Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-05-12

Ryan did the most skillful and diff
cult work in the. engineering prob
lens incident to the work-and the
same Ryan. when the state of Illinois
was hard pressed for funds to carry
on the canal work, was sent to Lon
don and there negotiated a loan from
the Barring Brothers, bankers. which
enabled the state to tide over its finan-
cial difficulties and pay the canal con-
tractors. Irish settlements along the
Illinois and Michigan canal from
Joliet to La Sale were due in part. at
least, to the hampered condition of
| the state finances. 1rishmen in large
numbers-who as contractors or la
/ borerS-were engaged in the work,
failing TO get cash. took the land
scrip and so settled on the land con-
tiguous to the canal. thus making the
Irish settlements once we'll known
| from Joliet to La Sale"
Recalls Pioneers.
! Mr.. Onahan recalled many old-time
residents of the state and especially
of the city of Chicago, among them
stephen A. Douglas, United States
. n II,
who made gallant defense of Lex
/ ington in the early stages of the Civil
war; Marshall Field, world-famous
merchant; Edward T. Ryan, Chicago
/ editor, who later became chief justice
of the supreme court of Wisconsin;
| John COmiskey, father of Charles A
/ COmiSkey, baseball magnate, and who
was a power in local politics; Carter
| Harrison, the elder, many times may
or; John r. Walsh, fnancier, whom
Mr. Onahan called power in all
/ local affairs" and who became the
head of three leading financial insti-
| buttons; Philip d. Armour, founder of
! the great packing industry that still
bears his name, and Potter Palmer,
| capitalist and social leader.
| This aneCdote showing Marshall
/ Fields thorough business methods
was told by Mr.. Onahan: "On his last
return trip from Europe l met Mar
! shall Field on the steamer-it was the
/ Inflated Lusitania. One day in con-
! versation with him / remarked that |
/ frequently met him mornings going
to his wholesale house, and | added
that I supposed he no longer paid
much attention to his great retail es-
tablishment On the contrary he re-
piled. When you have seen ME max
ing for the Wholesale house, | have
already gone through every depart
ment of the retail, which l visit
daily"
Would Bring Pope TO Chicago.
He told of talk he once had with
Philip Armour, who discussed a ru-
NOR then current that the pope was
about to leave Rome for safety on &C
count of that city being threatened by
Pledmontese invasion. Mr. Armour
said Mr.. Onahan, proposed to bring
the pope to Chicago and to build for
him here a new vatican. Mr. Onahan
told him it was impossible and would
| cost millions of dollars, but Mr. Ar
mour said his plan was to provide 10
to 20 acres on which to build offices
| a palace and a great cathedral and
would give half the land to the pope
and make enough profit out of the
other half to pay for the whole plan
| When, many years afterwards,
saw the wonderful White City, the
worlds fair said Mr. Onahan, Its
marvellous architectural beauty, the
yastness and symmetry of it's build
ings, the beauty of all the arrange
ments, | said to myself, Chicago could
indeed, if put to it, build a new Eter-
nal City"