Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-03-26
GRANT is FOUGHT
BY COMPETITORS
Levee Ordinance of Sand and
Gravel Company Draws Fire
of Other Dealers in Coal.
RAISE MONOPOLY CHARGES
While Petitioners Claim Concession
Would Make 1t Possible to Bid
Against Other Markets.

Competing dealers in coal are lead
ing in a protest against the granting
by the city council of the ordinance
presented by the Rock Island Sand &
Gravel company for the leasing for a
25-year period of the river front be
tween Nineteenth and Twentieth
streets, where it is proposed to install
an improvement costing approximate
ly $4,000 to facilitate the handling of
the company's business, with the reser-
walton that the landing be accessible
to all river craft, as now, excepting
those engaged in the handling Of coal,
signed by all the competing coal deal
ers, and others, was read at the spe-
cial meeting of the city council last
evening. It is as follows:
1--WE believe the passage of such an
ordinance at the present time would be
a step backward, and would be the es-
Establishment of precedent which
would ultimately mean the surrender
ing Of the present public levee. to pri-
vate control and would permit the i'm
mediate establishment of a monopoly
in the river traffic in coal, sand and
gravel without any corresponding ad-
vantage accruing to the city"
Legal Right Questioned.
s. R Kenworthy addressed the coun-
ell in support of the contentious of
the remonstrance, pointing to the fact
that the city had only three blocks of
public levee. If one were turned over
to a private corporation today, he
wanted to know what the answer of
the council would be to another pri-
vate corporation that would ask sim.
liar concession next week, and still an
other the week following. He ques-
toned, furthermore, the power legally
of the council to vote the rights sought
under the ordinance of the Rock Island
Sand & Gravel company. While he had
no positive evidence, the general optn-
ion seemed to be that the Rock Island
road was behind the ordinance, and
he was strengthened in that belief by
the practical surrender that road was
making of similar concessions from
the city in the same territory sought
to be occupied by the Rock Island
Sand & Gravel company.
Fred Gall, manager of the Rock Is
land Sand & Gravel company, denied
that the Rock Island railroad had any
interest in the ordinance; that, on the
contrary, personally he had labored
with the officials of the road upwards
of a year to get their consent to the
proposed arrangement Mr. Gall said
that modern facilities for the handling
of his company'S business were neces-
sary if Rock Island was to keep pace
with other river cities in controlling
trade in the lines in which his con-
Germ was engaged. To bear out his
claim, he referred to the plant of the
Channel Ice company, in Moline. which
had modern facilities on the order of
those desired here.
Would Mean Competition.
Mr. Gall suspected that the Moline
Channel Ice company had not a little
to do with the opposition raised to his
company's ordinance, as the passage
of the latter would mean pretty stiff
competition for the Moline concern, in
the coal trade particularly. Mr. Gall
was willing that any provision be in
COT POI dleu III lllG OlQllldLCG IudhlllS
the two spur tracks asked for open to
all other dealers, and further making
it obligatory on the Rock Island Sand
& Gravel company to handle the ship
ments of any of its competitors over
it's tracks, making it possible for the
latter to load or unload at the imprOv-
ed wharf under the same conditions
enjoyed by the Rock Island Sand &
Gravel company, with the exception
that the latter would assess a charge
of 20 cents a ton for handling the
of competitors, this work
to be done by locomotive crane to be
as a part of the proposed
E. H. Stafford, attorney for the Rock
Island Sand & Gravel company, said
the suggested monopoly was ridicu-
lous; that the best reply to it was that
modern facilities as sought on the
Rock Island levee would make 1t pos
sible for local people to compete with
the Moline Channel Ice company, as
they were unable to do now. If that
was monopoly, he did not understand
the meaning of the word. Mr.. Stat
ford wished himself placed on record
as stating positively that the Rock
Island road was not concerned ii the
ordinance further than having is
rights protected under a grant of 1900 |
by which it is to have the use Of the |
levee between Nineteenth and TWEEN |
tieth streets for a period of 25 years |
for the handling of COAL
Protection for Investment.
However, it would be to its interest |
to have a large concern like the Rock |
Island Sand & Gravel company located |
abutting it's tracks for business rea-
sons. Mr.. Stafford said it was nat |
ural to suppose that the Rock Island |
Sand & Gravel company would want |
some protection of it's investment be-
fore making an expenditure Of the |
magnitude contemplated. But he in /
sisted that the new landing would do |
much to clean I'D the river front.