Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1902-10-21
PASSES THE COUNCIL
Ordinance for Street Railway
Loop to Bluff District
Adopted.
PROPOSED AMENDMENTS REJECTED
Notice Served That New Route Will
Be Asked for Suburban
Railway.

| The ordinance presented by the
Tri-City Railway company for the
bluff loop and considered last week
by the city council in committee of
the whole was passed at the regular
meeting of the municipal Legislative
body last evening, after a futile at
tempt on the part of Aids. McCaskrin
and Eckhart to- amend and finally to
defeat it.
The instrument, as amended at the
conference, was first read by City
Clerk Schaffer. Upon a motion being
made for its adoption Aid. Kennedy
presented an amendment requiring
the company To pay to the city an
amount to be determined by a COM
mission appointed for the purpose as
a refund to the property owners
along Twentieth street from Eleventh
To Eighteenth avenues as "A share in
the cost of the paving of that street
The amount specified was that origi-
nally paid for the improvement with
Il reasonable deduction for wear
since the work was done. the pay
mept to be made so days after the
track on that portion of the route is
down. This was carried
Other Amendments Fail.
Aid. Eckhart then presented anoth-
er amendment requiring the company
to pay to the city twice annually a
sum equal to ? per cent of the gross
earnings of the line for period
equal to the life of the franchise.
Manager j. +. Lardner, who was pres
ent, upon being asked as TO the atti-
tude of the company in regard to this
TAX, said that it would kill the ordi-
nance. as the earnings of the line
would be necessarily light, especially
at first. On an aye and nay vote the
proposition was lost, II to >.
Then Aid. McCaskrin offered an
amendment reducing the life of the
franchise from 20 to 10 years. This,
Manager Lardner stated, would also
render the ordinance useless. from
the fact that the company would re-
quire probably 10 years to build up a
paying business to the bluff district
and he did not consider unit to 10
years fair to the company when it is
attempting to assist in the upbuilding
of a portion of the city. No one sec
onded the amendment, and then Aid.
McCaskrin asked the city clerk to
hand back n document that he had
tossed upon his desk at the opening \
Of the session. saying that he would
read it himself and intimating that
the clerk had turned it down.
who turned it down." demanded
Mr.. Schaffer, savagely. Don't you
say ! turned il down. and don't you
get funny around here
For PavIog of Seventeenth street.
The alderman apologizcd for any
rudcness he might have shown and
then read the paper that had led to
the trouble. 1T was petition for the
paving of Seventeenth street from
Ninth To Eighteenth avenues with |
brick. provided that the Tri-City |
Railway company would build a dou-
BILE track line to the bluff via that
street. The petition. Mr.. McCaskrin |
claimed. had the signatures of over
forty of the abutting property hold |
ers, but three having failed to at |
tach their names. Then he address |
ed the council in favor of changing |
the route of the line to Seventeenth |
street so that that thoroughfare
might be paved and street car line |
provided to Longview park, both of |
which improvements are obviously |
much to be desired
At the conclusion of the address of |
Aid. McCaskrin Aid. Eckhart moved |
that the ordinance go over till the |
next meeting. but was ruled out of |
order by Mayor Knox on the ground |
that the council had reported on the
ordinance and recommended its pas
sage. The vote on adoption was
then taken and the ordinance car
ried u to .. Aids. McCaskrin and Eek
hart voting against.
Telephone Ordinances Go Over
The discussion of the street car
ordinance had apparently left the |
in such a frame of mind |
that they did not feel in position to
get together on the ordinances affect
ing the Central Union Telephone
inspired by the strike of
the operators and ordered prepared |
at a previous meeting. Aid. Eckhart |
reported the ordinances, the first of
which provided for a tax of SIS for
each instrument rented in the city |
provided the company owning it did |
not pay over = per cent of its gross |
receipts annually. and the other re-
pealed the franchise of the Central
Union company.
1t turned out that copies of the or
dinances had not been furnished the |
members and those opposed to them
took advantage of the fact. The first |
named was referred to the license |
and markets committee and the 9th
er was laid over till next meeting, |