Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1891-05-19
PROGRESS.
The Paid Fire Department Ordi.
nance Unanimously Adopted.
WITH SALARY CLAUSE AFFIXEp.
ihe Long Sought for improvement,
Comes at Last-More Paving
Ordinances Also Read Re-
fore the Council.

Rock Island is to have paid fire de-
partment
The great reform toward which the CITY
has been gradually inclinlng for many
| years has at last won, and the council
reflected popular sentiment last evening
when 1t adopted the ordinance stipulatinp
for the new system by unanimous vote.
every councilmen voting a hearty ave"
to the proposition.
The ordinance originally introduced bv
Alderman j E. Larkin was read the
third time before the council by Alder
man Corken of the fire and light commit
tee, who moved its adoption. Alderman
Huesing seconded the motion and the
ordinance being put on its passage, was
carried unanimously.
Alderman Corken then offered an adj
! duonal clause, or rather an amendment
TO the salary ordinance. providing for the
salaries of the officers of the department
and in accordance with this. City Attor,
ney Haas repaired to the city clerks of,
| nee and drew the necessary ordinance
which was introduced later, and also
! passed unanimously. 1t provides that
the chiefs salary shall be $500, and the
assistantS chief 500 ard the fire.
men $500. There will probably be
eight men in the department bes de the
chief, one of which will draw 500 as
assistant chief, The council Will no
doubt push the preliminary details as
rapidly as possible now. and two or three
more meetings will witness the complete
! establishment of the paid department. 1t
should be in running shape by the Fourth
of July.
Aid. Huesing presented an ordinance
for the paving of Third avenue from the
east line of Twenty -fourt TO the west
line of Ninth street; also for paving
Nineteenth between Second and Third
and the alley between Second and Third
and Eighteenth and Nineteenth.
Aid. Knox objected to the paving of
the alley. He was in favor of public i'm
pEovements, but he thought the paving
of the alley would entail an unnecessary
burden on the property holders.
Aid. Huesing explained that the
present alley was an eyesore, and had a
tendency.to detract from the favorable
impression our beautiful Spencer square
and the Second avenue pavement created
in the minds of strangers in the city.
Besides the alley would have TO be filed
and graded, anyway, and by paving it
the city would save the expense and at
the same time provide perman-
ent improvement.
Aid Evans proposed as an amendment
that the ordinance provide.fo the paw
ing of the block between First and Sec
ond n Nineteenth street also, and so
amended, it was properly referred.
There were number of entertaining
little tits during the evening. though
none grew out Of the matter of public
| improvements. Aid. Corken at a meet
ing some time ago presented a petition
from the Rock Island Plow company for
the temporary use Of part of Sixth street
| over which there is no traffic, for the
| erection of shed for fuel IN order that it
might increase the capacity of its foundry
| and give employment to more men. The
petition was referred to the street and
| alley committee. which through its chair
man, Aid. Kennedy, reported fsvorahly
| last evening. Aid. Evans asked Aid.
| Kennedy il he had been down to examine
| the premises and he answered in the nega>
! tive, but said the other members of the
committee had been over the ground,
AID Evans then gave MIR. Kennedy a
dressing down for reporting things to the
council that he knew nothing about.
Aid. Corken vigorously denounced the
disposition of certain members of the
council in not encouraging industrial en-,
terprises and he thought the rights sought
in this petition were not 50 great but
what the council should promptly con-
cede them.
Aid. Evans thought the company
should pay for what rights it secured
from the city.
Aid. Huesing suggested that perhaps
the city could lease or sell some lots to
the pillow company which it owned near
the old waterworks. The matter was
again referred back to be reported upon
| at future meeting.