Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-12-07
ARE NECLECTINC
OWN INTERESTS
Prominent Citizen Wonders at
Inactivity of Rock Islands
Business Men.
AS TO THE INTERURBAN
Says Measures Should Be Taken to
Secure Better Connections With
Electric Trains.

81 do not think the business men or
Rock Island realize what they are neg
lecting in the matter Of the interurban
connection with the lower end of the
county, especially at this time of the
year, when holiday shopping is on"
said leading citizen this morning. Il
have seen women with heavy bundles
stand on the street corners of Rock Is
land, waiting for Fourth avenue car
| to the interurban station in the west
end of town. There they are Obliged
to wait in the temporary accommoda-
| tons, which are not the most attract
i've in the world, and then climb into
the cars Of the Rock Island Southern.
1t would pay the business men of Rock
Island to provide an automobile or
other conveyance to transport passen-
gers to the west end at the time the
interurbans leave, or arrange with the
| Tri-City Railway company to run a
tripper properly designated to make
direct connection with the interurbans,
coming and going.
| NEGLECT OWN INTERESTS.
1T seems to me the business men of
Rock Island are neglecting their own
interests to a surprising degree in this
matter. Railway connection with the
lower end has been the desire here for
years, and now we have it and are
neglecting 1t surprisingly. The mer-
chants do not seem to consider the
hundreds of people who are brought
into Rock Island daily by the Rock
Island Southern, and are paying no at
tention to them in the matter of bet
ter inducements. If Muscatine can
build and maintain a bridge across the
Mississippi to attract this trade and
charge tolls for teams and passengers,
Rock Island ought to be alive to the
improvement in the situation, as II
affects it's best interests. Until the
interurban cars are brought into the
business section of the city, there
should be some plan of meeting the
cars and seeing that the people who
come into town are made welcome and
properly cared for in transportation
facilities
SHOULD HAVE BRIDGE.
A county supervisor, who visited The
Argus Office this morning. preached g
matter which has a direct connection
with the above idea. He said. "Tht
people and business interests of Rocl
Island are strangely inactive on the
bridge proposition. Just now the bust
ness men of Moline and the upper enc
OF the county are urging the buildin.
Of bridge to connect this and Henri,
counties, and one would think that tn,
: business men here would be hot afte
> similar connections with the lower end
The bridge in the upper end will meal
r big things for Moline, but no more s.
than a connection to the lower emf
would mean to Rock Island.
NEAR MOUTH OF ROCK RIVER.
There should be a new bridge owe
| Rock river. one down near the moutl
> or that stream, so that there would b
L direct communication with Big island
Andalusia, Illinois City, and in fact tn
u whole south end of the county. Sue
!. a bridge has long been advocated bu
has lacked the impetus which only
). united front Of the business interest
= can give it.
J. The action of the Moline bushes
: men towards the building of a bridg
Q at Colona is credit to that city, an
no one is inclined to deny them tn
benefit they will secure through It, bu
nevertheless, Rock Islands interes
> should not be lost sight OF. Bushes
d men here ought to be awake to til
|. need Of bridge across Rock river"