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THE ARGUS. WEDNESDAY, MAY 8. 1907. THE ARGUS. Published Daily and Weekly at 1624 Second avenue, Rock Island, II L En tered at the postoffice aa econd-c'ass tatter. By THE J. W. POTTER CO. TERMS Dally. 10 centa per week. Weekly, U per year In advance. All communlcationa of argumentative character, political or religious, must have real name attached for publica tion. No auch articles will e printed over fictitious signatures. Correspondence solicited from every township In Rock Island county. rented by Baron Speck Von Stcrnburg the German ambassador. Wednesday, May 8, 1907. Rock Island A City of Earnest Pur p o s e and Honest Val ue : : : : Iiooht lor KM'k Islaiitl. Fifty of the representative citizens of Itock Island, business men, commer cial men, professional men, manufact urers and others, took hold of the pro ject to boom Uock Island. at a meeting at the Rock Island Club last night in a manner that is bound to bear abun dant fruit. Following up the meeting at the same place last summer which gave impetus to the formation of the industrial commission which through the efforts of its members and the par ticularly through the untiring labors of its industrial secretary Mayer Levi has already landed two new factories which are in prosperous operation in Uock Island, t lie gathering of last eve ning determined to back up the wo'-k of the industrial commission to tin: fullest extent to make Uock Island : great industrial center. In a word the substantial men of the city decided 'o go out into the world of competition for industries and bid for more factor ies, not only small ones but big ones. It was determined to raise a fund cf $1110,000 for tilts purpose. Adopting ;; plan which when crystalizetl by the in dustrial commission, will afford evety inllcss of hi- Ilix-W iMlaml l.i a rlly of nirnent iuriHc nuii holi sm viiluc. I.oi-ii-l-l in I lie lilUv of I lir MIk"ImnIiiI ill n y ! ren m. i.i.ul nml M. citizen of Uock Island it I'ii ill, lilriiK" nnil J resources OmiiiIiii nml Kn-.to share nntiirr, Ki-iuriililiiill.v, i-oniiiii-r-iiill . ami Iniliislrliilly. I lit- k" '"" of llii trNt, mirllmcMl unit mini hnrnl. I'nvor ril by Miliilllliui on I In- l-iilil ill I liv nioulli nt Ihr lli-lim-plu rlliinl, loiiiu-i-t-liiK river null litkr. it Iiiim llif inltlitiituul nilt iiii(iiki-h "I the nut iu lino of I he Hoik ImIiiiiiI railroml. lliree hrnm-hex npring; Iiik from I lie nlrin nt III in iolnl to I lie norllmesl iiuil fur nouIIimi-mI, r hlle I lie main line koch nu lo I lie I'neilles I lie 3lilwuuk--N Klin mhm City line, nml the lliirliiiKlouM St, l.ouln unil St. I'mil line with ilirei-t roinuiunlenllon vtilh I'eorin nml Spriiiii flelil. II lin lliree in ti-rtirlmii uniler nil)'. It Iihm inileM of pnveil MlreelM, lirnutlful inrk, inelmliiiK the lilHlnrie lllnek llnnk'n Wnti-li Tower, liiiuilinie ehurelien, n V. M. . A. In Hi 1 1 ur. moil rrn mi-IiiioI linililinK". u i-iiHene nnil a neiiilnlirv, flouri.iliiiiK fnrlorli'M mill free ultra for more. It Iiiih three Ilrt -I;inm hoteln. three thenlerN, nml n iiiimIi-I m.vm lein of rnpiil transit. It Iiiin mIx nuli- tnnllul liankn. up-lo-lnle lu;liu-.is liltM-ka nnil three more in eon rue of rreetion, Inimeime aleiiiirlinent HloreM nnil hnnilreil.H of other hrnnelien of mer cnntlle puraultn. It I the Inenlion of the Itnek lnlnnil nrneniil, the treiilent In the vtorlil. It Iikn the henil oHIeeM of the Modern Woodmen of inerirn. the Inrcent fraternal xoi-lely In the wnrlil. Iiouieil In n ninirler of n nilHiiin ilollar fireproof hullilinK. It publle lmililinu nre n nunrler of n million ilollnr eonrl lioime, n city hull, n poNtnftice hiillilini: In which nre the nlHcc of the ivrrii mrnl enulneer corp in chnrice of upper MIrhImmIppI improvements. It linn 2.", IMMI popnlntlnn, II hnn nn liiiluxtrl.