Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-06-27
A SENSIBLE VIEW.
What the Street Car Company Has Done
for the Community.


for the Community.
The Davenport Democrat has come
around to the sensible view as re-
CARDS the relations of the Davenport
d Rock Island Street Railway to this
community, endorsing now the stand
maintained by The ARGUS through
out all the company's ups and downs
in the three cities, and for which
reason this paper has upheld the
company in its struggles to perfect
and provide iirst-class system such
as we now enjoy. To a paper that
proffered its friendly aid to an insti-
tuition when friends were needed, it
is gratifying to observe the tendency
of the press in general to place
its sanction upon the company,
indicating that what has been
said in behalf Of the company in the
past has been fully verified by the
events that have since come to pass.
The Democrats article. which ap-
pears on its editorial page, is APP
pended in full:
The Davenport & Rock Island
Street Railway company for the past
five years has been before the public
almost constantly. Its affairs have
been discussed in the city council
and on the street. 1t has put down
tracks and it has taken them up. It
has had troubles of its own and also
some that have been made for it bv
the public.
Taking both sides of the account
into consideration, the Democrat is
of the opinion, and it thinks the peo-
pie are generally of the same opinion.
that Davenport is under an everlast
ing debt of gratitude 10 the men who
own and manage the street car sys-
tenn here and in the cities of Rock
Island and Moline. This trinity of
cities has never before enjoyed such
n complete service as is furnished at
the present time. 1t has come so
gradually that one fails to realize it
who has not travelled over the differ
ent lines and all of them. The cap
ital invested runs above the million
dollar mark, and the number of men
on the pay roll equals that of large
factory.
Compare the streets Of Davenport,
Rock Island and Moline now with
their condition when the electric
cars were first operated. The change
that has been made in the way of
street paving has quickened i'm
provements on all sides. In place of
ruts and holes, over which it was i'm
possible to haul large loads or to
drive with pleasure, there are now
miles upon miles of the best road bed
in the west. Has it occurred to any,
body that the street car company is
responsible for this to a greater de-
gree than are the city ceancils or the
people? Can it he doubted that if
the street car syndicate had not been
ready to put down the money. that
this improvement in great part would
not have matcrialized for years? 1t
Is now possible to drive from one end
of Davenport to the other. and from
the river to Central park on solid
brick. On the other side of the river
the paving extends from East Moline
to Rock Island. There are some
blocks of street here and across the
run which are bricked, but the aggre-
gate of such streets is small COM
pared with those covered by street
car tracks. In other words, street
car paving has followed the electric
cars, and while property owners have
been called upos, TO meet assessments
against abutting property, the cost
has been divided among hundreds.
IL has come out of the street car com.
pany in lump, and the amount is
something enormous, being no less
than $4,000.
Worth Thinking About.
Take another view Of the benefits.
Count the new houses that are going
up, and it will he found that most OF
them are within easy reach of the
electric tracks. No part of Daven-
port is growing so rapidly as that in
the vicinity of the Grand avenue
school house. Without the extension
of the street car tracks to that part
of town. the improvement there
could not have been so great. The
same favorable comment might be
made in other directions.
The Democrat has called attention
to this phase of the street car ques-
ton because it is worth thinking
about. This city, and the cities
across the river, owe more to the
street car company than can he paid
by any patronage extended. The
men who have put down their mon
ey, and who will pay out thousands
of dollars more of it this year, have
benefited this city beyond estimate.
Not for years can they hope to real
izc the returns that have already
come to citizens and property hold
ers.
"A SurDrisp Party.