Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1899-03-31
GREAT ACHIEVEMENT.
Vain Attempts to Detract From
the Benefits of New
Reservoir.
ALL GRATEFUL TO MAYOR MEDILL

tions-Pure Water for People of Present
Day and Future Generations-No In
crease OF Taxes.
Utterly unable to combat the argu-
ment which the reservoir is in itself
presenting in behalf of Mayor Medill's
reelection, the Union this morning
seeks vainly to confront with vagar-
les the indisputable evidence pres
scented in last nights ARGUS of the
beauties and benefits of the reservoir
system provided by Mayor Medill.
which from a financial standpoint, as
well as otherwise, is acknowledged to
be 4 brilliant achievement. The fact
that the accomplishment is not to in
crease the taxes of the city one iota,
that it is to lie paid for year by year out
of the saving that the plan of opera
ton is to make. anu out of the earn
ings of the waterworks plant, and that
at the same time the city is not TO be
hindered in going on in reducing her
bonded Indebtedness as in the past, is
sufficient to merit and secure the graf
itude of all fair minded citizens for
so nota bic and signal an accomplish
ment on Mayor Medill's part. The
plain facts are that Mayor Medill has,
as the result of careful study, found n
way to give the people of the present
day and generation pure water. with
out involving one penny of additional
cost to them, and the patrons of the
city water supply. which now include
so vast a portion of citizens and are in
creasing annually, get pure, clean
aud wholesome water for the same
money that they have heretofore paid
for what in the increasing volume
of consumption has outgrown the ca
pacity of the iiitering process at the
pumping station to cleanse.
Clear Water Now-And In the Future.
As has been said heretofore, the cry
for the past quarter of century in
Rock Island has been for n purer
water supply, but the answer of each
wait Tomorrow" as our late
enemy. the Spaniards, would put it.
Hon. Ben L. Cables gift to the city of
n filtering plant at the waterworks
provided the relief, until the rapidly
growing and still more rapidly in
creasing consumption of water took
it beyond the capacity of the water
works plant to supply the needs Of
the people. Mayor Medill saw the
duty that faced the municipality dur
ing his first administration, and made
a careful study of it then. 1t was es-
sential that the city should meet all
the requirements, not only cleans
ing and filtering plant, but storage
one as well. When he was called the
second time to the executive chair he
went about the solution of the prob
lem, and he has succeeded. The ex-
cuse that we should keep constantly
putting off a duty we owe to our
selves and the people who reside here
today, did not satisfy Mayor Medill.
If the condition of the water supply
is not all that it should be, commended
Mayor Medill, why should we wait
until the close of our days to remedy
it if within the bounds of reason we
can enjoy that much coveted i'm
provement now? And that was the
very same argument that was applied
in the days when street and park i'm
provements were inaugurated in Rock
island. Then, too, there was n dis
position to say wait" to let the
future handle the undertakings-and
enjoy them-while those of the pres
ent day might peg along in the same
old rut and way, accomplishing moth
imp and having none of the advantages
of modern improveme mt and pro-
gress.