Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-06-05
TRYING TO BUILD
up CHINESE WALL
Charles Block of South Rock
Island Comments on Efforts
to Form Village.
BAR TO FUTURE PROGRESS
District Would BE Condemned to Re.
main Like Bailey Davenport
Cow Pasture Indefinitely.

That those in South Rock Island
who are working for the organization
of village there are laboring to build
I'D a Chinese wall around themselves
is the view of Carl Block, who is
taking an active part in the fight
against such a move. Mr.. Block lives
at Eleventh street and Nineteenth ave-
nue., in the district which the city will
vote upon consolidating with at the
special election which has been called
for June "a.
"If we get village government next
thing we'll be binding our feet and
growing pigtails as they used to do
In China" said he to a representative
of The Argus. II am a socialist and
being one, l believe in going forward,
not backward. Adopting village gov
eminent would not only be step back
ward, but it would handicap US very
much in getting the things we want.
CITES GERMANY's EXPERIENCE.
SIT stands to reason that a large
community can afford a great many
coDveniences that a small one cannot.
The spirit of the times is toward
consolidation and Capitalization, in
stead Of in the other direction. / was
born in Germany, where there used
to be several hundred little states
which we're always quarreling among
themselves and never getting any
where. Germany never made any
progress till these states got together
under central government.
IF we followed the lead of the men
who are always objecting we would
have none of our modern improve
ments and no government.
Leaders of the move for a village
| form of government are like JEFF Davis
of so years ago-for accession and
against union.
DEBT WOULD BE HEAVY.
Rock Island has a city debt, of
course, but it is not a very heavy one
and there is something to show for
it. This proposed village would have
an area half as big as Rock Island
and if it undertook to build schools,
lay sewers, put in waterworks, and
grade and pave streets it would very
quickly have a debt a great deal
larger in proportion to the number
of people and value of property than
that of Rock Island.
Here are perhaps 1900 people s-at
tered over two square miles, with
nothing in common except a desire
for improvements which they would be
unable to pay for by themselves, and
better means of getting to and from
the city where most of us work and
where we do our shopping and &c
for amusement There is no common
business or social center in South
Rock Island and can be none, no mat
ter what kind of local government
we have. Under village rule We
} would be barred from improvement.
almost as effectively as the Bailey
Davenport tract along the southern
border Of the city used to be.
A FEW QUESTIONS.
IF we could afford waterworks ant
sewers where would we get our waite
and where would our sewers be EMP
tied? Our proposed boundaries woult
touch neither the Mississippi nor Rocl
: river. If we paved the streets an,
laid sidewalks where would they LEAF
: us? To a city, Rock Island VIVA
use would we have for street railwa,
extensions? So that we could tn
better get to and from the city to GU
work
Il should like to see Eleventh stree
On which l live, improved and made
boulevard from the Mississippi I
Rock river. the main thoroughfa-e an
the finest drive in the three cities.
we organized a village what chanc
would there ever be for me to Sc
such work accomplished?
LACKS EXPERIENCE.
[ South Rock Island needs exper
5 enced city builders to develop 1t q
( 1t should be. We have beautiful res
f dence tracts here and opportunity fc
0 landscape gardening such as a suburb
: an community is seldom favored will
I What could an inexperienced, none,
= less village government do in TIL
8 direction?
THE men who are boosting for
village are the ones we may expe,
Ia g.