Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-10-12
BENEFITS TO CITY
IN INTERURBANS
What Rock Island Is Losing
Through Lack of Facil-
tiles.
BELT LINE Is NECESSARY
Will Afford Entrance to ElcCtrics and
Open Up West End Factory
District.

Rock Island must have interurban
railroads if it is to hold its Owa
against the growing surrounding cen
tiers that are affording these advan-
tages to the residents of the rural dis
tricts. Several projected electric lines
have sought an entrance to this city
in vain. The most recent one was
promoted by w. c. Lawson, Il Chicago
an backed by ample capital to com
plcte his undertaking, which had
Galcsburg and Rock island for its ter
minals. coming via Aledo. and tapping
the richest territory to the south of
this community. Mr.. Lawson expert
cmccd no difficulty in securing righ-
OF way until reaching the city OF Rock
Island. Here the people of the resi-
d-ucc districts would not consent -
the running of freight trains in from;
of their property. They did not wan
to be understood as seeking to block
progress, hut their answer was that
Rock Island had always confined its
railroad accommodations 70 the river
front, anG they saw no rSaspn VIII;
sthere should be q change now; tha5
there was room there Tor tbs inter
urban as well as the steam railroa&l
BOOSTERS 'Ta&c Action. r-r
The trustees Of the booster fund.
subscribed by citizens for the CONNER
cial and Industrial Development OF
Rock Island, saw no more effective
directions in which TO employ a por
ton of this money than in afFordine
facilities to the iateruTbans by buili-
ing Il line from thcNsoutheru limits to
the business center OF The city. At
the same time it was incumbent upon
some public agency to solve the west
end factory problem. ROCK ISLAM
wants new Industries. 1t must have
them if ii is to grow as 2Ea is neigh |
burs. Owners of several Industries
seeking new locations have favora5ly |
considered Rock Island un to the point |
of railroad facilities Rock Island has !
one available site for factories. 1t IS !
in the west end. Factories demand |
competitive railroad convouience5. |
But one railroad enters tn west emf |
district. That district viii DC opened |
up to all railroads now cc2tcrng here |
and to all lines thai may come in fu- !
ture years, as wei as serve as an en- |
trance to interurhaus. The People are |
wanting more factories but they can't |
be secured until they first are afforded |
the accommodations that they exact |
The booster fund could not bring the |
factories here if it was ten times its !
size under present conditions.
What Other Cities Are Doing.
AS for interUrbans and the advan-
RI pft h..c. h4v+ |
to look around over the state. A visit |
to Joliet Rockford, Aurora. Elgin.
Springfield bloomington. Peoria. De
catur, DanviIle, Jacksonville, and East
ST. Louis will show the benefits of the
intcrurban. all these communities prof
iting by many thousands of dollars
every year from the trade that is
brought from the outlying districts to
the cities. Rock Island must make a
move to conserve its own interests.
present and future.
To this end every announcement
should be given to the proposed belt
line from Seventeenth street along
First avenue and south to Eighteenth
avenue. Property owners are asked
10 give consent to the use of a 30-foot
strip south of the present tracks on
First avenue. There might be grounds
for serious opposition were the belt to
he the first railroad to be built there.
But it is only an addition to what has
been there for years, and it can but
slightly alter the present situation.
VIII solve Two Problems.
The belt line will solve the west end
factory and the interurbau DrohIane