-il eoinmlnnion Hint In liooMlinu: Ilie Inun nlnnic leuliimnle nnil militant lal linen nnil everylioily In lielpinic. of income, opportunitx in i lie great untie- miin t it . it i by taking and become just as much a iacior as me man w no gives thousands, those indent ified with th. movement felt confident that they could rely upon the cooperation of tlio )eoi)lo who have responded so mag nificently in the past. They remem ber the Columbian park proposition 1:1 which Hock Island joined with Moline a dozen of years ago on the conditio:i that each city was to raise $50,oihi, an i that Hock island quickly came up with its half and then went $25,000 more while Moline fell short of a quarter oi the amount and hence caused flu; failure of the undertaking. They re member how quickly the people Hock Island raised what was necessary to built a new theater on the subscrip tion plan. They recall how Rock I.; land went to the front to land th..? Woodman head office, and they remem ber numerous other instances in which the patriotic spirit of Hock Island h;u found response in the hearts of tin people when appealed to do for the n t building of the city. There will be no falling down on th : $100,000 proposition. The two great factories whose coming to Ko Island with employment for 1.000 pe pie is contingent upon the raising of Ti large part of this amount might just as well be notified now to prepare 'n make the move. Hock Island will make good. It always has and always will. What Hock Island has doiv Hock Island will do again. What anv other city can do. so can Uock Island. This is a city built upon the prin ciple of substantial progress. It is it y of honest value. It owes its stand ing to not any particular portion of the people, but to what all the people have done. And all the people are to be given in opportunity to boost for Hock T.v and. Boost for Rock Island. Boost, everybody boost. Stick to your town, earth. Ifs the best nt. If you can't Imost. don't knock, you can't lift, don't lean. It- Boost for Rock Island, ('out ribu'.f to the $100,0110 new factory fund. A month ago, following the election The Argus sounded th" slogan "bad; to business boost for Hock Island." The people have responded. A Russian physician is authority for Ihe statement that riding on cow catchers of trains will cure consump tion. All you have to do is to stand in front of an oncoming train and try to lion on when it gets near you. If you miss, you're cured. Professor O. C. Kdwards of the Uni versity of California has been granted a year's absence and will soon start on a tour of the world. He has served 34 years at the university, and it is owing to the fact that his health has rot been up to the standard in the last few years that he has decided on the year's leave. It has remained for Professor Louns bury in the current Atlantic to summar ize In a sentence the popular objec tions to spelling reform: "We simply like the spelling to which we are ac customed." Sentiment and old asso ciations are the main bulwarks of the existing orthography. What was good enough for our fathers in the little red school house is good enough for us. The state of New Hampshire will be the headquarters during the coming summer of two of the important fo cign embassies, namely, the British am' German. Ambassador James Bryce ha leased Stonehurst. the intervale estate of Rev. Daniel C. Merriman of Wor cester, Mass., for the summer quarter.? of hi embassy, while the Edward Frothingham estate In Dublin has beeu DAILY, STORY A CONVICT'S SCHEME. The .Automatic Farmer. From the Washington department, of agriculture has issued a bulletin on Corn Harvesting Machinery," which is intended to tnrow ugiu. on uie new methods for handling the corn crop of the country. It is apparent from the revelations in this bulletin that there is no longer much romance in the business of corn raising. The day;; of hoeing corn an-1 of husking by hand are rapidly pass ing. The old-fashioned husking bee is becoming lost in the mist, of tradition. This being a practical age, when inven tion is rife, new methods and ingenious machinery are rapidly supplanting the old ways of handling the corn crop. A few of tin- machines described in the bulletin are the corn harvester, corn binder, corn harvester and shock er, corn picking machine, and corn shredder. Handling a corn crop with tht.' aid of such machines is as little like handling it in the old ways as can be imagined. The invention of harvesting inacbin cry is becoming the more important iu view of the growing scarcity of desira ble labor on the farms. The value of the corn crop of the country is not generally understood. At present one-fifth of tho area in im proved land in the United States, one third the area in crops of all kinds ex cept pasture, and one-half of the area in cereal crops, is