Wichita eagle., 1890-02-27
SOME ROCKY STATEMENTS.

For the Daily Eagle:
! While we are working and giving in Or
der to secure and build I'D new industries
would it not be business policy, as well as
fairness and justice, to recognize,
when we can do so, some who are
here? This question was suggested to the
writer by the fact that hard fight is just
now being made on one of our prominent
contractors and two of our heaviest tax
PAYERS. Last fall when the Barber Asphalt
company was given the contract for paving
Market street Martinson & Mclean were
induced to go to the expense of putting in
a crusher at their Towanda quarry and
were then given the contract for furnish
ing the crushed rock that forms the base
of the asphalt pavement. Notwithstand-
ing the fact that this is the same stone
used in the Y. NJ. c. A. building, the Dold
and Whitaker buildings and dozens of
three and four story buildings on Main
and Douglas, strenuous effort is now
being made to utterly ignore home men,
who pay taxes here and hire home men
who secure supplies from our dealers.
Practically every dollar paid out to Mar
tinson & MCLEAN for the Towanda
stone remains here. Every dollar paid to
the men who represent the Alma or Marion
quarries goes up to the regions of Holy
Topeka" A careful and thorough exam
ination of this subject will convince any
sane man that this is purely business sui
eide. Martinson & MCLEAN have never
failed to respond, and respond literally,
when called on to assist IN any enterprise
of public benefit to this city. Otto Mar
tinson, alone, has given thousands of dol
lars for Wichita. They now come before
the Barber Asphalt" people and ask the
privilege of being allowed 10 furnish this
material. They are men of established
honesty, and known to be perfectly re-
liable.
When first Intercepted by the writer
about the matter representative of the
asphalt people said emphaticallv that they
were perfectly satisfied with the home
stone but that there was opposition to the
home stone somewhere in the city admin
istration.
Now the argument is used that
somewhere about Topeka there Is
found a harder and better stone
We believe that any sensible man who
will take the trouble to investigate will at
once say that the Martinson s. McCiean
stone is beyond any question strong enough
and hard enough for the above purpose
The compressiv9 strength OF ordinary
limestone is given as 625 tons TO the square
foot. That of such cements as the Port
land liz tons to the square foot. making
the stone more than five times as strong as
the cement. The concrete foundation is
simply as strong and no stronger than its
weakest point, consequently the stone,
which is five times stronger At least than
the cement, Is strong enough. In the
yards on Wichita and Second streets is
found some samples of rejected rock SIM
liar in quality to the hlnty rock from
Alma which is crumbiing to pieces by the
action of the heat, cold and ram. The To-
wanda stone in tue \. VI. {. 4 and other
buildings has been tested and found relia-
bic The city engineer is on record as en-
dorsing the home stone.
The Barber company can OF course re-
fnse TO recognize our home contractors
but they Will have 70 face this statement
when asking property owners for other
con racts. \. II. REED