Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-02-13
SOUTHWEST FIRST
Bona Eide Interurban From That
Direction Should be City's
First Aim.
GUARD STREET RIGHTS FOR IT
DO Not Tie Them Up With Company
of Uncertain Intentions - One
q Town s Experience. ~.


The annual meeting of the Rock ISL
md Retail Merchants association will
De held this evening at the Office of
". c. Maucker. In view of the fact
hat the annual election of officers is
o occur and that the subject of inter
Urban railways is likewise to receive
attention a large attendance of mem
1ers is expected.
Is an Important Subject.
The subject of interurban railways
s, as it shoHld be, one of the most i'm
9ortant in the minds of the people at
he present day. That every proper
Encouragement and aid should be Civ
N to well directed effort in this di-
-ectiOn is the opinion and the convic-
ion of all progressive citizens. With
his as it is believed TO be the correct
Jew of the situation locally speak
ing, it ought not TO be difficult 10 un.
ierstand why the desire for the &C
complishment of the interurban idea
should Overshadow so completely any
proposition involving merely more To-
al facilities or another line to Daven-
port.
As The Argus has said heretofore
he interurban railway project that
zones into Rock Island from the south
u east is worthy of first considera-
ion, and any enterprise of this nature
hat desires track rights in Rock ISL
md viii find little difficulty in gain
ng favor so far as its relations to the
public are concerned-if it will make
GOOD on the interurban end of the prop
)sitiOn first. A company that will do
his will secure the best there is in the
city of Rock Island in the way of track
rights and if it cannot get in on tracks
already here leading to the streets
n the business part of town, it will.
as it should, be given the best priv
!eges that it is within the power of the
city to extend otherwise. - ga
Few streets Are Lett
1t is but CORRECTLY, representing the
situation TO state that few streets in
he business section at least, are at
Ipresent left unOccupied for the encour-
lgement of new roads, of an interur-
ban nature and it is hardly thought
there is any who will doubt the wis
| dom of saving those few for such en-
terprises. legitimately interurban, as
may require them. Should they be
! given either to the present, or to a
new exclusively local company ii
would place any interurban railway
project that may come knocking at the
doors of Rock Island in the future at
he mercy of one or the other of the
I ;,
er unOccupied way for the interurban
to come in. So that in serious contem-
plation of this view of the case. the
policy OF requiring any new company
to prove that il is interurban in ma
ture and backed by the right people
before abandoning to it the few streets
that are left, ought to seem clear TO
all
There are in this country today in
the street railway world, as in other
mercantile pursuits, men and concerns
(which under the guise of undertaking to
offer to the people superior facilities
and cheaper fares, and interurbans into
the bargain, seek to gObble the main
streets of a city not already occupied
tby street railway tracks, and either
| tAtIluditN manu- lllt SdlltC over " TIC
company already in the field and thus
establish in it an absolute monopoly.
or hold them in the hope of disposiny
Of them TO an interurban road at an
lexOrbitant price AT a future time. The
Argus does not believe in monopOlies
that prey upon the public and give
them little in return, but it is too often
the case that the people in seeking to
guard against mOnopOlies simply tight
on the grip of monopoly about them.
One CIty's Experience.
The instance is known OF city in
! a neighboring state that had for years
suffered from the greed and grinding
OF an absolute monopoly in the con-
4 rol of street railway rights. Finally
/ when endurance had ceased to be 4
virtue there was presented a PROPOSE
ton for the introduction of a rival
| street railway line. To all intents and
purposes the company already in the
| Geld fought the coming of the new
company 10 the utmost, and after one
| Of the most bitter campaigns ever
conducted in that city, the new com
pany won out overwhelmingly. The
ipeople were jubilant. of course but the
smoke of strife had scarcely cleared
away. when back Of the battle lines Or
( The victorious hosts doomed up the
company that had been the cause of
all the warfare. The corporation
/ had been seeming from afar the in
/ eyi,able struggle and had been Gun
ming enough TO make the people vic
/ Tins OF their own patriotism The re
suit was that instead of finding com
I petition. the entTenChed company
/ placed itself in the possession of the
! streets Of the town that it had not
/ heretofore enjoyed the use of.
/ The best way both to control and
/ 10 prevent monopoly is 10 hold in re-
! serve. until there is occasion to use it.
some means of inviting either compel
! ing corporations or Of bringing in some