Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-09-05
HENNEPlN'S RIGHT ROUTE
The Army Commission to Deter.
mine it Monday.
The Ac tiOn Of the Citizens Improve
ment A>ssc,at on and the Import.
ant Work OF the Beginners.


action of the Rock Island Citizens I'm
provement association at it's special meet
ing Thursday night in adopting resolu>
lions providing for the entertainment of
the commission to pass upon the loca>
ton of the Hennepin;csnsl terminus and
fsvoring the north shore route,a Cheeky
proceeding" and in explanation of this
assertion it says: The duty of this com
mission is TO investigate as to which is
the best route for the canal, the north or
south. The gentlemen on the board are
engineers of ability and wide experience
and know just what they are appointed
for, and when they make up their report
the authorities will know that it is cor.
rect. Well, the Citizens league evident
ly hiss an idea that the commissioners
don't understand their business and &C
cOrdingly resolved to tender the services
of a committee from the organization for
tie. purpose OF assisting the commission
IN reaching d just conclusion.
The AKUUs fails to see the action Of
the Citizens I'm Improvement ASSOCIATION in
the same light The Tribune does. Had
the association adopted resolutions before
it was asked to and before an investigs-
ton had been ordered as TO the route, it
would most assuredly have been a
cheeky proceeding" but as The ARGUS
understands it The commission is desir-
Gus of gaining al the information possi>
BILE with reference to the route, and all
that csn be said for or against both the
established line and the one upheld by
the objectionists to the work of the
engineers. In view of these facts as far
as the Improvement association is con-
cerne5, its action was perfectly proper
and in order, no matter what the nature
or expression of the resolutions. As far
as providing for the entertainment of the
visitors goes, the association sim
ply provided for extending the courtesies
expected of body of representative cit
liens, and it is hardly expected the Dsv-
export Business Mems association will
fail to act similarly.
While The ARGUS has full confidence
in the wisdom of the board OF engineers
to determine the proper route for the
canal, ire pective Of its effect upon pri-
Vste interests, 1t hopes that every cour-
tesy will be shown the officers while here,
ard that they may be provided with all
information hearing upon the subject
they are to consider.
TIE ARGUS is for the canal first, last
and all the time. 1t is for Hennepin first
and route afterwsgd. The measure is of
more Importance than its route or where
il terminates. THE ARGUS would very
much have regretted to have seen any
other route than that emptying into the
mouth OF Rock river adopted. 1t believes
the government acted wisely in adopting
the Rock river route. 1t believes it
was the original intention of the govern
ment that the canal should follow the
north line of Rock river to its mouth, and
that such course would have been pur-
sued by the engineers but for the exorbi-
tant prices demanded for property rights,
which blocked the engineers in their
work and drove them to the south side of
the river where they found they could
save the government $4,000. The
ARGUS has upheld the engineers because
it believes they acted disinterestedly ard
for the.best interests of the government;
because it believed that sntsgonism to
them would have the effect of an
tagonism to the canal and give the sp-
pearance of local strife among the three
cities here over measure that has always
been termed of national importance, such
as indeed it most certainly is. Viewing
the situation candiClY, it seems difficult to
arrive at but one conclusion, that greedy
property sholders thought they saw a
chance to obtain their own figures from
the government, and they stood out for
them even though il drove the canal from
our doors and threatened the entire meas
ure, and then left the matter of appealing
to the association for assistance until all
other methods had failed, and after sttor.
neys had been secretly sent to Washington
70 secure q change Of the established line
and failed. 1t was for this reason, the
ARGUS believes, that the association did
not act at the time TN effort was made to
have it do so some time ago, even to the
preparation Of resolutions, which it was
then hoped to railroad through. The
association did not take steps until it was
invited to.
THE ARGUS maintains the position it
hiss held all along; that the engineers are
not to blame for the present con dition,
and should be upheld, and the blame