Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-09-26
Ninth Annual Meeting of the Tri-
City Organic alton Held
at Watch Tower.
NEW OFFICERS ARE ELECTED
Feast and Speech Making Contribute to
a Happy Evening of Newspaper
Folk.

|
elected for the ensuing year as follows:
III President-John Sundeen, Moline
Dispatch.
First Vice President. j. LaVelle
Rock Island Argus.
Second Vice President-Ralph Cram
Davenport Democrat.
Secretary-Treasurer- P. Rund
gust, Moline Mail
Directors-Fred w. Rinck, Rock Is
land Union; J. f. Hardman, Davenport
Times; ]. H. McKeever, Moline Mail.
The election of officers took place at
a business session of the club which
followed the serving of most excel
lent dinner at the inn by Manager H.
E. Krell, at $50. The dinner was
served in the private dining room on
the first floor, covers being laid for 80.
A Happy and Prosperous Year.
The reports made by the officers for
the year were very gratifying, and
showed that the club has in the last
year, under President Tillinghast's ad-
ministration, accomplished much on
various lines of activity During the
evening Eugene Petersherger of Dav-
export, was elected 70 membership,
and the applications of others referred
to the directors to report.
Suggest Internal Censorship.
i Following the election of officers, the
retiring president, B. F. Tillinghast,
made fitting talk, in which he refer
red to the work of the club in the year
just closed, and of the possibilities of
the coming year. AT the close of the
| business session President Tillinghast
| introduced w. B. Mcintyre, who gave
one of his entertaining talks. In the
course of his remarks, Mr.. Mcintyre
suggested the propriety of a censor
ship on the newspapers, but emphasiZ-
ed the fact that such a censorship
could be successful only when con-
Quoted by the newspapers themselves.
1t must come from within and not
from without. The press was the great
agency for good or for i'll in a COM
munity according as it was conducted,
for the press was the great inStru
mentality in the molding of popular
opinion, and he congratulated the tri- |
city press as represented in the club |
on the elimination of personalities or
personal feelings in editorial controver- |
tent editorial sentiment might differ in |
the discussion of political questions or |
matters of public policy it was refresh |
ing to know that there was a common |
bond of fellowship, fraternity below |
which all differences sink as was ex-
emplified in professional GATHERINGS of |
this kind.
The Spirit of the True Press.
President Tillinghast assured Mr.. |
Mcintyre that the spirit of the true |
press was as broad as the universe. 1t |
knew no creed and respected and rep
resented all forms of religious denom-
ination. It's object was to conscien- |
tiously and courageously represent |
sentiment and thought, and to stand |
for what was best in humanity's cause |
w. F. Eastman of the Moline Dis |
patch, spoke in the same VEIN He be- |
lieved that the tri-city newspapers as |
represented in the Tri-City Press club |
stood for the higher order of journal |
ism, and it was this spirit of fraternal- |
ism that had much to do with making |
1t so. Still he felt that the newspapers |
might go still further, not exactly |
through the establishment of pro-
fessional censorship, but by common |
agreement in the matter of diScrimina- |
ton as to just what is fit to print and |
what things in community that con-
tribute either to the betterment or the |
detriment of the society should be en-
couraged or condemned. The newspa-
per actuated by high moral motives |
through fearless espousal of the right /
principles could accomplish most any
thing, but the one that was moved en-
tirely by its own personal feelings had
little influence. The papers represent
ed in the membership of the Tri-City |
Press club stand for these higher
ideals.
Accomplishments of the Year.
Robert Rexdale spoke of the accom-
plishments of the past year, stating |
that the preservation of the Dayen-
port homestead on the island, while |
perhaps more actively and properly |
undertaken by another society, was in |
his Judgment due as much to the agi- |
tation originating in the Tri-City Press |
club and worked upon by the commit |
tee of this organization as anything. |
Mr.. Rexdale, in conclusion, recited one
of his original poems.
Paul Kersch of Rock Island, DIR. A. |
F. Gates of Louisiana, II. e. Downer
G w SearIe II F. Hartman and u Il