Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-03-15
MUST Be BONAFIDE
Intern ban Connected With Line
Seeking to Cross
Bridges.
TAKEN BY CLUB
For Any Project
That Offers the Desired
Service.

sirable interurban service to points
in Illinois is the position the
Rock Island Club has taken in view
of the agitation by the Davenport &
Suburban for permission to get
across the bridges from the Iowa side
to this city and extend it's lines
| through the business streets.
At the February meeting of the club
| two representatives of the Davenport
x Suburban were in attendance, and
divulged, as far as they were pre-
pared, the plans of their company.
They said they were negotiating with
the hackers of an interurban that was
coming in this direction via Monmouth
and Galesburg, and they were in hopes
that at an early date they would close
deal with them whereby the tri-cit-
les would have interurban communica-
ton with the country al the south that
it has so long been sought to enter.
The Davenport & Suburban represen-
tatives stated they would be in better
shape to outline their plans at the
March meeting, and in Difference TO
them the club reserved any expression
until they might be heard in full as to
what concessions they contemplated
asking and what accommodations
they were to have to offer the com
munity in return.
Not Present at Meeting.
But for some reason the gentlemen
did not put in an appearance at the
meeting of the club last evening. II
was stated that Messrs. Walsh and
Hipwell who are engineering the pro-
motion of the projected line across the
bridge, were in Washington lobbying
for favorable action by the secretary
of war on the application of their COM
pany for a permit to cross the Rock
Island bridges. At the former meet
ing of the club there was a resolution
offered by c. f. Lynde giving the
sense of the club to aid any legitimate
interurban enterprise that wished to
enter the city, but it was laid over
until the promoters of the Davenport
& Suburban could he heard further
c. J. Searle last evening moved the
adoption of the Lynde resolution. NJ
NJ. Sturgeon felt that il would be
premature for the club to act before
it knew what the purposes of the
street railway company were. Mr.
Sturgeon wanted it understood. how
ever, that he was not antagonizing the
Tri-City Railway company. He con-
sidered it the best institution that the
city possessed. He was proud of it,
as any citizen might well be. He
would oppose any company that
sought to enter here as a competitor
of the Tri-City, for he believed that il
was better to have one good line than
two poor ones But what the com
munity was after was interurban ser
vice. In order to get it the city would
have to be broad in its position. In
his opinion an ordinance could be
drawn that would protect the city
from any imposition.
Position should he Known.
Mr. Searle, while concurring with
Mr.. Sturgeon in what he said in ref
erence to the aiding of legitimate pro-
jects, did not consider that it was pre-
mature for the club to make known it's |
position in reference to the conditions |
under which the Davenport & Subur- |
ban sought to come to the city. He |
had noticed in the newspapers that the |
Davenport business organizations |
speedily placed themselves on record |
as supporting the petition to cross the |
bridges into Rock Island and had |
their resolutions wired to the secre- |
tary of war at Washington. Surely |
the Rock Island Club has equal right |
nj
object was to promote and conserve |
the interests of the community and |
the people looked to it to take a stand |
on public questions He favored inter |
Erbans and he believed he was sec
onde1 by every citizen of Rock Island |
in this. But the city should have some |
better assurance than verbal promise |
that this service was to be had before |
use of its most important thorough |
fares was voted away to any corpora |
ton
Mr. Sturgeon then offered a |
motion which with amendments |
accepted by Mr. Sturgeon was
that III is the sense of this meeting |
that no railway be encouraged or per
mitted 10 cross the Rock Island bridges |
from Davenport to Rock Island unless
il carries with IL a bona fide and de- |
sirable interurban service 10 points in |
Illinois" This was unanimously |
adopted. and on motion of T. ]. Me
dill the secretary of the club was in
structed To send a certified copy of
tho same TO the secretary of war This |
resolution carries the substance of the |
Lynde resolution presented at the Feb !
Tuary meeting.
AIedo Would Join tn Public Project.
While under the head of interur- /
bans c. ]. SeaTIe. who is the chair !
man of the clubs committee on inter
urbans. stated that week ago he was |
in Aledo on business, and while there