The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-03-04

by shipment is given a special ar
ticle in this months issue of the
Rock Island Magazine, the official
publication OF the Rock Island
Lines.
The sketch has been written by
Tom Straw, who is in charge of Y
M. c. A. work at the Siivis shops
1t Is accompanied by a page OF
photographs, showing the city
council, the fire department, views
| OF residential districts, the mar
shall, and a panorama of the big
shops.
Seventy-fiye per cent Of the resi-
dents own their homes, says Mr.
Straw, and he declares that the city
is free of Indebtedness and has a
balance in the treasury OF $40, 900
His article follows:
Silvis is point well-knoTn gen.
orally all along the Rock Island
Lines, but as a rule when reference
is made to the place the speaker
has in mind the large Rock Island
shops located at that point. Blu;
let it be said right here, that Silvis
proper takes in far more than the
railroad shops, important as they
| may be; for we have here one OF
the finest little> railroad commu IL
ties that can be found on this II
! any other, road.
Silvis is typical railroad town
in every sense of the word ard we
use the term in its most modern ap-
plication. Eighteen years ago the
place was unheard of and the tract
OF land now within the city and
shop limits was nothing more than
| a Mississippi valley melon patch
But the location and site were
ideal, and when in search for suit
| able grounds this was the place
i chosen by the Rock Island railroad
to erect new shops And almost
| simultaneously with the building OF
the shops, began the growth of the
little city of Silvis. And what an
ideal site for a city, there on the
side of the hill and in the midst OF
| a natural forest From the very
| beginning this little railroad town
| became known for its remarkable
community spirit, and it could be
seen at a glance that it was to be-
mere tenants. In fact the "own
your home" spirit found its way into
| the hearts and minds of the citi-
zens from the very beginning.
Civic Pride High.
And this same spirit has con-
tinued to grow until a recent sur
vey showed that more than rs pei
cent of the residents own their
homes. The writer was recently
speaking to one of the citizens who
in the course of his remarks said
that next pay day will be one OF
the happiest days of his life, fol
then l and my good wife will make
the final payment on our little
home" And this mans experience
is practically the experience of al
who own their homes in the city Il
Silvis. And as the new corners
move into the city they, too, seen
to catch the spirit.
| With the building of their homes
| came the desire to improve and
beautify the city, and movements &c
that effect began at once. In theiI
search for a good water supplS
they were successful in tapping an
artesian we'll which gives to the
/
very best water that can be found
anywhere, and far superior to thai
found in any of the neighboring
| cities. This called for a water
| works system and the town began
at once to install plant that was
not only complete, but strictly Up,
/ to-date. Then followed the ques-
| ton of sanitation. There was only
one answer and that-a modern
sewer system which would comply
with the laws of the state. Bids
were submitted, the contract let
and ere long Silvis was we'll pro
vided for along this line. Then
| followed the electric lights, giving
| the city service second to none.
And before the electric light sys-
| tenn was thoroughly installed they
began to pipe the city for arti-
| fetal gas. All of this proves that
| the authorities were anxious tc
give the city the very best thai
could be had in the way of mod
ern improvements. Nothing was
| too good for Silvis.
Early in the history of the city
| the question of concrete sidewalks
and paved streets presented itself
and with a determination that i'm
provements must keep abreast oi
! the times, the council worked out
| a plan which enabled the city to get
/ this work under Roadway at a very
early date, continuing it from veal
| to year until now it has three miles
of paved streets and five miles Of
concrete sidewalk. One mile O.
the paving was done last year a
a cost of $50 900 and two miles Of
| sidewalk at the cost of $4,000. In
deed, the policy of the citizens o.
this thriving little railroad towr
was that, to recognize a need was
| to assume responsibility
/ failure was word foreign to theil
| language. This was evidenced by
| the public spirit shown along al
| lines.
The schools were good to begiI
with, but at that they have beer
| improved from year to year unit