Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1904-11-28
THE TOWN THAT
Letter HAS BUILT
Visited by Adj. Gen. Scott. OF the
illinois National
Guard.
I0CATEDIN FRANKLIN COUNTY
Young Millionaire Has Gone There
With Ambitions to Build Mod
ei Industrial Center.

Adit. Gen. Scott. of the Illinois Ma
tional Guard. who has just returned
from Zeigler. tells an interesting story
IL what he saw and experienced there.
lie went To the scat Of Joe Letters
coal mines and troubles TO investigate
TIC conditions for himself.
III IL n sparsa!y settled country into
which Letter has zone With his aInbi-
Tons 10 build "a model industrial town.
said Gen. Scott You ride through
barrcn. desolatc country whose soil
shows on its surface its unprodnctiVe-
ness. 1uu wonder how human life Is
sustained in such = land. Suddenly
YOU come upon the town Of Zeigler with
its fine brick Buildings and busting
activity There in a little VALLEY in the
country I have spoken OF. town has
sprung up. and IL Is Letters declara-
ton that in five yeais he will have a
city OF 10000 people about his mines
and coke ovens
Tea Tbou-and Acres
Zeigler is located in southwestern
Franklin county. about five miles from
the little town Of Christopher. on the
EIdOradO Il Duduoin branch Of the IL
Ilnois Central. Letter owns FIVE or ten
thousand acres Of land and has in his
plans the establishment of huge
coke plant. lie has sunk a mine with
n capacity To- employ 500 men. All the
buildings at the mine are first class
and jke machinery - perfect IN every
respect The houses in which the
workmen live. the stores in which ey
orythinS needed IN a family is sold.
have been built BY Letter. The main
store il built on an arc Of a circle and
everything from groceries To drugs IS
sold under the one roof. 4 fine big
school house IL now in course of ercc-
ton. a hospital with accommodations
for 80 or so patients has been com
pleted and il is as fine rs ever saw.
Every modern convenience and every
requisite OF hospital Is there. Hot
and cold water. medicines. surgical in
strIfments. a resident doctor and
nurses. all paid by Letter. have been
assigned to the town.
Soon 10 Enid Church.
Letter told me that he intends to
construct a church later on The young
millionaire spends about ten days out
of the month at the town. He has
rooms with family. He says he is alb
soluteIy fearless of evil consequences.
There is no stockade or fence about
the town or works. There are two block
houses near the tipple. = searchlight
ON the tiple is lighted every night and
close watch is kept of the roads and
surroundings OF the property. There
is also a gatlinE gun on the grounds,
and in a vault in the brick Office build
-
and I should judge almost carload of
ammunition.
"a body of union miners have leased
a tract OF land bordering on the road
from the railroad station to the Letter
property. The land Is leased so that
the men have their rights to live there
protected. They have erected tents.
and / am told have sealed them for
the winter.
strict Discipline Main iafne6-
The camp is under discipline of the
strictest sort and is run on military
order. I passed il without any fear,
and IL my business had taken me into
their tents I have no doubt / would
have been very civilly treated. Occa-
sionally there is shooting and now and
then an explosion Of dynamite. Miners
working in the town are induced TO
leave on one pretext or another and
every effort is made to- get miners to
turn back who are enroute TO the
mines. Mr.. Letter told me that he had
about 40 men at work in the mines
and hoped TO increase this number to
900 or 500. These men and their fami-
lies live in the company houses and
apparently are not frightened. I do
not look for any trouble OF serious ma
ture. The predictions of battle 1 do
not take any stock in. No effort has
been made 10 interfere with the ship
ment of coal over the railroads from
Zeigler'