Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-03-16
BOOSTER GERM
GETS A START
Davenport Preparing to Do
Things After the Plan Of
Des Moines.
SHOWN WAY AT A BANQUET
Advertisers Club Sees Birth of a
business Committee" With
Comprehensive Powers.

There is an infection abroad in self
satisfied old Davenport. Two hundred
fifty business men were exposed to 1t
last night. Here's hoping that it takes
and that some of the germs are waited
across the river to us.
There is nothing alarming about
this infection. 1t Is the kind they
have at Des Moines, Los Angeles, Sc
attic, st. Paul, and many of the other
booming cities of the country. Once
an epidemic is started it gets not only
business men but the capitalist in his
palace and the laboring man in the
ditch. Here in Rock Island we have
thought We had it at various times,
but the attacks may after all have been
merely sporadic.
The booster microbe is at the bot
tom of 1t. Davenport imported a col
ony of the germs last night from De5
Moines. They were brought by Lafe
Young, Jr., business manager of the
Des Moines Capital, and Lucius VIII
son, whom they value so highly out
there that they are paying him S., 900
year to boom the city as secretary
of the Greater Des Moines committee
A banquet by the Advertisers associa-
tion at the Commercial club was the
means of distribution. There were
$50 men present, the younger business
element predominating. Rabbi w H.
Ffneshriber was POSTMASTER. and, be-
ing authorized by the meeting to do
so, appointed committee of IL men,
hers to effect a temporary organiza-
ton and select in turn a Davenport
business committee" OF 80 members,
this body to be permanent and TO have
absolute charge of the manufacture
of local sentiment and the exploiting
of the city's advantages abroad. An
attempt will be made to follow in the
footsteps of Des Moines, which has in
three years accomplished wonders by
a similar plan.
City's Growth Slow.
Rabbi Ffneshriber, in introducing the
first speaker, pointed to the fact that
Davenport's population had increased
but 1000 in 10 years, and that the
growth of the city otherwise had been
correspondingly slow Ignorance of
the art of merchandising he said was
the fault of the business people
LATE Young, Jr., the first speaker,
said that Des Moines has been three
years getting ready to advertise its
advantages to the world. When the
booster movement was taken up the
city was dead. Gradually public senti-
ment was produced which sanctioned
improvements. such as the paving of
streets and identifying the city gener-
ally The PEOPLE were appealed to n
such a way that they were shown |
where it was to their advantage 20
help the movement and they grew
liberal in the subscribing of money
for the city. Now they have appro- |
priated $4,000 for a three years adj |
vertising campaign in newspapers and |
magazines. Their first ad will appear
shortly, covering full page, in a well
known publication, and 1t will cost So |
600. The business people are now
willing to accept unanimously the
leadership of men who have shown
their capacity as boosters, and as a
result the plans of the idealists and
dreamers a few years ago are now
taking concrete form. The Des
Moines plan Of municipal government
has been big help, he said
Wilson Tells of Committees Work.
Mr. Wilson spoke of the Greater
Des Moines committee and the worn
it has done. He told how Des Moines
has succeeded while other cities placed
in exactly the same circumstances
have failed. The wrong way to begin
boosting a town, he said is for a few
men to get together. resolve them
selves into a committee, pick some
nice old gentleman to do the work,
and then sit down and trust to God.
In Des Moines they didn't Go that way.
They started out to get broad grasp
Of the city's life and its needs and 10
find how every class could be bene
flied
Some 80 men organized as a pro-
motion committee and met daily at
lunch for three months. AS they ate |