The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-11-08
sCHR|vER ASKS
Us. T0F0LL0W
OWN PREACHING
commissioners Support Mayor In
stand for Perfect Sincerity
On Unemployment.

fffv OIIlEldlSFOl ROIh 1otdu0t III
s-,,sd 10 do their share in the I'M
Endowment situation by the pres
'ssat's unemployment conference,
-.snlted Monday afternoon in the
Commissioners supporting Mayor
uarry M. Schriver in suggesting
.bst the government practice what
d breaches"
The mayor read a letter he had
.-,itten and which he asked the
.ouncil to authorize its dispatch to
president Harding, Secretary OF
war Weeks, Secretary of Com
-erce Hoover, Senators Mccormick
and Mckinley, Congressman Ora
i lam. and Colonel Arthur A. Woods,
.bairrpan of the committee on civic
and emergency measures of the I'M
smployment conference.
Mayor Schriver said that he had
.rceIlent authority that $500, 900
mad been turned back into the gen
eral fund of the United States
treasury last week by order of the
secretary Of war. The money, he
said. had been appropriated by
congress for manufacture at the
Rock Island arsenal.
He told the commissioners that
tbe city officials had not been slow
in working out relief in the local
UNEMPLOYMENT situation as far as
This could be done, and that COM
munitv associations had been do
ing the same. He declared that
such work had been under way
here long before the unemployment
conference met. and that the work
will be followed up. but I'VE ask
that the United States government
follow what it breaches"
The mayors letter sent to Pres
ident Harding follows:
81 am in receipt Of letters from
officials Of the unemployment con-
ference committee. appointed by
YOU. asking our city to cooperate
with other municipalities and with
state and federal authorities to Sc
cure unity of action in meeting the
unemployment situation. and ask
ing as to how we feel the federal
authorities can best cooperate with
US in the entire matter.
"On receipt Of a report of the
conference on unemployment, l al
once called a meeting of represen-
ta,ives Of various organizations and
prominent business men. They
have Just about completed a sur
vey OF our city with reference tC
the unemployed and the possible
ties of getting work. We have Sc
cured work for considerable
number on the clean up or spruce
up campaign and have several
hundred fairly well-to-dO people il
the community who have agreed tc
give at least one man one days
work each week. We are further
complying with every suggestion o.
the conference committee that it il
possible for US to comply with.
What's Government Doing!
They ask in what manner the
federal authorities can assist or co
operate with us. In April, 1920,
headed a delegation from this city
comprising business men and rep
resentative citizens, to Washing
ton. We spent about three week
there endeavoring to persuade tn
secretary of war to continue tn
activities at the Rock Island ar
senal in the manufacture of tn
governments peace-time needs. W
learned while in Washington frCn
very reliable governmental author
tiles that all the United States ar
senals combined. working "a hour
day. could not manufacture >
per cent of the governments peace
time needs, at a price so muc
lower than that imposed by tn
private manufa cturers that there
scarcely any comparison. The Man
ufacturers' association seemed t
have the secretary of war and tn
entire Wilson administration, fig
uratively speaking, by the necl
We secured nothing as result c
our trip.
The Rock Island arsenal, as 20
probably know, is situated on a
island in the Mississippi river be
tween the cities of Rock Island an
Moline, H.. and Davenport, Iowa
It comprises about 1000 acres O
land. a magnificently equippe
1 plant representing an investmen
Of upwards of $500, 100000, housin
the finest machinery human inge
/ nuity can devise of a value OF up
ward OF s5O,0OO.00O. This entir
plant is practically idle, and tn
private manufacturer, with whom
4 | have no quarrel whatever, i
manufacturing peace-time needs a
profit. where we feel that i'm
nense quantities of such article
could be manufactured here and a