Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-10-23
GEST AND THE VIAbUCT
Further Evidence OF II is CONTEMPT.
ible Action.
working against the Peoples Oft Ex.
pressed Wish in Order TO Help Par
tteniar Friend-Cheat ing the People
20 Serve His Own Ends.

The viaduct was secured through his
persist mt efforts. !" says the Tnion. refer
ring to Mr.. Gest. That is a tarefaced
lie and the Union knows it. Instead of
1t being secured through his persistent
efforts it was accomplished against his
wishes and determination until driven to
do something by the people here. chief
among whom was Mr. Fred Haas.
Let the people understand this matter.
Ia March. 1889 con- ress passed law
granting S35. 900 for ihis.viaduct There
were objections to it. the principal one
oil which was that this money would not
be available unless the holders of prop
erty abutting on the viad1ct would re-
lease all damages that might occur to
them by the construction and mainten-
ance OF the yisduct. That virtually
Killed the whole matter, because the
property holders for various reasons.
some of which were stated in yesterdays
ARGUS. would not sign any release for
such purpose. 1t was then that Mr..
Gest WAS appealed to. Mr.. Hass went
10 Washington and thoroughly explained
the whole matter to him. stating that the
property holders would OF sign such
release. Gest assumed grsndiose man
ner and said that surely the people here
could induce the property holders to do
so, and that if they did not do so the
matter must be dropped as congress
would not do otherwise than as it had
done. 1t was shown thai such being the
case the act as passed was practically
worthless. Gest knew that if the people
generally who owned property abutting
on the visduct would ssgl release that
there was one who would not.
under any circumstances, and that
was his friend, Captain Robinson.
MIR. Gest was. however, prevailed upon
to introduce bill. but this bill merely
struck out the clause of the act relating
to the payment BY The city of Rock ISL
and into the United Safes treasury of
hal: the smount-thirty five thousand
doiirs-provided for the construction of
the work. To this section of the law
there was no serious objection, because
the money could have been secured, but
the very section that was fatal to Il q
IN or
the bill Of Mr.. Gest. The very thing the
people here wanted set aside Dir. Gest
took pains thai it should not be. Ex-
asper ,ting as this was the friends of the
measure did not lose hope. Mr.. Hass
went again to Washington There was
no use trying to do snyi hing further with
Gest. II was too APPARENT that he wss
owred by Captain Robinson and that
when the latter took snuff Mr.. Gest
sneezed. Besides. al this time Gest was
complaining that he could do nothing
anyway. The speaker of the house
would pay no atten ton to him
couldn't catch his eye. and the fact was
that the speaker couldn I his sense. How
ever, Senator Cullom was seen and in
terested in the matter. That gentleman
laid the matter before Senator Allison
aud it was arranged that bill! should be
introduced into both houses striking out
the objectionable matter That seemed
altogether satisfactory. Yet nothing
was done. Mr.. Hsss come home. Time
passed and yet no bill in either house
wss introduced. Gest was asleep again
OF waiting for orders from Captain Rob-
inson. Enquiries were made from other
members of congress rs to what
steps had been taken regarding
the proposed mes sure 1t was
then learned that nothing whatever had
been done. Gest hsC put the matter
aside, just as he Indignantly showed the
DILL in mis- pocket wien be was told that
he was expected 10 do something 10 the
way of relief Letters were sent from
this city-letters, too. from leading re-
puoisSaiS- EslHA- upon biID ADt Necessity
Of doing something right away by having
the bill with the objec tionahle features in
it repealed. and more satisfactory one
take its place, according TO the new draft
which was made before Mr. Hass left
Washington. With all this pressure
brought to bear upon him-pressure from
people interested irres pective of party
pressure from inf1uer lial republicans a.
well as demOcrats-hr Gest introduced
bill in the house after a similar one had
been passed in the ser ate and it finally be-
came law.
Such were the per slstent effort" made
ny Mr.. Gest-persistGnt efforts to play
into the hands of Csptain Robinson and
permit the appeals of the people to 60
| UNDECIDED. II Gest Lad had his way no
hill would have been introduced for the
relief of the people, and no one knows
this better than Mr.. Gest ana his mis-
representing moutbpiece, the linton.
Acrtdent
Frank WeygaBd yaTdman in the up