important consldera-
tons in the election next Tuesday will De
in regard to our public steamboat LANDING
In front of only two blocks of ground Is
there now a landing which is at all suitable
for the river business, and those BLOCKS
lie between Eagle and Jefferson streets
Below Eagle or above Jefferson there Is
no suitable landing place for the river
boats, or suitable depth Of water Tor the
easy turning of steamers, 1t is therefore
very important that all people, Of all par
ties, in whatever part Of the city they re
side or whatever may be their business
all people who desire to encourage the
river trade and increase the prosperity OF
the city generally-it becomes very lmpor-
tant, we say, to all these to carefully con
slider this matter, with view TO It's effect
upon the prosperity of the entire city.
The question is this The only suitable
steamboat landing being between Eagle
and jefferson streets, shall the ferry com
pany be permitted to anchor its ferry dock
right in the middle of our only landing for
river steamers and thus render the space
too small, either above or below the ferry
dock. fer their accommodation! That S
the question. And it Seems to us that if
the people on Washington street under
srood their true interest they would peti-
ton the City Council to remove the ferry
dock from the foot of thai street aud
strongly insist on is removal
II is matter Of entire
Indifference to us, personally, where the
dock shall be placed, except it be in the
middle Of the steamboat landing. ltInuSt
either 20 obove or below Washington
street. or our landing FOR river steamers
must he very materially injured, and bust
ness driven away from our side Of the
river. The passage over the bridges being
free it would seem that the dock should
be moved down instead Of MP. and if the
matter is to be decided upon mere local
interests then all the people IN the vicinity
Of the bridge should desire that the ferry
be as far removed from then as possible,
because more people wsil then travel their
streets to the bridges. The business Of the
ferry will Of course, be much less than
formerly Nearly all teams viii 60 via the
bridges, and therefore, for the accommoda,
ton Of all the people, it would be better to
move the ferry down as far as Harnish
MILL if that could he done but the char
ter viii 5tpermit the city place it below
Buffalo street. Eagle is undoubtedly the
hest place in town on account OF post Of.
fee, banks, business generally, market
square, and roads leading out Of town
and also from the fact that the landing /,
the best, the people having expended sey
eral thousand dollars to make good land
ing there, and with al understanding
with the ferry company that it woulC
be satisfactory. To Us, personally, it mat
tiers not ! penny where II eoes-we speat
only iu behalf Of the interests Of the whol,
city, its river business ana its future pros
perity Also in behalf Of the right of Ii,
people 10 control their own levee ard no
u yield that central to The ferry company
And We appeal u all people who may at
tend the ward meetings OF both parties. &C.
night, To see to it that L man Is nauiua
ted by either party who i. in favor of yield
ing that right, either by directing the dis
misSal of the suit now in court, or in an!
other way An effort may be made an,
doubtless will be made, by those in the in
terest Of the ferry company, to dismiss
that suit and thus permit the injunction
against the city to become perpetual ans
leave our whole levee at the mercy of thu
ferry company, to change its landing when
ever and wherever it pleases, whether thu
interests of the public shall be subservec
or not. We ask the people Of both par
ties to defeat the nomination Of every can
didate who cannot safely be trusted 70 in
Sist on a prosecution of the suit now Il
court, and to defeat at the polls every can
didate who cannot safely be trusted To in
sist that our steamboat landing shall No
be destroyed by placing a ferry dock Q
any other obstruction in the centre Of
aud thus injuring our legitimate river bus
ness. The question is one entirely abov
the interests of any street or locality
one in which all the people are intereste
and one which viii, in the future, mater
ally affect the business OF the whole tow