Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-02-26
OVER ON FLAT BOATS.
A New Scheme for Connecting Rock
Island and Davenport.
Col. =. n. Stewart Talks OF HIS Plans
at the Ciizens' Improvement Asso.
citation Rooms--.A Poutoon Bridge.

rooms OF the Rock Island Citizens In
provement association last evening
called to hear the views of Col. 8. N.
Stewart, of Philadelphia. concerning the
feasibility OF the construction of a pom
toon bridge between the cities of Rock
Island and Davenport. was not largely at
tended. In fact. Of those who were
present. Davenport was as well repre-.
sented as Rock Island. President Hass,
OF the Improvement association, called
the meeting to order and nominated Gen.
w. A. Schnitt for chairman. The nom.
ination YVES sustained and Mr.. Walter
johnson unanimously elected secretary.
Col. Stewart was then called upon to
present his suggestions and he first gave
a description of the pontoon bridge
which he said had been in existence
ever since the earliest annals of re-
corded history and he presented many
advantages In their favor. Que
would cost but one sixth as much as an
iron bridge and would be nine -tenths as
good. He gave statistics to show the
durability Of the pontoon in comparison
with tie iron bridge and the safety at
tached to and economy of running it. He
had built several of these bridges over
the Missouri which had been attended
with the utmost success. The only diff
ference between his. bridge and the old
time pontoon bridges was the draw,
which by invention of his, is made to
open and smut with the current, 1t reQuir-
ing the services of but one man to oper-
ate it. A bridge of the nature he had in
contemplation here would cost S4s. 900;
OF this amount he asked that S24, =
700 be taken as primary stock in
the cities of Davenport and Rock
Island AMI the difference would be
made by himself and associates who
would build the bridge, take their
stock as secondary, and ask no dividend
until fifteen per cent had been paid on
the local preferred stock. He had ap,
peared before the Davenport Business
Mems association in the afternoon where
his project was received with much en-
thusiasm, and it was referred to the COM
mittee on manufactures. Messrs. Hoyt
and Bunker, members of which were
present last evening. Col Stewart ex-
pected, be said to raise $4,000 of the
stock allotted to the two towns in Dav-
export, and IS, 900 in Rock Island, or he
ventured to say, If Rock Island did not
invest in it he thought all the
S24, 900 could be raised In Davenport.
BE did moi propose to make any effort to
get stock. but when it was secured he
would take 1t, and build the bridge. He
regarded this Joint as affording
the best possible inducements to
a pontooI bridge because there was
large city On either side Of the river, both
of which had attained that importance
when they grow steadily each year. and
further Ii at the success of the bridge
was assured by the fact that despite the
free government bridge large ferry
costing more than half the cost Of
the pontoon bridge, could run at a
cost of 1927 q day and the bridge
would require but one man. and the
aggregate daily expense would not ex-
coed 81 6 day. His rates of toll, he
said. would be two and a-half cents for
pedestrians each way, five cents to all
teams each way, except loads barred from
the government bridge. on which the toll
would be forty cents for the round trip.
He estimsted the total annual receipts to
be $50, 900, and he had no hesitancy in
stating that if the bridge was built it
would drive the ferry out of existence,
and he expected opposition from the
Rock Island and Davenport Ferry COM
psny, as veil as from certain of the retail
merchants. He made the assertion that
the ferry was a power in the community
and said that the building of the pontoon
bridge would be the death of the ferry
and at the same time take large portion
of the profits of the Davenport & Rock
Island street railway. There was no
philsnthr ophy in business he said. and he
knew that his enterprise would run the
ferry out He would therefore agree to
give the ferry company $500 to tie up as
soon as the bridge company was formed
or he would lease the boat and run il
until the bridge was constructed. BE
would like to do this because he contem'
plated that the Rock Island approach to
the bridge should be where the ferry now
lands. II the ferry proprietors would
not agree to this the bridge would have
to be built lower down, and moved uI
after the ferry had been forced to absn-
don business. He did not think that the
ferry was charging reasonable rates, anC
thought that the ferrisge should be less
He thought there would be immens,
profits in a pontoon bridge which would
get all the money that now goes to tn,
ferry, which would simply have to ii,
up.
At the conclusion of Col. Stew
arts remarks, General Schmitt sail
he did not think the bridge wa!
as essential to the convenienc,
or to tn. interest of the people of Roci
Island, as it would il we did not have {
bridge and the best ferry on the river
indeed he best facilities for crossing tn