Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1896-09-22
CUSTOMARY CUSSEONESs
Morning Paper Gioats Over the Defeat of
the Leves Ordinance.


The Union OF this morniny elosts
over the defea. OF the river improve.
ment ordinance, and presents u
strange array Of figures 10 sustain
the narrow vote OF the couucii
which sustained the mayors veto
last evening. The chief Of these is
the city engineers estimate Of $780,
100. and other estimates as to
the source Of revenue, etc. The fig.
ures cut no figure, so to sp-ak, in
the present instance, whatsoever. In
the first place the city engineers
estimate is ridiculously high. aud
contractors who have looked over
the specifications have all agreed
that $50. 900 is from $40, 600 to $15,-
600 above what the actual cost would
be. As the city engineer has made
mistakes before there is no reason
to accept the figures quote as infal-
lible. But the cost o, the i'm
provement based upon the present
status of the proceec in IS does not
afford sound argument in warrant
ing the city in stopping as it has
The merit Of the policy in go
ing ahead reposed in a pur-
pose to ascertain the actual
cost and from what source aud
to what extent that revenue was to
come. The passage of the ordinance
again, and the com meucemcnt Of pro-
cecdings in the county court, to-
gether with the advertisement for
conditional bids, would have enabled
the city to have learned officially and
accurately what the improvement
would cost and who ought to pay it.
This course would not necessarily
have meant proceedings further than
the point teyon it was possible 20 20
with absolute protection to the city.
The city need not have let the
contract, and not have incurred a
cent Of liability. 1t could have
levied the cost and assessed the
railroads; whether it could have re-
quired their payment Of part OF the
improvement or not, it copl 4 have
asccrtained how much they ought to
pay as well as their true disposition.
But because of the fact that it would
have been shown that the work
could be economically done and the
railroads and ferry should bear a
fair proportion Of the undertaking
and that the city's portion would
have been nominal, the Improvement
was throttled. That is the long and
short Of it.
The Union makes a further ridicu-
lous assumption that the effect Of
sustaining the mayors veto will be
to compel the Bridge and Terminal
company to do its own g aiding along
the riser front instead of having a
roadbed shaped to its purpose along
the river front. This is the veriest
rot in the way OF an argument. and
would carry more weight were it not
for the influence that same terminal
company has exerted to kill the river
front ordinance. The purpose OF
carrying the proceedings to tie
county court was to have all the
corporations assessed and then to
ascertain their disposition or their
capacity to pay before proceeding on
one cent OF Improvement there The
terminal company. it must be ad-
mit,ed. has for a new concern been
- pretty big factor in the levee agi-
tation. but it has figured in delaying
the Improvement; not in aiding it.
The only way to find out what the
terminal company is worth to the
city was lost in last nights action of
the council-and there were people
present who knew il.
The council will now devote its at
; tenticn to the proposition submitted
last night to make the levee more Of
dumping ground than heretofore
aud later on it will doubtless re-
ceive application to erect more
shaniies here. And all these little
requests may be granted. Any old
Thing is good enough while Mayo,
hnoN's regime continues, and as for
the onion-well it has always had
an Unborn aversion to pu Bile improve.
ment in any form