Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1899-09-13
ARE IN A DEADLOCK,
Trustees of Western Illinois Nor.
NAL BalIoi Without
Result.
MR.. BAYLISs VOTES AROUND.

L
But This Does Not Alter the Situation
Long Drawn Out Fight in Prospect
Propositions of the Different Cities Bid
ding for the Institution.
The trustees of the Western Illinois
Normal school are still in a deadlock.
They took 40 ballots at this morning
session at the Harper house. but
without changing the situation. They
held an executive session from l
until noon, and then adjourned until
5 p. m.
Daring last nights meeting Trus-
tee Bavliss voted twice around for the
competing towns, but this did not
cause an effective break, and then he
returned to Aledo, which place he has
been supporting from the start.
The contest which has been going
on for the past two weeks at Gales burg
over the location of the Western Nor
NAL school has been noted from
time to time in n cursory way. The
scene of the contest is now changed
to Rock Island, the trustees having
adjourned last Friday at Galesburg
to meet at the Harper house yesterday
afternoon at o'clock. The meeting
was not held, however, until s, State
Superintendent Bayliss having missed
connection at Beardstown and not ar
irving in the city until evening. At
that time the trustees took 10 ballots,
ending with the 230th, and then went
into executive session for an hour. adj
journing to meet this morning at .
o'clock.
The trustees and the visiting dele
cations from the various cities seeking
the location of the Normal school eX-
press their pleasure at the change
from Galesburg to Rock Island as the
place of their meeting and are lavish
in their praises of their improved sur
roundings here.
At the last session of the legislature
law was passed establishing the
Western State Normal school to be
located in what is known as the mill
tary tract and west of the Fourth
principal meridian. The governor
was empowered to appoint five trus-
tees who with the state superintend-
ent of public instruction, Mr.. Bay
liss, were to constitute the board of
trustees of the school.
Origin of the Law.
The law originated in the city of
Macomb and was pushed through the
legislature by the speaker, l.. Y. Sher-
man, a resident of Macomb. This
fact and the limitation as to the place
CT its loca tion. as stated above, have
led the public generally to conclude
that the act was passed with refer
ence to its location at NEacomb only.
And this claim has been freely made
nv 10 of hof fair nit
But if this was the intention the ma
chinery must have slipped cog some
where, for in the voting Macomb has
the support only of its member on the
board, and has, so far as has devel-
oped, no other strength. On the con-
trary, the fact that it has been given
out and claimed that the law was
passed with reference to the location
of the school at Macomb, has had the
effect of preventing the support of
any other of the trustees for fear of
being charged with being in the
scheme. However this alleged fear
may eventually develop as but in fact
a part of the willy plans of the pres
ent speaker.
The propositions were submitted to
the board on Aug. 81, at Galesburg,
at public meeting where delega-
tions from all the cities were pres
emit. They were from Aledo, La
Harpe, Macomb, Monmouth, Oquaw-
ka, Quincy and Rushville. The site |
and other emoluments offered by La
Harpe and Oquawka were so insig- |
nificant that they were considered |
out of the race from the start, leav- |
ing the other cities named as Compel |
itors for the prize.
The Different Offers.
The proposition from Aledo was |
any one of dozen sites to be selected |
by the trustees, valued at 500 900. a
paved street from the depot with |
paved sidewalks on both sides thereof |
from the depot to any site the tIus-
tees may select. with the extension of
water mains and electric wires to the
school, the donation to the school of
the collection of geological, concho-
logical. archaeological and other speci-
mems known as the Marsh collec-
tion.' This collection of specimens
covers very extended field, EN- body
ing 10000 species and upward of
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