The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-03-23
ASKS HIGH TAX
| UPON PROPERTY
| HELD FOR RAISE
Frank p. Welch, at ReaItors' Meet
Suggests Way to Increase
City's Revenue.

-
property located in the business
district OF Rock Island, but held for
Speculative purposes, should be
taxed to render its retention I'M
Icy would result in yielding the
city sufficient income to carry out
Improvement plans now declared
Impossible for lack of funds, was
the sentiment voiced by Frank p.
WEIGH, who with Mayor II. NJ
Schriver, Commissioners Martin t.
Rudgren and William II. Fitzsim-
mons and City Attorney John X.
Scott attended meeting of the
Rock Island Real Estate board
held last night in the Rock Island
club.
These assertions with the further
statement that better railroad
Switching facilities should be pro-
vided to attract more manufactur-
ing institutions to this community
made up the burden of an improptl
address by Mr.. WEIGH, who, after
his speech was made an honorary
member of the board by unanimous
vote
Mr.. WEIGH said that Rock Island
people as a whole should support
the assessor, who in his appraisal
of real estate would be greatly aid
ed by the estimates of property
values made by the realtors. He
affirmed that when he decided a
small piece of land to railroad for
81 and other considerations, he was
waited upon by number of prop
erty owners who protested against
his action, but that he replied that
If the railroad wanted more he
would gladly transfer it to the
company. regardless of its none
tary value. Good switching facili-
ties made for the progress of the
city. he maintained, and he favored
the granting of every application
made by a railroad corporation for
land for such purpose. even, he
said, if the tracks had to be laid
across Second avenue, or over the
city hall.
Street Widening.
He referred to the necessity of
widening Twenty-fourth street,
from Fourth avenue to the viaduct,
saying the congestion in that sec
ton was daily becoming a greater
problem.
Mayor SchriveT > statement that
he fully agreed with Mr. Welch,
that The widening of the street was
urgently necessary, but that the
city lacked funds. led to the asser-
ton by Mr.. WEIGH that the solution
of the city's financial difficulties IS
To be found in raising the appraise-
mert of property held for specula-
tive purposes, and thereby greatly
increasing its revenues
He said that he could have easily
secured the location of two manu-
featuring institutions in Rock Is
land this winter had he been able
to guarantee them better switching
facilities. 1t would be better for
Rock Island, he thought, to have u
number of small factories than two
or three very large ones.
After dinner had been served, Z.
b. Kreis, president, introduced
Mayor Schriver who spoke at length
on the situation in Rock Island.
Without entering into the merits or
dement's of the prohibition Ques-
ton, the mayor said that since the
passage of the eighteenth amend
ment, Rock Island had been Obliged
to suffer a diminution of its revenue
to the extent of $4,000 annually. |
His present administration had
taken hold just after the war, when !
the business depression began and |
hundreds of Rock Island working
men lost their jobs.
: The Legislature had made it very
hard for the city, said the mayor, |
by passing laws obliging Rock Is
hnd TO spend a lot of money to |
comply with new requirements, !
when the means were not in sight. |
Hard Roads Topic.
Referring to the efforts being
made to secure hard roads in the
county, which he said, would di-
rectly benefit Rock Island, he
stated that he had just received in
formation to the effect that the
state highway commission, now
conducting a hearing at Dixon,
would conduct a hearing in Rock
Island. probably within the next
ten days.
He favored the filling OF that sec
ton of Rock Island often referred
to as the sawdust pile, located !
near the west end of Fourth ave-
nue., with gravel and sand taken
from the river, and suggested that ]
the federal government ought to be /.
approached on the subject.
He had spoken of the matter, he
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