Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-03-14

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building purposes would grow in value
necessitating budding them closer TO
Igether. Truck farming and gardening,
as well as milk dairying, would all have
Ito go beyond Rock river. Then the
accumulated wealth of the city would
make the hollow" bloom like a rose.
Build New Bridges
They would bridge Rock river neal
its mouth, run street cars down to Hi
nois City, mine our coal. manufacture
our clay into many kinds of valuable
articles, use our timber and stone. and
above all, find cheap but healthful
homes for working people who may
work in the cities and down this way.
have been taught that Rock Island
will do this. l believe she will when
the time comes that her people have
accumulated in their savings banks
such a sum of money that the
owners thereof, seeking a good place
! to invest it, will see it right at home.
Then the dream of my ancestors will
be realized.
| am certain Rock Islands business
men know that when they have a bus
mess from which dividends are deriv-
ed. the locality in which that business
is, is the place TO invest the dividends.
! | am for Rock Island, and think Rock
Island will soon come to our relief.
Rock Island people have always been
for us, and as an evidence l call your
attention to the bridges they have kept
up for our benefit for over So years,
and of late years have only charged us
the small amount of 10 cents TO cross.
Although we have perfect faith that
these things will eventually come to
pass. we have ceased to look for mat
tiers of that sort to happen over night
Hope long deferred has taught us pa
thence, and we hang onto our property
in the full belief that the needs of a
great city near at hand will make our
children or grandchildren rich. So far
Rock Island peoples failure to warm
up to a steady glow toward us down
here in the lower end of the county
has been the fault of unfortunate cir
cumstanceS, rather than any oversight
or real lack of proper appreciation.
When they are running for Office one
half always get beaten, and of course
the half who get elected of course do
not have the time.
Hope For Natural Process.
Most of us are contented, or at least
have made up our minds to wait for
different order of things to come about
easily and naturally, and giving a
chance for us to realize our dreams of
these many years.
But, of course, we do not all agree.
There are those who boldly say that
Rock Island is jealous and selfish, act
ing the part of the dog in the manger
and trying to keep others from going
after what it is not willing to turn to
its own account. Some of these funny
fellows have been heard to express the
belief that if we ever get an interurban
down this way, Davenport capital will
build it, and it will not come by way of
Rock Island, either, but will cross the
Mississippi on a bridge of its own
somewhere below the city. They sit
up and argue that Davenport could
reach us with fewer miles of line by
following this route than it would take
to get into Rock Island by the present
road through Milan.
These people admit it would cost
some money to build such a line, but
they take the strange ground that it
would pay in the long run, and to sup
port their argument they turn to the
case of MuScatine-a very stupid basis
Of comparison, by the way. They say
capital to the extent of $145.-
600 was used in building a bridge at
that point for the purpose of getting
Illinois trade; and they aver that today
controls the trade from a
strip of country 16 miles square in the
best of Illinois. and, they add, any day
YOU chance to be in Muscatine you will
see more Illinois farmers there than
are to be seen on the streets of Rock !
Island. Muscatine, they declare, has
built up trade until she is said to be |
the best retail town on the Mississippi |
They make bold to declare that the
town that builds an interurban dowT J
this side of the river can very easily !
get all that Muscatine hasn't cornercd !
up, and even perhaps cut in a trifie On !
The latter places business. OF course,
they admit, Rock Island can get WI at /
export can, for there are hundreds of .
things, almost. that we now have in !
common with Rock Island that we Rave
not now with the city across the river |
Still they hold that the place hat
makes the first bid for our trade will |
get it, and all that goes with it,
Come Down and See.
While I'm not standing Dersonsl y rp.
'pOnsible for such line of reas. ming
rs that, l would venture the 81 gees
ion that a little investigation down
his way might help in bringing about
hat state of affairs that we all expect
uture generations to realize. 7 doubt
there are four men in Roc. Island
Who ought TO be vitality interested who
we're ever down here. and if you were
o tell them of the extent of the cOun-
Y and its resources west of Rock ISL
md. they at least would think you were
me OF the men in the hollow who
esdom sees the sun