Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1898-11-05

Been Very Condescending So Far In
His Generosity to the Community at
Large.
As the forerunner to announcement
on the part of Promoter +. p. Blair,
of the Bridge and Terminal enterprise.
that he will present an ordinance at
next Monday nights council meeting
showing Just what is needed to put
his system in order, the Union gives
over a column of its issue this morn
ing to Mr.. Blair's use. 1t is refresh
ing to know that Mr.. Blair is to make
known just what is needed further to
put his system in order. The council
seems to have labored under much
difficulty and no little misapprehen-
sion in the past in giving to Mr..
Blair what he has needed, and right
here let it be understood that
there is no purpose to Prems-
turely prejudice Mr.. Blair's future
claims upon the city, notwithstand-
ing that the city is accused of treating
him so shamefully. THE ARGUS has
no hesitancy in saying, however, that
any further attempt to secure such
extraordinary rights as were asked
Thursday, no matter in what form
they may be presented, should, as
they doubtless will, be met with the
positive refusal on the part of the
council. Any proposition that in
wolves the giving away of further
privileges upon the river front
to any corporation whatever ought
not to be considered. The coun-
ell has taken the proper ground
and the future will judge it by its
acts of the present moment. If Mr..
Blair can present reasonable prop
osition that does not involve the cut
ting off of the levee to the uses of
river commerce, that will be anoth er
thing-but the moment has come
when the council should not act has
tily, and above all should not fall
within any proposition to stay the
progress of work on the levee pending
such decision, as it has right to take
time to consider. There has been
enough delay on the river front al
ready, thanks largely to Mr.. Blair's
kindly interference. He must not re-
tard it further.
Not So Badly Treated.
To one unfamiliar with the situa-
ton as it actually is in Rock Island,
one would, upon reading the Union,
imagine that Mr.. Blair was the most
Systematically abused man who ever
sought the kindly graces and winsome
smiles of modern city-so boyish.
so absolutely childish is the tenor
Of the Unions article. There is
talk of the councils taking Mr.. |
Blair's money for the removal of the |
Peoria round house, and |
/,
upon him, and finally that Mr.. Blair's |
chief fault was that he was too easily |
on the outset with verbal |
assurances. One would imagine |
from these utterances that the coun- |
ell had forced Mr.. Blair to run his |
tracks through the Peoria round |
house and had also forced upon him |
such other privileges as he enjoys |
here. He was too easily contented |
ON the outset with verbal assurances. "
1t is indeed sad that the affable pro-
moter should have permitted himself |
to be so good naturally imposed upon |
by the confidence operating city of
Rock Island.
If there are any paragraphs in the |
Unions article that are intended to |
make a deeper impression than others |
they are these two:
The talk of The ARGUS about Mr.. |
Blair opposing the levee improvement |
is mere rubbish dust raised APP
parently to divert the public eye from
The hold-up that seems TO be going OH |
for a consideration. 1t appears to
De all right, in the estimation of this |
for the Peoria people to be
provided with an extensive coal ward |
1t the east end of the levee, but for |
Mr.. Blair to ask a coal yard on the |
vest end, though it be for the benefit |
IF the Burlington railway and Lamont |
L Son. and not for the profit of the |
interests he represents at all, these |
interests being merely anxious to get |
/ blocking coal track out of their way |
that is esteemed very wrong in
Iced,
Mr.. Blair offered to do what he /
,ould TO help the new levee along, but
without completed railway or any
rolling stock. he could not well offer
o haul material, as the Burlington
md the Peoria did. He showed his
rood will TO the city, however, when
he mayor was confronted with q
charge OF 40 cents ward for sand for
he reservoir. by offering TO do the
work of pumping with his big sand
boar. at actual cost, estimated by the
mayor at 10 cents yard, and thi. I'M
expected competition caused drop on
he part of those who afterwards Sc
:ured the order. to 25 cents-a saving
% the city on the basis of 5, 90 yards
IF 81, 200
The complimentary allusion that is
made in the opening lines of the above
% The ARGUS and council jointly is
doubtless as fully appreciated by the
council as it is by The ARGUS. Fortu-
nately for this paper its reputation
vas established long before Mr.. Blair
;'Ssle 70 capture the town. and its
-ecord of answering devotion TO pub
&c good As against the interest Of any
is too well known 10 re-