devoted to corn. While 35 per cent of the farmers of the United States raised wheat in 1S0 S2 per cent raised corn. The combined yield of wheat, oats, rye, barley and buckwheat in the United States amounted in nmj to 1.073.005,330 bush els, and the acreage was 79.fi4!,720 these figures equaling two-thirds of the yield and four-fifths of the acreage of the corn crop. The farm value of the corn crop for 1901 was $1,087,461,410. while on ihe combined value of the other crops men tioned was $X77.12n,7S5, or only SO per cent of the value of the corn crop. In 1905 the yield of the corn crop was 2.708.000.000 bushels and the value $1,-llC.700.0oo. Copyright. l'.KC. by '. C. Kastment. A rich man coveted a certain piece of ground belonging to a pijor man. lis wanted the land to get the poor man! out of bis -neighborhood. Tho poor man refused to sell, and in his auger and chagrin the rich man made :i fc-l'-nir!is assault. This was squarely proved, and, although with his money he made a great fight of it, bo was sent to our prison for two years. If be ha-1 come like other prisoners, it would have been better for him. but lie cam? in a defiant spirit, began kicking at once and in a day almost had all the officials down on blm. When Ijp refus ed to work or abide by tho rules and regulations, he was punished, and ther? was war between him and the warde:i for long months. There was sufficient outside influence to secure bis pardon after fourteen months, and the man left the prison vowing vengeance. He determined to get revenge for what be called bis indignities. In pris on be had but one friend, and that wai the doctor. He made friends with tun doctor because be lent the latter mou ey. It was no secret iu the prison that the doctor was given to drink. TUerj were occasions when lie was drunk for two or throe days at a time. As a rule, such a man would soon have been fired, but in this case be was a friend of the governor of the state ami had a ' political pirtl. When too much under tho influence, of drink to attend to busi ness, bis place was taken temporarily by a doctor from town. We pot t know this substitute, of course, and b? was allowed to pass everywhere, th same as the regular man. It was on this substitute that the rich man work- ' ed iifter his release. Tho town doctor i was in pecuniary difficulties and wa s J offered $5,000 to carry certain plan' . through. What be did was to wor';; ' upon the weakness of the prison doc-1 tor and keep him drunk more than half the time for three months. Noir of us bad the least suspicion that any thing wrong was going on. Convict were treated in tho hospital, in their cells, and the substitute made sanitary 1 Inspection of the kitchen and other dc- 1 part incuts. He made friends with turnkeys and with prisoners and was , voted a -good fellow. It took him three mouths to perfect his plans, and but for a little slip h' i would have brought tilKiut tho bigges: i mutiny and the greatest prison deliv- j ery on record. We then had in tht prison over MM convicts, and nearly loo were lifers. Among tho others were robbers, burglars and generally desperate characters men who would not hesitate a moment to take life t get beyond tho bars. We were short bunded, and every official had to exer cise the utmost vigilance. One day in the chair shop I pulled a careless pris oner back from a saw that would liavi certainly inflicted a fatal injury. It: return for this when he had recovered from bis scare ho asked to speak ,'i few words to me in private that night. I managed it so that ho was taken from bis cell and br-mcrht to mv room. I tlid not anticipate that the Interview would amount to much. In any prison there are always a certain unrulier o'" convicts looking to give something away for their own betterment, and their information is seldom worth heeding. This man bad not boon talking to me five minutes when I felt my half trying to stand on end. The substi tute d-ietor had not only had false keys made to the several wickers, bai had planned a general outbreak with the convicts. No ono sinsrlo onviet hail lieen left out. Those who had nf: first refused to join were forced in bj being told that they would bo killed. The revolt was to take place nex; morning tho men rose from the breakfast tables to march into the yards and to tho shops. Fifty revolv