The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-10-24
ExPANSIONF FOR
| ROAD SHOPS is
PLAN AT SILvIS
Moline Committee Brings Back In.
pertant Announcement from
Rock Island Officials.

In addition TO a new passenger
station for Moline, it is announced
that the Rock Island road plans i'm
portant extensions TO its Siivis
plant during tbs next year.
This Is che news that Is brought
back to Moline by the Chamber OF
Commerce committee that inter
viewed Vice President Fritsch of
the Rock Island road in reference
to the Moline station in Chicago last
Saturday The Moiiners came away
from the conference convinced that
the Rock Island road means bust
ness as far as a new station IN
Moline is concerned. They believe
that a suitable station will be erect
ed here in 1922.
Vice President Fritch declared
its no secret that facilities at the
division headquarters building in
Rock Island and at the Silvis shops
are inadequate. But instead of
utilizing part of the new Moline
building for divisional offices, some
of the departments now in Rock
Island will be moved to Silvis.
Among the latter is the car repair
ing department.
The reEs oval of these activities
TO Silyis will give additional room
for division offices at the Thirty
first street station. II will also
compel expansion at Silvis.
The Moline delegation returned
to Moline with the opinion that it's
not only useless, but inadvisable to
talk union station.
No Union Station.
Vice President Fritch declared
union stations are bad business for
cities of the size and situation of
Moline. They tend, he said, to turn
away business from a community.
II also appears that officials of the
Burlington and Milwaukee rail-
roads are expected to be extreme
ly reluctant regarding further eX-
pense for a union station in Moline. ,
The Burlington managers seem in
clined to believe that the present |
station in Moline is fully adequate |
for present and future needs.
Union station talk, 1t is said, will |
only cause delay in building plans. |
For these various reasons It IS |
probable that all such discussion |
will be stopped.
The Rock Island road now values |
it's property at Fourth avenue be- |
tween Seventeenth and Nineteenth |
streets at nearly $4,000. For that !
reason it is improbable that a cheap |
building will be constructed in Mo- !
line.
There won't be anything very
fancy, said Mr.. F'ritch, and added |
that the time has passed when rail- |
road companies are increasing |
their expenses by building monu- |
ments and would-be works of arts |
at every town on the line
The idea here, it appears, is that /
structures built for pride and not |
for service only add to the fare paid |
by the travelling public
But, though the new station won't |
be a thing mainly of frills and fan
cies, the representatives of the city |
and the Chamber of Commerce be-
lieve it will be a building which |
wilE give adequate service and a |
structure of which Moline need not |
be- ashamed
As far as the $40, 900 rumor is !
concerned, it appears that years ago |
such figure was once mentioned as
the approximate cost of the main !
building to be erected in Moline |
That plan, however, seems to have
been discarded long ago.
NO detailed and definite action
VIII be taken until after further
consultation with city officials and
ofneers OF the Chamber OF Com
merce.