The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-08-01
FRIENDS At CLUB
ARE Enemies NOW
Hundreds q Engineers Visited keo-
kuk Power Project In it's Con-
struction Who Are on op-
posite Sides in War.
REGISTER HOLDS STORY
Human Interest Tale Of the Present
Conflict In Europe Is Based
on Pages Of RlvervieW
Club Book.

i
this world war. which had its begin
ming in Keokuk and in the vast engi-
neering feat which attracts hundreds
Of visitors every week to this city,
the dam and power plant in the Mis-
sissippi river at this point. There are
men in the trenches In war swept Rus
sia and France, who now face each
other in hatred who, two years ago
dined together In perfect harmony or
arm In arm, tramped oyer the Work,
then in the process Of construction.
There are men behind the vast fight
ing forces, men whose keen minds,
three years ago were occupied with
engineering projects Of peace, who are
now turning their attention to the
problems Of war. There are imam
ciers. even, who visited the work at
Keokuk who represented the nations
now at war, but who, then, talked
sterlings. pounds, marks and pfenn1gs,
and marvelled together at the genius
who was Harvesting the river here.
Some of the men who were enter
tanned at the Riverview club at keo-
hulk in the years between 1911 and
1913, wore a monocle and. carried their
blankets under their sarms. Their
"A's' we're fiattened with as much
precision as the heads of the rivets
which were holding together some OF
the cribs DOR the cofferdams. There
we're others who stood on the high
bluffs at Keokuk looking. over what
appeared to be human ant hill, who
let their gaze wander up the broad
river, and who compared Its strength
and the view with their beloved Rhine.
And there were men from the king
dom Of snow in the domain of the
car, who minded not at all the icy
blasts laden with snow as they blew
across an ice bound river.
Many Nationalities Meet Here.
frequently these engineers, and
financiers came together. There would
be men from England, hohnobbins
with men from the kaiser's country
and mere and there as If to preserve
the balance would be Japanese en-
ginecl;ng student, or solid Dutch
banker from The Hague. Together
they would be escorted over the
works, either by the chief engineer
Hugh l.. Cooper, or some of his ex
pert assistants. Perhaps their visit
at the Riverview club was short, nev
ertheless the memories OF. those visits
remain in the minds of those who
happened to have the pleasure o.
meeting them. And that is why the
pages Of the register Of visitors at ths
Riverview club, from 1911 to 1913 tel
such an interesting human interes
story Of the present titanic struggle
While, perhaps, not all of the visi
tors are actually engaged in f1ghtins
each other, the majority of the mel
being engineers or financiers. the,
are engaged on opposite sides, givint
the best OF their ideas to their gov
ernments to enable them to gain {
point in this war. Many Of the visl
tors were government engineers ant
are doubtless in active field work now
others, who were bankers and f1nan
slers, are engaged in negotiating loan
anu realizing on the credit of thei
uauon for munitions must be pur
Real Lord Here. @
me following names were takel
a, ION the register of the Riverviev
. t.1 Some Of the descriptions ar
eaken from the flies of The Gate City
cue OF the interesting visitors VIII
s sahe mere in 1913 was a real lori
l1ln London. He was Lord Montag'
Mou. nn walter Edward Douglass Scot
.u,na.agu. second baron according t
Wn0'S Who rY.<kuI