Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-03-09
CITY COUNCIL Is ASKED TO GIVE
INTERURBAN LINE A FRANCHISE

I may be secured ard he is ready to as
sist in any other reasonable way any
project looking toward an interurban
line. but he does not believe the citi-
zens in general want the city bisected
by freight line. Mr. Maucker point
ed out the interesting fact that Sew
! line of the city in point of population,
and is the chief north and south bust
ness thoroughfare
The entire matter was referred to a
meeting of the committee of the whole
to be held Thursday evening.
What Road Means to City.
Speaking of the railway project to
an Argus representative this after
noon, Mr.. Lawson stated that he is
ready TO accept any reasonable safe
guards that the council may see fit to
place in the ordinance. and that while
he specifies the route in the city, he
does not care whether the line follows
this route or not, if the people will
provide means of reaching Seven
teenth street and First avenue He
stated that the purpose of the line is
to supply Rock Island with the rail-
way connections it SO much desires
with the territory in the lower end nf
the county, and in the adjacent couu-
ties south of Rock Island The pro-
posed line is to pass through Anda-
lusia, Edgington, Buffalo Prairie. Mil
lersburg. Aledo, Sunbeam, Norwood,
Alexis and have its other terminal 1T
Galesburg
Speaking of the objection to freight
traffic. Mr.. Lawson stated that he is
willing TO permit restriction of the
freight traffic to be included in the
ordinance to provide that the freight
cars shall be handled on Seventeenth
street only at night between certain
specified hours. He pointed out that
the ordinance expressly prohibits the
use of steam locomotives, and the
! capacity of the electric motors will
not permit train of more than 10
cars to be hauled The passenger
coaches are all to be equipped with
independent motors, and are to be sim
liar in construction to those in use
on the /. & |. only of a larger typo
4 "a
to permit the passing of passenger
cars only III the city, and consequently
there could be no freight cars switched
. or standing on the streets in the city.
A freight train could not remain on
I Seventeenth street more than u few
minutes" he explained.
AS to the tracks on Seventeenth
street, he said that three plans are
? under consideration, to be settled by
: the council One is to use the Tri-
: City Railway company's lines. one %
I lay rails within the Tri-City's tracks.
and the third contemplating the cor
4 struction of an entirely new track. he
stated that only S0-pound rails will ne
:. used in the track work, and a groove
9 rail will be used on Seventeenth
q street.
t There is apparently no objection to
o the granting of the franchise. other
e than that arising over the freight traf
9 fic, and if satisfactory arrangements
: can be made for handling this, there
q is reason to believe that it would be
i better for the business interests of inc
y city TO have the line passing through
% the business streets than to have Il
N come in on the edge of the city. Mr.
e Lawson calls attention to the fact thai
r. an Indianapolis, Minneapolis. Decatur
III Springfield and other cities, the freigh
20 over the interurban tracks, and freigh
10 terminals are built in the heart u
Is the city. He said:
"a statistics show that if three car
L of produce go out of the rural com
81 munities two cars of commodities ar
# shipped in. and it is a question wheth
t er Rock Island wants to send thes
It two cars into the country along on
- line, or allow some other city TO fun
is nish them. And statistics show tina
e. for every dollar of revenue from sucl
:. line, 81 cents is spent in operatin;
J" expense Rock Island would of courS
- get big share from this line, as thi
= would be terminal, and the termina
" offices would be here"
* The promoter said that he had gon
NJ into the matter carefully in Rock |:
}N land, and had selected the route de
N signated merely because it was sue
81 sested to him by Rock Island peopl
x as the most satisfactory. "HoweveI
~ the Seventeenth street route is no
* necessary, if the people will provid
~ some other means of reaching Sever
W teenth and First avenue. | had e1
NJ pected some modification of the ord
W nance, and am quite willing to permi
W the restriction of freight traffic to tn
* night hours to be included in the ord
NJ nance he said.
w Kill Limitation Measure.
S. The council again voted down TIL
" ordinance limiting the licensing {
W saloons to one for each 500 population
W The measure has been before the cou,
So Gil for about two years, and is desig;
N ed to restrict the number of license
~ but not to eliminate any of the exis
x ing saloons except as they suffer
W revocation of fhpir pprnife. pr on n,