Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-03-26
SAYS HE DOESN'T LIKE 1T
Arsenal Workman Writes Impressions
Home To spring field. Mass.

! The efforts the tr:-cities have MADE
to create favorable impression as
| residence places among the mechanics
of Springfield, Mass, VINO are employ
ed in the government small arms plant
there and who are likely to be trans
fevred to the local arsenal when the
making Of service arms i begun are
apt to GENE to naught if the letter
of one Of these who came here from
the east written to and published in
the Springfield Republican is general
~ read and credited. The communica-
ticu. which is not signed, is written
from Davenport in the following
homc-sicll strain:
TO the Editor of the Republican,
For the last few Gays You hear the
expression among the men on the isl
and. What viii the new people from
Springfield do when they get here
and find things ar they arc?" \ few
of the things that they will find are as
follows: rs regards houses it is
next to impossible to find Il place for
rent such As they would have at
home: $50 to $50 is the regular price
of n desirable place. and. with the
high price of coal, they viii find that
il has cost them Il great deal more.
Men have come here and taken Il
house. AID have been about settled
down when up would go the rent. At
the present time there are dozens of
men from out Of town who would
gladly pay fair rent if they could
get it. but under The present state of
things prefer TO keep their family at
the place from whence they came
rather than pay out all they earn for
living. The distance Of the arsenal
from the living part of the city is
50 that you have to take a car, which
means 50 a month extra. and the
time consumed in going and coming
makes your day equal TO 91H hours.
The cars are crowded to such an eX
tent during the greater part of the
winter that 10 get Il seat YOU have to
run from the shops or stand up for a
good two miles. which is not pleasant
after q hard days work. This winter
the paths To the cars have been nearly
up TO the top Of your shoes with mud.
which should sound funny when YOU
read so much about the fine golf
grounds which cannot be surpassed i'm
any part Of the west.
The city 10 man from New Eng
land states * not very inviting from
any point Of view. During the winter
if You do not belong to a club of some
kind. YOU might a. well stay in the
house. There Is an opera house. a
dirt kind of a second-cIass place,
where they get good show once in
long while. and then the prices are so
H. no .f.f
There is a great lack of good clean
amusement 10 he had by the working
class. In the summer there is moth
ing 10 de. or nowhere to go to; about
the only resort X Schuetzeu p~rk
and there YOU find more beer than
anything else. There i one beauty
spot called the Watch Tower, but the
price Of Il cents each way on the
cars and nothing but grand view 70
see when YOU get there does not en-
tice you to 90 more than once year.
From Il moral point Cf view she CITY
is the worst: everything is wide open,
vice in all its loudness parades the
business part of the city. there i not
such n day az Sunday. saloons d"nce
halls and band concerts run all day;
Young girls and boys can be found II;
the dance halls starting in the lie
which leads To low dens 10 be found in
plenty IN the lower part Of the city.
"Thcse are facts Il Davenport
where the stranger il most likely to-
settle down. Rock Island has poor
water. and Moline is Of such distinct
nationality that Il would make one
feel as If he had landed in a foreign
n =. - tff.fa
come here from Naterviiet arsenal.
II would he hard 10 find half a dozen.
ar most Of them Womb have been
back also If they could st enough
money saved mp 10 go back 10 their
old home"