Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-02-07
CASH FOR CHECKS.
Will the Rock island Banks Ac.
commodate Island Men?
THE SYSTEM 0F>PAY NOW IN VOGUE.

49,
Various Local Financial Institutions VS.
lied and How They Feel About It
Hope That the Pisn VIII Again be
Changed.
Some of the Davenport papers have
taken it upon themselves to attack
merchants here for having been in
strumental in seeking to change the
system o: pay to employees at Rock ISL
and arsenal from checks to cash. They
have held that the protest against
the check was viewed as an ad-
vantage to Davenport in that certain
Of the banks there alternate in keep
ing open after hours pay days on the
island for the purpose of accommo-
dating the men in converting their
paper into ready cash for distribu-
ton among the business men. and
that many of the Rock Island at
taches of the island have been drawn
to Davenport BY this action on the
part Of the banks there. Hence the
papers over there assert a kick on
the part of Rock Island business men.
What Was Petitioned For.
To 90 back to the beginning of the
check system it may be said that
when the innovation was introduced
it met with some opposition on the
I art of the men. Thereupon they
were privileged to express their pref
erence and all favored the cash sys.
tenn which was egain adopted. But
eventually the check made its ap
pearance again. Rock Island EN-.
ployes spoke to the merchants of the
Inconvenience entailed in liquidatine
Indebtedness promptly on the day o.
receiving their money. They were
obliged to 90 to Davenport first OF
wait day or two until they could
find time to call at Rock Island bank:
during hours, or to have their wives
attend to it, and this to some in
volved some Inconvenience. 1t wa!
on the strength of such representa-.
ton The ARGUS is told that the de-
partment at Washington was writer
with the result that the matter Of
system was made optional with the
men and so, the vote of last Satur
day. The expression showed a pre-
ponderance of sentiment in favor o.
the check system, but many of the
men now claim shat this was due
first to the voting OF the Davenport
men solidlv for the check. and sec
ondly to the fact that many were no
privileged to record their own abso
lutte feelings in the matter; that they
were approached in a casual sort Of
manner and did not understand tha
their vote was formal, while some
were lead to believe that the arsenal
itself had its own preference, anyway
and SO some of the employees thought
it to their interests to sustain the
check plan.
Now as far as the Davenport pa.
pers, which have made the assertion
relative to Rock Island merchants, are
concerned, there is no reason why the
latter should not interest themselves
fully as much in the matter as the
tradesmen on the other side of tn,
river. As matter of fact, the peo
pie of Rock Island pride themselves
that the arsenal is 4 little more tt
them than it is to Davenport, any
way. 1t is strictly and entirely il
name and otherwise a Rock IslanC
institution, and while it is sustained
by the general government and be
longs to the general government, i
is in the state of Illinois aud canno
be changed. So that Rock Island
while feeling perfectly willing tina
Davenport should term it the "gov
eminent" island, as it does the "gov
ernment bridge" it reserves the RICH
to express disapproval when tn
Iowa city attempts to regulat
things there.
The Rock Island Banks.
The ARGUS has reason to believ,
that return will vet be made to tn,