Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1900-08-04
CAR CUT OFF AGAIN.
Electric Sprinkler Returns to the
Shed After Affording Some
Comfort.
DIFFICULTIES NOT YET ADJUSTED
Street Railway Company Makes
Reasonable Concessions
To the City.

/ welcome as IL Was, WAS Ill OI IulsLdhC
after all. The people were permitted
to feast their eyes on the spectacle of
few trips of the car yesterday. and
q few more this morning. Then the
car was run into the sheds again-by
order of the mayor. The sprinkler,
it develops, came out through a mis-
| understanding. The sprinkler COM
pany understood that negotiations
| had progressed to point that
seemed to promise an adjudication
of the difficulties and therefore felt
justified in taking the car from it's re-
treat to which it had been ordered by
| the city authorities. The people felt
refreshed at the first sight of it. and
were just beginning to realize that
| life is not a barren waste when the
mayor ordered it off the street again.
The sprinkler was a blessing while it
was out, although it came forth unbid-
den, and for small favors. though
contrary to the mayors orders, all
are thankful.
1t now appears that the city au-
thorities did not sanction the ac-
ton of the sprinkler company in
bringing out the electric sprinkler
yesterday afternoon. and in the eve
ming Mayor McConochie stated that
no more sprinkling ahould be done
till the water rent of the company,
which is past due, be paid. The
mayor and Aid. Gall. the latter chair
man of the water works committee.
yesterday conferred with Manager j.
F. Lardner. of the Tri-City Railway
company and obtained an agreement
on the part of that gentleman to re-
bate the Scent mileage formerly
charged the sprinkler company. This
would amount to about $l75 a year.
But there is now a mi sunderstand
ing about the $50 amonth the street
car company has been paying for the
sprinkling on the island that remains
to be settled.
Street Car Company Is Liberal.
The point of difference between
the street railway company and the
sprinkler company for the sprinkling
of Fort Armstrong avenue, Rock
Island arsenal, seems to be thai Man.
ager Lardner, of the car company, ex-
pected his concession to the sprinkler
company to even up with what his
com pany had been paying for the
sprinRling done on the island cause
way. but the sprinkler company
will not accept this view OF
| it, and although it receives
the same compensation from the gov
eminent that it has been in the habit
of getting from the street car COM
pan7 for this section of sprinkling.
| claims that it cannot do SO without
loss unless this part of it's arrange
- 10
permitted to remain as il has been.
This is matter between the two cor
porations that has an unfortunate
bearing on the situation.
Manager Lsrdner stated this after
noon that so far as his company was
concerned it would donate the use of
tracks as well as power and storage
to the city for the use of the sprink-
| ling car, but so far as another cor
poration was concerned it could see
no reason why it should make any do
nations. Further, Mr.. Lardner stated,
that his company had been very lib
eral with the sprinkler company.
City should Have Mastered Situation.
1t would have been a source
of qualification to know that
the city had finally awakened
to a sense of its responsibility
and duty in the premises. The alb
sence of the street sprinkling facili-
ties has constituted the burning ques-
ton of the hour of late-properly
speaking. There has been presented
to the city something of an object les
son, too, in what has been gone
through with. When, through
| strikes or other misfortunes, the cor
porations controlling public utilities
of them, the public cries out for mu-
public in control of these things" saw
the people. land then we will not
suffer through the contentious of ir-
reconcilable forces" Yet here is
an instance where the municipality
was in absolute control. The city
held the key to the situation, and the
city it was that, instead Of keeping
cool-headed and compromising the
question, precipitated the situation
that in the end brought the burden
upon the shoulders of the people it is
supposed to safeguard. The tortures
of dust during the past week have
been no more severe than the effect of
the furious heat reflected BY the pave
meut parched and burned through by
being subjected day after day to the
sun without moisture.
And the object lesson is found in
the fact that while municipal owner
ship should remedy the ills that affect
the general public. it sometimes fails
where the lack of the proper capacity
in those in charge is manifest.
Regardless Of what solution may be
reached of the present difficulty-and
any solution that will result in the
restoration of the agencies of public
comfort is earnestly to be hoped for
the discontinue that the public has
suffered need not have been. There
was no occasion, no matter what the