ers had boon smuggled in for tho con victs, and the leader was a high way- robber under a long sentence. Th o(li dais were to bo shot down or locked up. the convicts were to resume the citizen clothing stored awav. and what. loot could Ik found was to be evenly divided. The prison was then to b( fired and the ooo men to scatter. Onor In possession of tho particulars, you cn! believe I lost no time In noti fying the warden. Ho in turn bestirred himself. The convicts had been locked In for the night. A guard of four men visited the cells In rotation, and they not only found the revolvers, but a great manv other weapons. The rule of the prison was to search every cell every third day. but this had beeu neg lected, and the substitute doctor knew that it bad. The convicts realized at once that the plot had been betrayed, and from tbav moment to daylight next morning there were yelling, screaming and cursing. There was no getting out of their cells, but they made the night hideous anr acted like so many wild beasts. Their cells were not unlocked next morning, and neither did one of them have a mouthful to eat. As a matter of fact, they were kept under lock and key ant without either food or water for forty hours before they gave in. Then they became humble, and order was re stored. Even the leader of the plot was willing to answer all questions, and we soon had all the details, but it was too late to catch the town doctor. He had taken the alarm and fled. The prison doctor sobered up sutlicienlly to try to bluff It out, but his place was vacant after three days. The man who betrayed the plot had to be taken from among the prisoners to save bis life, us suspicion at once attached to him. ami a mouth later the governor pardoned! Every-day. The importance of soda crackers as an article of daily consumption can hardly be overestimated. No other wheat food contains such nutritive values in correct pro portions. This is only true of Uneeda Biscuit the ideal soda cracker. As fresh on your table as from the oven. Crisp, clean and appetizing. In moisture proof packages. NATIONAL BISCUIT COMPANY. 0 CGOGGGGCKK5OGiXiOO30GGG 1 FACTS AND FIGURES g Touching the Rock Island Tropical g Plantation Company. B The company holds clear title to 12.00(1 acres of hardwood timber. This timber before it was purchas ed was found to contain more than 120 trees to the acre where it ap peared to be of average and uniform density. These trees wiil average over 2. ooo feet of lumber per tree, which will amount to 210,ooo feet per acre, or a total of 2,soo,ooo ono feet. BUT SUPPOSE That ii will average only one-fourth of this amount; that will still mean CO.ooo feci per acre, or a total pro portion of more than 7oo.ono.tHhi feet. This lumber includes a large? proportion of such woods as ma hogany, zapote, chicle, Spanish ce llar, parpie, and many other equally valuable varieties, some of them selling in the American market at $250 per thousand. I: sells at the railroad in Mexico at $00 to $100 per thousand, or an average at American railroad mar kets at $2(10 per thousand. NOW SUPPOSE That the cost of cuiting, milling and marketing this lumber will amount' to $:!o per thousand. Thai will leave an average profit of $."i0 per thous and. BUT SUPPOSE That only one-half of this can be realized. There will still be a net profit of $2:! per thousand, which, multiplied by 7oo.ooo, gives a total profit of $17.roo.oif0. This means a net profit of $1,--l."S.:;;! on every ibare of stock in the company, without even taking into account the consnleratiie sums of money which may be realized from the sale of dye-woods, medic inal plants, wild rubber, and other gums abounding in the forest. BUT SUPPOSE AGAIN That only one-half of this can be realized; what then? One share of stock is worth $200 par value. One-half of $l.l."is.:;;i is $72',.1t;, or more than three times the par value of the stock. NOW SUPPOSE That it will require 10 years lo get this lumber out; this will still mean an annual average dividend of $72. !H per share, or per cmt tin the par value of the slock. In Ihe meantime the land will be planted to rubber, etc. Hide crops will bt! cultivated, which will ma terially increase the dividends. Oth er companies, capitalized at from $:'.on to $."00 per acre, have 'paid from ."i to 21 per cent annual tlivi lcnds