The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-01-27
A CRYING NEED.
Enormous Struggling Crowds
at the Pure Food Show
Prove That Topeka Can Not Do
Without
A BIG AUDITORIUM.
A Hall That Will Hold 5000
People Needed.
A Fund Should Be Started at
Once
TO PUT UP AN EDIFICE
That Will Accommodate the
Hundreds of Assemblages
That Would Flock to Topeka
From All Over the U. s.
If We Had Accommodations
For Them.
TO PUT UP AN EDIFICE
That Will Accommodate the
Hundreds of AssemblageS
That Would Flock to Topeka
From All Over the U. s.
If We Had Accommodations
For Them.

One thing proven Gas it has been
proven many tiEnes) by the enormous
crowd at the Pure Food show last night
is that Topeka MUST have an auditO-
rum or coliseum big enough for large
public affairs. Thousands of people
struggled and fought last night to get
into Hamilton hall, and then struggled
to get out. There was considerable
danger of panic, but details of police
men and firemen succeeded in handling
the throng and preventing any serious
results.
We will go on holding big entertain
ments, shows and meetings in made
quate halls and buildings until one of
these days there will be fire or a
panic, and scores, perhaps hundreds, of
our citizens will be killed. Then we
will see how dearly we have paid for
our negligence in not providing better
means for great assemblages of peo-
pie.
Topeka is a city where these assem-
blages are frequent. Scarcely a fort
night passes throughout the year that
there is not great meeting or conven-
ton in Topeka. We have more affairs
of this kind than Omaha or Kansas
city, which are three times as large in
population. Topeka is a great gath
6f1nS place Tor the people OF Kansas,
and national meetings come here at the.
rate of five or six every year. If we
had an auditorium OF sufficient capacity
the number of these national meetings
would be doubled or trebled. The mon
etary value OF this to our merchants
and to the city in general can scarcely
be estimated. Besides the mere cash
it leaves in the city, it also brings
thousands of strangers here who are
thus given an opportunity to see our
city and take note of it's advantages as
a place to locate. No more beautiful
city exists in the United States. 1t is
progressive, cultured and business-Iike,
and this fact is impressed on all visit
Ors; consequently the more visitors we
have the faster our population is likely
to grow.
All that the average go-ahead mer-
chant asks is to get the people into his
store; if he can get them in, he will see
to it that he sells goods to them So
all that Topeka asks is to get people to
visit her. We will see that they locate
and invest.
An auditorium would do more actual
good to this city than a million pamph-
let's scattered over the east or two or
three MILLION CLUBS" The au-
ditOrium, with the conventions that
would follow, would bring more people
to Topeka than all the tracts, pamph-
let's and that class of advertising could
A suggestion has been made that if
there is any surplus money after the
Pure Food show is over, it be made the
nucleus of a fund to build an auditorium
such as Topeka needs. Even if the
sum is small it will be starter" En-
tertainments can be given from time to
time to increase il. Public spirited cit
liens ought to help with their time and
money. If a few hundred. people can
build a church costing $4,000, certainly
10000 Topeka people ought to scrape to-
Eether half as much for an auditorium
The structure should not be too small
It should seat at least 900 persons, and
the floor should be level, so that it could
be used for expositions and shows of
various kinds. Next to the bridge
that is now building, an auditorium is
the greatest necessity that Topeka
feels.
We must have one
Let the Topeka Commercial club or
some special organization of Topeka
citizens take hold of it; and let them
take hold with a determination not to
drop it. If we can't pay for it any
other way, let US organize a series of
shows fairs, concerts and giant enter
tainments to raise the money.
We can have the auditorium if we
only want it bad enough; and the
scenes at Hamilton hall show that we
need it badly enough.