Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1902-08-12
People of Sears Attempt
to Take Law in Own
Hands.
CAR RAILSARE TORN UP
Street Car Company
May Prosecute on a
Criminal Charge.

Late this afternoon the Tri-City
Railway company had a party of
workmen engaged in relaying the
tracks torn up by the Sears people
across the Twelfth street road this
morning with the prospect that be-
fore evening the damage would be
repaired so that the running of regu-
lar cars to the Watch Tower could
be resumed.
While the townspeople were busy
tearing up the tracks and grading, an
operation that required till nearly
noon, Hon. +. w. Hurst and j. Il.
Stafford, of the firm of jackson,
Hurst d Stafford, representing the
railway company, went before Mas
ter in Chancery w. j. Entri<en and
secured a writ of injunction which
was couched in the following terms:
Order of the Court
Upon hearing the bill of complaint
of the complainant read and having
listened to the arguments of counsel,
it appearing that the complainant,
upon the facts stated in the bill of
complaint, is entitled to the relief
prayed for, it is ordered that tenn
porary writ of injunction be granted
herein enjoining the defendant, its
servants. officers and agents from in
juring, damaging or destroying the
property of the complainant or from
tearing up its tracks or in any man
ner Interfering with the tracks. poles,
wires, switches. cars or appliances
of the complainant, or in any manner
interfering with the employees or
agents of the complainant in the re-
construction or repairing of any por
tiOns of its tracks or property dam
aged or destroyed or in the exercise
of its duties in the operation and
maintenance of the complainanefS
street railway in the village of Sears,
in said county and state. until the
further order of the court. upon the
complainant filing with the clerk of
the circuit court, in and for said
county, a bond in the sum of $1,000,
conditioned as required by law, with
Phil Mitchell as surety"
Officers Serve Writ.
Armed with the writs Deputy Shcr-
ifs George Heider, f. y. Andrews
and BaiIiffs Nicholson, Cralle and
Larson went TO Sears. arriving there
about l o'clock. The injunction was
read to the village officers. Then
gang of about thirty-five laborers
that had been taken to the outskirts
of the village during the middle of
the forenoon and kept there awaiting
the arrival of the deputies with the
writ, was brought up and set To work
under the direction of w. j. Halpine,
superintendent of construction of the
company, to relay the tracks.
Villagers Get Busy.
In accordance with plans previous
Iy laid. the people of Sears this morn
ing opened an active campaign to as
certain by what rights, if any. the
Railway company is operat-
ing its lines within the corporate
limits of the village. Although the
company had men on duty watching
no resistance legal. or by force, was
offered to the work of the villagers,
and the first part of the program was
carried out without a hitch.
Promptly at o'clock a force of 80
men, all wearing stars and deputized
teams, scrapers, plows and the nee
essary tools for tearing up the track,
and in an hours time both tracks
across the village street forming
what is generally known as the
Twelfth street road, was torn up
two rail lengths, or a distance of
about 80 feet.
The clawbars that had been made |
for the purpose proved to be of poor
and the points broke in
pulling the spikes. Then the rails
were pried up and the ties were driv-
en-, down, tearing them loose. The |
rails and ties were piled on each side |
of the road out of the way and the |
teams were put at work blowing and |
scraping to reduce the bed of the
track to the level of the street on
each side. This was the pretext up |
on which the villagers worked. In |
the legal aspect they were there for
the purpose of repairing the highway |
and removing an obstruction from it.
About two feet of earth was removed |
and the roadway where the track |
had been was made, if anything. a |
rifle lower than ON each side, so that |
It would take the company's men
longer to replace it, if the expected |
lttempt to do so materialized. The |
earth removed was piled on each side
Of the track and the village officers
asserted their intention of removing