from such side crops alone. BUT, FURTHER. A developed rubber plantation i? worth more than $l,ooo per acre. that price having been offered for a plantation almost adjoining our laud but the offer was rejected. Thus, while drawing those dividends, your capital has increased 5on iter cent. NOW THEN. We are offering a limited amount of our stock for sale at a liberal dis count for cash, and if you w ill eom in iit once, vour investment will be even better than these figures would ' indicate. TO SUM THE MATTER UP. We have 2,Soo.ooo.imio feet of bun-, her in sight. To quiet your doubts, we call it only one-fourth of this, or 7oo.iMiu.iioo feet. This should net us ,r;o per thousand, or $:tr,,noo,ti(n. We cut this estimate down to one half of that, or $17.r,0o.ouo. This gives us a profit of $l.ir.S.;;:: on each and every share of stock, which looks so large that we cut it in two and make it $72'..10 per share, ami still, basing our estimate en the proceeds from 1-1(1 of the visible re sources, our average annual divi dends will amount to T.tlVj per cent of tho par value of our stock, even if every share were issued and out standing. BUT HERE IS ANOTHRER POINT. Only a small proportion of our stock h;ts been sold, and it is mote likely that we will never need to sell more than one-half of our stock. This will not only double our divi dends, but double our holdings as well, since the unsold stock will be issued as stock dividends. DOES IT PAY TO INVEST? How have the rich become rich? Not through hard labor and patient saving no, siree but through judi cious investments. Through in vest men is that have seemed too obscure to the uninformed, but which have offered enormous possibilities to those who possess the knowledge ami tho courage to take advantage of Ihe opportunity as it presented itself. HERE IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY. The proposition may seem new to you; but. remember, the hunter who merely follows the beaten paths is not apt to find any game. Call at once, or address: 8 8 R.OCK ISLAND TWO COMPLETE PERFORMANCES. FRIDAY. MAY 10. Gollmar Bros' GREATEST OF AMERICAN .THE. somersault Shows Now the lliggest and the HesJ. Three llig Rings and Elevated Stages. Monster Double Menag erie. The Glorious, Gorgeous, Glit tering Spectacle, The Queen's Birthday A Triumph of Exhibit ional Skill. 'Joo l'eople iu the Ensemble. 2 Grand Corps du Ballet 2 Free Street Parade at 10 a. m. Rock Island, Friday, May 10 CCOQQQQOCCQQC&QOQQQQOQOfX&QCQQQQQQQQOQQQQQOCQQQQOQOQ C Values in O E OUR COMPLETE NEW SPRING LINE, COMPRISING THE NEWEST AND SNAPPIEST DESIGNS ON THE MARKET, AT PRICES LOWER THAN HAVE EVER BEEN OFFERED. WE SHOW AN ASSORTMENT AT ALL PRICES, AND WE GUARANTEE TO SAVE YOU MONEY ON ANY ONE PAIR YOU MAY BUY IN OUR LINE OF Ladies Misses and Children's Men's Boys and Youths' SHOES or OXFORDS We can save yon 25c or otic n pair on an.M'ning you buy from us. Our ladies and gent's $2.) shoes equal any other's shoes at they are all solid leather, good lookers, good litters, ami good wearers. 1'oys' shoes that can't be beat for wear. Our children's slipper line is complete . TRY US FOR GOOD SHOES. p ROCK ISLAND TROPICAL PLANTATION CO. 302 Bengston Block, Rock Island, 111. Fress Dispatch: Four sons at once, St. Paul. Oct. 5th. 190C. A special from Mondovi says, "Mrs. Jno. Silverson gave birth to four boys." She's evi dently a great friend of Hollister's Rocky Mountain Tea. cents. Tea or him and gave him money to reach a Tablets. Harper House pharmacy. Sia.taut state. M. Q I' AD. chmaSe Rock Island MO 1605 Second Avenue. OFPOSITE ILLINOIS THEATER. 6OOGGOGOGCXX5C John Koch Brand 9f Single Tvibe Tires Ride a R.acycle And be hcppy Are the best the mar ket affords in Value for the Money. For Sale at the old reliable store THE John Koch Market Square. ROCK ISLAND. DO YOU WANT A DRY BUILDING? YOU SAVE FURRING AND LATHING BY PLASTERING DIRECT LY ON THE BLOCKS. DRYNESS GUARANTEED. GOOD BLOCKS SAVE YOU MONEY. This is the only true concrete two-niec block. Vertical LET US FIG- and horizontal air space. fe-- A URE ON YOUR HOUSE OR FACTORY. TRI-CITY CEMENT PRODUCTS COMPANY J. G. CRONKITE, Mitchell & Lynde Bldg. Rock Island, III. Phone, West 446. GUSTAV BLANKENBURG, Contractor and Builder. For first-class workmanship and fair estimates call or address 817 29th Street. Phone 5988