Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-05-07
NEW SHOPS PLANS
LuII in Building Operations SAID
to Be Temporary
Only.
SOON TO RESUME BUILDING
One Thousand Men Will be EN-
plOyed There Within
Year.

There Il no little speculation in rail
road circles concerning the plans of
the Rock Island road at New Shops
Recently there was an announcement.
evidently emanating from an official
source, that there would be no fur
Their building operations there, for the
present at least.
Between three and four hundred
men. machinists. blacksmiths and la
borers. are employed 1T New Shops
now. For the most part they are en-
gagged in the repairing of engines sent
from all divisions Of the system to
that point for ovcrhauling. When the
site was secured on which To build the
Establishment il was stated that the
road not only contemplated the con
centration Of repair work at New
shops. but also proposed the building
Of engines and cars.
This Improvement was projected
during the Leeds regime. In the in
term the management of the road
has passed to new hands. and there
has Lccn manifest disposition To re
trench in expenditures. but, notwith-
standing the impr, ssion in some
quarters. it is not taken this will af-
feet the plans with reference to New
Shops.
To" much money has been invested
there by the company simply to opcr-
ate it as Il repair department.
LuII is But Temporary.
Il am not in position to speak Of
icialIy." said one yesterday who i in
the employ of the company. but |
have every reason to believe that the
iulI at New Shops is temporary only.
The men who have lately assumed
the direction of the business of the
company are. to put il plainly. just
now trying to FIND where they are at,
not intimatiug there has been any
thing wrong. But you know in the
past few years there have been ideas
introduced into the operation of the
system that did not meet with the APP
rruval Of the conservative element
that has 80 long been identified with
the direction of the read. These men
are again on top. and they propose
ycttin" the road back TO where il was
before ii followed ON this new tacl,
| have spoken of. They are iufusiu"
new blood i'm all the departments with
Z view to rcc-tablishiH@ that good feel
NC that prevailed between employer
and employed AMI with the public in
the good old days When this has been
accomplished then YOU viii see mat
tiers stirring at New Shops. OF course
today il il a busy place with about
100 men at work there. I!ut there
will he many more. / predict that be
fore the summer has passed YOU viii
-ce new buildings going up there and
that inside Il year not less than one
thousand men Will be AT work"
DIspatchers Nav he Returned.
The Rock Island road hopes cyentu-
Iliy to bring back to this city the two
iispatchcrs who were recently trans
ferred from this city to Peoria. with Il
view to concentrating. so far a is
possible. the handling" Of trains on the
illinois division. of which the Peoria
branch has formed a part since the
consolidation of that line by the Rock
island company. The removal is con
tingcnt on the Striugin@ of an add
tional lead. to Chicago in order to re-
Geve the congestcd condition OF the
present wires. If the Gispatc cheers are
returned here thay will be CHARTERED
in the office building ON Fifth avenue
with the Illinois division dispatchers.