Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-09-22
WHY NOT OPEN UP?.
ERJrts tn Silence Former Water
works Employees Arouses
Public Curiosity.
ENTITLED TO THE FACTS
Council to Resume tomorrow Evening
If There are Any
Written Charges.

What is to happen at the meeting |
of the city council tomorrow evening |
for the continuance Of the considera- |
ton OF tie management of the water
works department is conjectural
purely.
The aldermen advocating the in
quiry do not know whether there Will
be any afidaYits preterring charges
against p. T. Bancroft, the superin
tendent One alderman stated that he
has been endeavorng for a week 10
locate former waterworks emplOye
whom he had heard MAKE assertions
that. If presented ii writing, might
at least move the council 10 the point
of demanding to know the system of
regulation enforced At the plant
But he claims that he has not been
able TO find this former employee.
Whether he has been called away
from the city through the death of
relative or has secured n position in
another city he is not able to say;
But he is gone.
There have been some ugly things
said during the airing of this depart
ment of the city. Men who have held
jobs at the waterworks, but have eth
er been discharged or quit because
of dissatisfaction with the treatment
they were receiving. and who have
been the busiest ones in talking. have
been threatened by the agents of the
administration, it is said.
One man was told that if he did
not stop his goss:ping he would
be indicted by the grand jury; that
| he had done things while in the EN-
ploy of the waterwOrks department
| that. if brought before the proper au-
| thorities. would result in his prOsecu-
| ton on criminal charge.
Another was warned that if he did
not silence his tongue concerning
the waterworks department this
cline would be made hotter for him
| than he could staHI.
| No Charges Against Bancroft.
There have been no charges involv
| ing the honesty of superintendent
Bancroft, outside of a slight insinua-
fireman, who incidentally mentioned
while telling his story to the council
that he saw a load OF junk hauled
away from the Twenty-fOurth street
plant one day. He did not state that
| it was sold. because he did not know
whether it was or not.
| Mr.. Bancroft at this meeting which
was the one at which the storm was
! started asked the council for an OBJ
portunity to bring up the men with
| whom he was then working at the wat
erworks. and others who knew how he
was conducting the affairs of his de
! paTtment: that it was manifestly I'M
| fair to listen to one side and that by
men who had been discharged by him,
! and of course We're not overly friend
lily towards him. The council willing
! ly granted Mr.. Bancroft's wish.
Bring In IL Legal Question.
Friday evening, two weeks tOmOr-
| row night. there was held meeting
of the council as committee of the
whole. for the purpose of hearing Mr.
Bancroft, of allowing those of the al
| dermen who were not satisfied with
his management of his department TO
question him, which they hold they
have Il right to do.
Mr. Bancroft did not appear in the
council chamber the night of the adj
journed meeting. Instead Mayor Nc
Conochie acted as his spokesman. The
mayor said the council could not pro-
coed until there had been formal
| charges made. But Aid. Ecllhart said
there were no charges, and there was
not going to be any that he knew of:
the meeting simply was to consider
the management of the department.
SO the meeting was put off. with
the understanding that if there were
any citizens who had charges TO prefer
against the superintendent they have
them in writing in the hands of the
mayor before tomorrow evening, when
they would be transmitted to the cOun-
Gil. and on which the latter could base
its investigation.
What Taxpayers Want.
Taxpayers care nothing of the
lmere technical phase of the
investigation. What they want
to know is if the waterworks