Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-11-22

ing 10 the QeIegatlon or ROCK Island
ers.
In the conference with those from
this city Dr.. Marston explained what
he and his associates are trying to ac-
complish and what they have done.
Light upon what Muscatine has Of
fered to do was given by letters from
business men of that city. which were
read by ]. G. Britton.
Muscatine has offered to give every
possible aid, furnishing terminals,
looking after the bridging of the Mis-
sissippi and taking a large block of
stock in the company. The bridge
problem, which appears to be one Of
the most serious to be met In reach
ing Muscatine. it is proposed to solve
by using the present structure,
Strengthening it sufficiently to carry
heavy cars and building a draw in the
middle, allowing other traffic to pass
over the top Of the draw by the pres
ent high spans. This, it was stated,
was contemplated when the bridge
was built, the piers being made heavy
enough to bear the additional weight.
President Geisler OF the Muscatine
German Savings bank wrote at some
length offering advice in regard to the
| survey and urging the lower end resi-
dents to keep matters entirely In their
| own hands and to be very careful IS
to the engineer selected to do the sur
veying.
Suggest Joint Meeting
! After the explanations had been
made the Rock Islanders were called
upon to state what cooperation might
be expected from this city. Mayor
McCaskrin spoke at some length, ex-
planning that the Importance of the
road both to this city and to the dis
trict to be tapped, is fully appreciated
here, and urging that Rock Island 0e
! given an opportunity to come forward
with a proposition. He suggested
| that the committee promoting the en-
| terprise come to this city and meet
| with the business men in the near
future for the purpose of being more
fully enlightened as to the sentiment
prevailing here.
| Mr.. Golf spoke along the same gen.
eral lines, adding that the people of
Rock Island are not asleep as to their
interests. but that they have not as
yet been given a chance to get TO-
gether and decide upon a definite
course. He seconded the suggestion
for joint meeting.
Believes 1t VIII Pay
Mr.. Searle also talked at some
length. He said be had always be.
lieved that an interurban. such as the
one proposed. could be made to pay
and added that unless the data col
lected by the engineer who made the
survey indicated that dividends might
be expected it would not be possible
to finance the company, no matter
how much money were subscribed by
those interested IN having it built
He advised care in the selection of IN
engiener, because the reliability of the
data will have a great deal to do with
the decision of those having money to
invest Another reason why care
should be taken in this direction lay
in the fact that an engineer might be
corrupted by railroads that do not
want the line built, into making an un-
favorable report The belief was ex-
pressed that it will be necessary for a
subscription of much more than $780,
coo for stock to insure the bonding
of the line, no matter what the propo-
sition may show on its face, and the
speaker pointed out that it will DE
necessary for the lower end people
to have outside assistance of the kind
that Rock Island stands ready to give.
There are many pitfalls in the way II
such an enterprise. one of them being
wildcat promoters, whose only de-
sire is to get possession of the te'-
minaI and other rights and sell them
out to the highest bidder. The inter
ests Of the purchaser may lie in kill
ing OF the project. Mr.. Searle
thought it would be well for the con-
mittee to seek the advice and coopera-
ton of those who must necessarily be
ultimate partners in the undertaking
if it is to be made a success.
He pointed to the growth Of the
three cities as a manufacturing and
trade center and declared that the de-
velopment has only Just begun, SO that
to build an interurban without coming
here would be a serious mistake. "It
wouldn't take you where you really
want to CO." he added.
Should Organize Here
]. G. Britton, on behalf Of the COM
mittee, argued against joint meeting
at this time, holding that Rock Island )
business men should first organize
among themselves and decide what
course to pursue, and 1t finally
agreed that this should be done, the
plan being to designate body Of men
from this city to confer with the COM
mittee promoting the road.
In accordance with the decision ar
rived at Saturday night a movement
is now on to call a meeting, probably
this week, the call being made by the
mayor and the presidents of the Rock
Island Club and Business Mems asso-
citation.
That this movement for an interur-
ban to the lower end OF the county is
different from any that has been