Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-10-28
Follows Application for
Eighteenth Street
License.
WAS a VICIOUS DIVE
The Place Could Not Exist
Without the Wineroom
Adjunct.

Owners Of adjoining property are up
in arms against thesefroft to reestab.i
lish saloon a 81 building at the
northeast corner 81 Eighteenth street
and Fourtn syenssf. as referred to Ia
The Argus Of astseyening. Under a
former propsef tbs was one of the
most vicious 81 9f.ts IN the city, was
once closed by che police zrtmelt,
and afterward refused a ref laI Of it's.
license by Mayor H. @. 81 Her. The
following petition was hle his morn
ing with City Clerk Mt. fRudgren,
and it is understood another is being
circulated:
To the Honorable Mayor and City
Clerk Of the City OF Rock Island: We. I
the undersigned property owners and
| taxpayers in the neighborhood OF.
Eighteenth street and Fourth avenue, 4
do hereby petition that there will be
no saloon license granted for the
premises on the northwest corner OF
Eighteenth street and Fourth avenues.
John VoIk,
L. s. McCabe.
Elizabeth M. Johnson. y
Mrs. Minnie Ecker. !
Mrs. Walter Littig.
Edward Hoffman,. ri
Rock Island Safety Deposit company.
(By G. G. Wenger, Secretary
Backed by Brewery.
Thiephiel Bousson is the Applicant
for license to reopen the Eighteenth
street place. One of the local brewer
les is back of him, 1t is stated In the
earlier years Of the city, before the
undesirable element entered the saloon
traffic here, this Eighteenth street cor
mr. was controlled by an old citizen5
who conducted one of the most repu-
table saloons in the city. His family
occupied the one-story frame buildingt
at the rear. The place was never al
source of complaint or of trouble toi
the police authorities.
Finally, it became Improbable whent
conducted along legitimate lines, and
in order to exist it became necessary
to introduce the wineroom feature. 1t
was the rendezvous of street walkers,
as are a number Of places IN the city
today, the women growing 80 bold rs
to sit out in front at night and inter
cept passers. It grew to be so notori-
GUS that ladies did not feel safe IN
traversing the street IN going and COM
ing from their homes and were obliged,
to escape possible insult, to follow
other thoroughfares. The protests Of
the public were so insistent that the
place was closed. 1t has since until
recently, been occupied by a fruit
dealer.
Return to old Conditions Suspected
The people are basing their petition
Of protest on a suspicion that the sa-
loon, If allowed to resume, will take
the same liberties morally as are other
places in the city now, and therefore
they are determined to forestall tho
purpose by appealing to the council.
City Clerk Rudgren stated today that
he could not state whether the license
would be issued.
This is another case like the Owl,
which was reopened without obtain
ing the consent of the owners of abut-
ting frontage. after it had been aban-
doned as a saloon.
Here is a case which the brewery
interests ought to manifest some In
terest for their own welfare, and In
stead OF encouraging dumps and dives,
.hey ought to discourage them and
make it impossible for them to exist.
Every time a license is issued to
live it damages the reputation Of the
lecently conducted saloons.