Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-10-07
WANT THEM TO STAY 81
Up in Dubuque They Want to Keen
the Brass Foundry.
A Valuable Industry Which Rock
Is and Has Been Working for
May be Lost After All.

TIE ARGUS has made sllusion twice of
late, TO the prospects of Rock Island se-
curing new and valuable industry
through the fundamentally of the Citi-
| zens' Improve ment association, and par
ticularly the forts of Chairman Fercu.
son. of the co nmittee on manufacturers,
and Secretary Searle. of the association.
Mention has been made of the visit of a
! representative of slch an industry To-
Rock Island, and of the fact that negoti,
atoms were pending, but the nsme of the
enterprise.it its present location and its rep.
resentative were withheld for the good and
sufficient reason that it is not always dis
erection to make premature announce,
ments of matters of this kind, because
it often opens the ewes of
Others TO our own endeavors and gives Cd.
portunity to others to profit thereby tits,
perhaps more of sacrifice to newspa
per to withhold important news than
many people may think, nevertheless the
ARGUS has been willing to do itin this mat
ter. But it seems that other papers haye
been disposed to act otherwise, and
here is the result. 1t is taken from the
Dubuque Telegraph and is self explana.
| tory:
On one of the lower streets of our town
has stood for years shabby collection eff
| wood shops with sooty windows and
I'D ,,lr L.. e.
smoke stacks has poured a constant
stream OF smoke every working day and
at morning snd night stream of work
| ing people has passed ia aud out. There
has been no parade, no articles in the
| papers about this business but the Du>
buque Brass & Metal Co. are known IN
every large market of the United States
as manufacturers of plumbers goods.
| The man who was at the head of this
business was good mechanic and
around him have grown up
from boys to men people who
today have no peers in the manufacture
of these specislties. Through the force
Of circumstances, to put it mildly, this
business is now in the courts and not
likely to be adjusted for may be years.
| The shops are closed and the men idle
men who have never known what it is to
| loaf, and do not know how to stand on
the street corners, who had rather work
than eat. Feeling that there was money
In the business and that the present
trouble was but the result of affairs en-
tirely outside Of the legitimate work of
the concern these working people have
come together and talked the matter over
| and want to form a stock concern to con-
tinue the affairs Of the company. Each
| one who mas home and q
little bank account is ready and will
| ling to risk all in the new enter
| prise. Every business man knows the
| difference between q man who Is putting
in his best work and the one who is seq
| ing how little ne can do in day. The
writer has had the privilege of meeting
| with these mer and never has he seen q
body of men with keener insight into the
details of their business, men who are
practical in every branch and who are
striving to find how they can improve
themselves in their craft. When q work
| ingmsn quotes the Scientific American OF
talks about the latest development in the
use Of electricity You can make up your
mind that he proposes to lead the pro-
cession, that be knows bis business.
The want OF funds sufficient to handle
this affair is barrier in their way which
they seek TO overcome by enlisting capital
| to help them out. and one of their num-
Der was sppoir ted to try and raise the
necessary funds to start stock company.
| Not meeting With the encouragement
here that should have been expected he
has looked TO other towns and is about to
transplant the whole business to Rock
Island where the people are willing and
anxious to foster such industries and the
capital necessary can be raised 10 start
/ again. Shall we let them go2 Are the
| interests of our town SO small that we can
| afford to see 81 families move from here
to rival manufacturing town. There
has been large amount of money put
| into different enterprises here in the past
year but none promise more than does
this one.
When every worker in a shop is inter-
| ested in his work and every time he
strikes blow On anvil or chucks lathe
| feels that il is for home and family SO
well as for the bosses that business Is
bound to succeed and prosper. We can
not afford to let another town take up
this project when we have the men, the
shops, and a large trade built up that can
be carried right along, when it is not a
question Of where the goods can be sod,
| but whose orders shall be filled first.
If we let them 60 We had better close
our board of II Ide. take our representa-
tives off the road and sit down in peace
till the city again becomes village and
gradually dwindles to another sleepy
shadow. :.
What is done must be done quickly if
we want to keep them here. There is
capital and plenty of it that if it is viii
ling to investig ate will find in this enter
prise q chance FOR investment that we
cannot afford to pass by. Let US have
meeting OF the business men Monday at
the board OF trade rooms. Act now or
we shall be too late.
The matter came before the regular