Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1905-10-27

| stand TO reason tnai with larger laIl-
| ude given 70 the opportunities for bid
| ling. this would not have been pos
| sible. NV chief objection to the trans
action of last evening is the fact that
{ it is finally executed it will preclude
| he possibility of the saving of money
| hat readvertising would offer. for you
| nust remember that the installation
| # a pump OF such proportions means
| lot only an extensive outlay for the
| remodeling of the waterworks build
| ng. but if | am not greatly mistaken,
| he relaying of some of the mains.
| This all would involve an expenditure
| If pretty nearly as much money as has
| been voted now tor the pump alone.
| Under these circumstances we ought
save all that we can"
Better Watch His Right Arm.
There have been various develop
| ments in connection with the pump ne
gotiations. which. as The Argus has
| stated from time TO time, take at best
a strange appearance, but no phase is
perhaps as peculiar as that involving
| he attitude of one of the aldermen
| Ii was this alderman by the way, who
| first came voluntarily to The Argus and
| old of alleged influences. unfair and
otherwise, being brought to bear in be-
half of the combine. All the
| circumstances of the matter. he said
were so abhorrent 10 him that he
| would not vote for d. pump in Ques-
ton under any circumstances if the
city never got one. Yesterday the al
| derman in question emphasized his
| former position by declaring that he
hoped his right arm would be paralyZed
if he changed his position or conviction
! in the matter. Yet that same alder
| man experienced such remarkable
| change of faith between the time he.
made this remarkable resolution. and
the hour of his voting that he lined up
with the combination he had so vehe-
mently condemned.
And the rumor that is afloat today
is that his conversion sunk so deep
INTO his soul that he undertook to de
liver not only a couple of other alder
men. but eventually the sanction of the
mayor TO the same proposition.
Still another of the aldermen who
opposed the combine remarked this
morning: Il do not see any necessity
of spending $4,000 simply because we
have set it aside for that purpose. You
should understand that the city has
been saving up for the purchase OF q
waterworks pump for some time until
il has now 5000 ready for it. The
combines bid. strange 10 say was s24,-
$50. but the others were all trifle over
the amount of the appropriation. There
| 4, uTiy
as to where the contract went. If
there had been more bidders there
would have been lower bids. Surely
there should have been. had the city
thrown them all out and readvertised."
/ Little Discussion.
There was little discussion in
the council on the resolution
as the matter had been gone
over thoroughly in the meetings of the
committee of the whole. as well as out
side of the meetings. Aid. Robbins
stated his reasons for preferring the
Snow pump. and a few questions ct
comparison followed.
| Mayor Has Message.
Before the pump question came 20 a
vote Mayor McCaskrin submitted a
message again calling the attention of
| the council to the fact that a pump OF
this size was unnecessary and that a
smaller one could be purchased with
a great saving Of money, and referring
TO the need of a fire alarm and fire en-.
| gines. This message was referred to
the committee of the whole.
When the vote was taken the roll
was called beginning with the alder
men of the First ward and going
through the list to those of the Sew
enth. All were solid against the pre-
vailing proposition TO the Third ward
and the vote there was split, Aid.
O'Connor going with the combination.
From his vote on all were for the Snow
pump. The men who had been stead
| tasty advocating this pump from the
first were from the upper wards,
headed by Aid. Robbins, and they
| were five in number until last evening
| The rest of the aldermen who voted
| for it have been uncertain quantities
until the final vote was taken.
AIIege Incompetcncy.
| The fact that the case of Garrison VS.
the city of Rock Island came back from
the appellate court dismissed, aroused
| the wrath of some of the aldermen
| md the result, was a motion by Aid
Eckhart that the finance committee in
yesugate the advisability of employ
| ing a corporation counsel. The coun-
| Gil had instructed the city attorney to
take this case TO the appellate court
and it is now understood that the APP
peal was never perfected, although
the city attorney was given extended
| time in which TO do his work. Some
explanation seems 10 be due from
| City Attorney Olson as to the dismissal
of the Garrison case.
EIsin Visitors
Mayor BatsfOrd and various depart
ment officers from Elgin were at the