Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1900-11-03

McKinstry couldn't nominate him
self for chairman, the older members
gracefully rose to the occasion and E.
NJ. Wilcox and Ezra Wilcher were
made chairman and secretary, re-
spectiYely.
Then Company A proceeded to do
business. On a demand from several
of the agsrieved members who hadn't
read the article they had met to re-
pudiate, the secretary read the same.
Then the discussion began. Several
talks were made by those named,
bringing out that their objection to
the article under discussion lay in its
partisan character as an attack upon
the administration. Louis Rosenield
and Z. II. Dunavin spoke in opposi-
sition to taking action duplicating
Company A in politics. The former
reviewed the well-known position of
THE ARGUS toward soldiers of the civil
and Spanish wars as evinced by the
many instances in which the paper
had gone out of its way in order to do
them kindnesses and eVince its loyalty
to them. He held that a denunciation
of the paper would show ingratitude
as well as partisan spirit that was
not becoming 10 the organizations rep
resented or the place in which the
meeting was held.
After much discussion the resolu-
tions Mr.. McKinstry had drawn up
were changed to read. Company a
and veterans of the civil war" and,
finally, to "mem bers of Company A
and veterans of the civil war" In
this form they were passed ,Mckinstry
and two other mem bers of Company
A who had entered during the discus
sion voting for. and five members
against, them. Thus the name of the
company was forced into the resolu-
tions against the will of the alority
present.
One Gen. Wilcox may be regarded
As the bright and shining light
OF the affair. Indeed, the gem
eral served due notice on The ARGUS
some days before that "us old soldiers
propose to hand you out something ="
The hand-out came according to prom
Use last night. In his election as pres
ident of the meeting the windy poll
tician got into just the position that
he desired in order to be able to COM
municate with his chief, Gen. Robert
St. George Dyrenforth, who, as head
of the l.. V. u. organization, recently
issued an edict to the mem bers to sup
port Mckinley, as to the ice he is cut
ting among the veterans of two
wars in Rock Island. The people of
Rock Island gained something of
an idea of the influence of Gen. Ed in
his favorite order little over two
years ago when it honored this city
with it's national encampment. We
do not think Gen. Wilcox will hest
tate to testify to the efforts of THE
ARGUS among others TO make the re-
union n memorable one. And it was
memorable, not maybe in the sense
that was so fondly anticipated-but
it was memorable. And Wilcox was
the hero of the hour. Wilcox and
the other political reformer, Pete Nor
CART, constituted the whole thing in
Rock Island that week.
But now since retrospection is nat
urally the part of a paper smarting
as THE ARGUS is under the censure that
Gen. Wilcox has administered, it re-
of the rebukes it received in other
days for the same dear generals sake.
1t recalls wildly how, when it thought
it was indulging in harmless gratiica-
tion of the generals vanity by bestow-
ing the ranks that fell in such