Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1897-02-20
THAT FULTON FUSS
Something Of How the Fact,
Have 6een Misrepresented.
Al APPREmArEDwoR pHFHus

Rock 1slond for support.
Outside Of Whiteside county. md
one paper in Moline, the reputable
newspapers of the state, editorlslly.
have treated Rock leland fairly Win
regard to the attempt to recover the
Offices Of the Modern Woodmen \of
America at Fulton, and this despite
the unjust and Inaccurate aspect Oh
the afsir given tho reports sent out
to the press from the Fulton stand
point The Whiteside village which
has succeeded in making 90 much
trouble for the grest order of Wood
craft, Is unaccustomed to being
called on to furnish An account Of an
event of sufficient importance to jus.
tify mention beyond the confines Of
its own county. and hence has had
NO opportunity for training in those
requisites that are essential to
. live newspaper correspondent
imPartislity and statement of facts
untainted by personal prejudice.
As consequence the reports fur
niehed from Fulton are all highly
colored with the Fulton view of the
situation. and Rock Island is referred
to IS sending baud of msrauders
and brigands there to break the laws,
ETC., whereas. as has been said be-
fore, the law violating was all on the
part of the Whiteside mob that has
for years been resisting the law of an
order representing $50. 600 men, and
defyiDg that order in its purpose to
locate its seat Of governments any,
where other than in the town Of
Fulton.
As said before, however, the news.
papers have been as o rule disposed to
act fairly toward Rock leland where
CONNIE nts have been made apart from
he misrepresenting press dispatches
None. however, has taken the pains to
lay the facts correctly before the pun
lie that the Springfield State Register
has. and the high ana honorable pos
ition taken by this journal is apprec-
lated all the more because OF the
purely unbiased manner in which it
has done its duty a. . newspaper,
and likewise because of the influence
1t yields ~ one of the
truly representative and widely read
papers Of the state OF Illinois.
ssstemsnts Not Sustained By Facts.
Z Says the Register in introducing
its account Of the affair: THE press
dispatches sent out from Fulton.
ILL.,, Tuesday concerning the contest
between the citizens of Rock Island
and the citizens CT Fulton, over the
possession of the records of the Mod
srn Woodmen of America. were not
IN accordance with the facts % the
State Register has learned them.
They did injustice to the citizens of
Rock Island and to the head officers
and directors of the Modern Wood.
men," After briefly reciting the
facts in the case, which are we'll
known, and the defeat of the iniunc-
ton in the appellate court, the Reg
lister goes on to say: 1.-The directors
OF the Modern Woodmen felt it to be
their bounden duty as the ,epresen.
tatives Of the head camp to carry out
Its orders ct once. a. thew had al
ready been too long della, cd. The
directors, therefore, sent word i'm.
mediately to prominent Woodmen at
Rock Island to procure four box cars
and bring . train to Fulton with
enough assistance to transfer the
records to the cars during Monday
night. 80 that there would be no In
corruption to the proceedings of the
board Of directors at their meetiups
which are held during the day. The
directors requested the Rock Island
Woodmen to send enough men to
make the transfer, because they
knew no Fulton people could be OBJ.
tanned to do the work. There was
no concealment about the purpose of
the directors to remove the records
o soon % the Injunction would DER
nit. They were ordered 90 to do by
the head camp and we're simply car.
rying ont their orders Is they were
in duty bound to do. The Rock Isl.
and people who came to Fulton in
response to the request Of the board
Of directors were no mob, as
the press dispatches state, but we're
reputable citizens Of high character
and position. and of course had NO
purpose to do an illegal act or to in
any way interfere with the rights or
property or persons of the people of
fulton, nor did they at any time do
90. 1t was the citizens of Fulton at
the instigation Of and under the in
Fuence of hot heads who formed q
mob, which performed all the riot
Gus acts that were performed. The
Rock Island people went to Fulton,
as We have stated in response to q
telegram from the directors Of the
Woodmen. and were not engaged in
any way in rioto7s conduct. Even
the mayor Of Fulton, We are in.
formed, became invisible and could
not b found, when he was wanted
to read the riot act to HE constitu-
ents, who were behaving in such m
unseemingly manner. During the
night. and while the Fulton mob
were besieging the head officers. di.
rectors and the Rock Island visitors
g the headquarters Of the
Woodmen, some Of the shrewder
citixens Of Fulton eent word 20 an