Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-11-06
IMPROVEMENT OF
ROADS IS PUT UP
T0BUSINESSMEN
Organizations of Four Cities
Take First Step to Form
Central Body.
LEFT TO JOINT COMMITTEE
Views Of Leading Local Advocates of
Better Highways Aired at
Conference Here.

Some definite plan of interesting
people of this vicinity, particularly of
Rock Island county, in improvement
of roads. will be wrestled with by I
committee of four men representing
. commercial organizations of Moline,
4, East Moline, Rock Island and Daven-
port as a result of the banquet and
conference held at the Moline CONNER
cial club rooms last evening. Leading
workers of the Greater Moline COM
mittee. East Moline Commercial club
and Rock Island club were present,
while Davenport was represented by
r r. Marsh, assistant secretary of
, the Greater Davenport committee.
/ II was left TO the organizations par
: ticipating TO select their representa-
tives on the committee, which is to
do its work and then make a report
at another conference OF like nature.
II is probable that such report will
favor a permanent organization includ-
ing the three cities on this side of the
river and possibly Davenport.
WOoDCOCK PRESENTS PLAN.
r. B. Lourie. chairman of the Great
, er Moline committee, presided over
last evenings meeting. f. w. Wood
cock of Moline presented a plan for
cooperation which he has evolved, one
of his ideas being to launch the p!b-
LEGATION of a good roads ma gazine in
tended for general circulation. He
sad he believed that it could be made
TO pay and the profits could be devoted
TO the good roads cause. He suggest
ed that a company capitalized at
S25.000 be formed to be known as the
Middle West Advertising and Pub
fishing company and that the maya
zine be known as the Good Roads Her
aid, the subscription price being So /!
per annum. While the magazine idea |
did not meet with general approval, I
other suggestions of Mr.. Woodcock I
were taken up and will probably be .
acted upon.
As an incidental feature the meet /
ing brought out a sentiment in favor
of the abolition of the township unit
in Rock Island county government
and the adoption of the commission
form in place of the one now operat-
ed under This would give more
centralized body for the transaction of
county business and would tend to
eliminate harmful politics, it was con-
tended.
WANTS SAMPLE ROAD.
William Butterworth of Moline IA
yored the construction of sample
of road in this county to show
the people what good roads really are.
He pointed out that there is not more
than a mile of hard road in the coun-
ty outside of the limits of the cities
and what there is is rapidly falling
into disrepair A durable road suitable
for the traffic borne by the average
highway can be built for
L. 900 per mile, he said. He told of his
4 .OOO-mile motor trip through Europe,
when the poorest road he saw was
better than the best in this county.
w. A. Rosenfield of Rock Island en-
dorsed the plan of Mr.. Butterworth.
E. II. Guyer of Rock Island saw lit
lie benefit to be derived from the
Tice bill. He considered the provi-
sion f-r road improvement made by
that measure as insufficient. He doubt {
I'd if anything tangible would be i
realized till some central organization
With broad powers. including the 7
right to impose taxes for road pur-
poses. was given charge of the work f,
This body should be made up of en- ,
zineers who could lay out and build
-oads with sole regard for the con- /,
,enience of travel and not to serve {
my particular interests. I
COUNTY Is NIGGARDLY. I
States Attorney Floyd Thompson v
aid he believed the Tice bill is
,tep in the right direction. II tends
o create interest in the subject and
s at least a recognition on the part Z
II the state of the good roads cause.
rhe reason Rock Island county gets
,nly $1,000 from the state fund is that Y
[ has been niggardly in its levying or q
axes for road purposes. The big a
ownships, those of Rock Island and a
.IoIine. levy no road tax at all v
II. s. Cable of Rock Island believed r
hat an organization should be form /.
ID and a paid secretary secured whose q
Iuty would be to keep the question z
4 road improvement constantly agi- a
ated and to look after the clerical n
york.
A. p. Johnson OF East Moline {
bought that the residents Of the
titles needed good roads education
more than those in the country He
tied in support of this contention the r,
act tnat the people living on the Rock b
liver Valley route have subscribed +
Il 900 for the improvement OF that g
Dad to be paid when the four cities r,
urnish a like sum. The committee d
hose duty i. is to solicit subscrip- o
ions in the cities. however. hesitates Il
D undertake it's task being doubtful "a
2 the outcome .,
Mayor NJ. r. Carlson OF Moline made Fl
be motion that a committee of four II
e named TO develop plans for a per- q