Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1915-11-27

New York. He acquired l,10o acres Of
land and attracted TO him men Of only
the best type "other men whose
characters determineS what the city
OF Moline should be soon came, con-
tinued the speaker There came John
Deere. There came John Dean. There
came Spencer White, Judge Gould, D.
c. Dimock. Timothy Wood and others
deserving Of mention. And
looking down the list We viii find
better class Of men in Moline during
its formative period than in any other
place at the time
Mr.. Jackson told Of MIR. Sears con-
fdence in the potential possibilities OF
this locality, so marked that he was
often called visionary. One Of his
ideas was 10 sell stock for Il railway
from the Great Lakes TO the Missis-
sippi. The scheme was called an i'm
possibility by many. but completion Of
the road marked 3 great epoch in the
history OF Moline. Mr. Sears vas able
to put his ear to the ground and hear
the coming of the multitude" said the
Rock Island attorney.
Real building of Moline, the manu-
featuring city. started with erection Of
the first power dam. from the bank OF
the Mississippi. which furnished wa
terpower to start factory wheels Mr..
srr,~a r,,4eo cwCy.fo- guS Guavaor II
White of ROCK Island we're prime
workers in the movement. A saw and
grist mill was built at the south end
Of the dam and then four-story -four
mill was erected by Sears. A paper
milf. operated by the firm Of Fergus
& Wheeloek, also was added.
Tells of Deere Factory.
The year spent in the employe Of
John Deere, in which he and his
mother subsisted on $500 a month,
was the most happy of his life. declar-
ed the speaker. The Deere factory in
which he worked was building 25xS0
feet. Mr. Jackson first worked on a
bolt cutter and then on drilling ma
chine. drilling every hole in every
Deere pillow which left the factory in
those days.
The speaker traced the manufactur-
ing progress of the city, with erection
Of q new dam and new mill on Ben
hams island The commencement Of
the Dimock & Gould enterprise and
work of Gilbert and Pitts and Charles
Atkinson were cited,
Mr. Jackson's address was preceded
By the monthly business session of the
club in which a communication from
Congressman Clyde Taveuner, anent
the CoIona bridge proposition. was
read. The congressman promised TO
do all in his power to secure permit
10 span the stream and stated he de-
sires to serve the club in every way
possible.
Mr., Jahns Reports.
Report Of Louis Jahus, chairman Of
/ the committee appointed at the last
meeting to endeayor TO secure eleva-
/ ton Of tracks, was that the committee
/ has met with the East End Improve
ment association and the Manufactur-
ers' association. and that all are in
favor of the project The East End
association has appointed a committee
/ to investigate the matter.
/ Announcement was made by Presi-
dent Fred Grafund that T. D. Vetter
Of the iowa National bank will be
/ speaker at the meeting Dec. II. What
River Improvement Means to q City
will be his topic j P Wilson viii
I speak on state highways at the Jan
uary session.
! One Of the features of last evening s
! meeting was presentation Of a bouquet
to President Gradund in honor of his
3Sth birthday anniversary. The pres
entati0n was made by C. J. Seymour
who stated that the flowers came from
an old sweetheart Of Mr. Grafiunds
Decision was also reached TO donate
$40 to the Second Congregational
church Christmas fund.