The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-02-13
THE PEOPLE TO SPEAK.
City Council Will Submit the
Auditorium Proposition
To the People, Soon as Legisla-
ture Clears the Way.
The Coal Hole Money to be Used-An
Enthusiastic Meeting Held at
the Council Chamber
80. Last Night

The city council met in special session
last evening to consider the auditorium
question. The meeting had been called
by Mayor Fellows on request of a COM
| mittee from the Commercial club. Seven
of the ten councilmen were present
} Councilmen Warner, Drew and Burgess
| being absent.
The council chamber was filled, there
| being a large attendance of interested
citizens. Everybody seems to want an
| auditorium. But few oppose the idea
| of turning the coal hole fund into
auditorium fund. But had it not been
| for the presence of Edward Wilder the
| tangle which the councilmen got them
| selves into might not have been unrav-
| eled at the meeting last night AS
| might be supposed, the question before
the meeting last night was largely legal
| in its character. City Attorney Bird
handed down opinions lin bulk" and
the council wrestled with them manful-
ly and patiently like the obliging gen
tlemen they are. Finally the legal dis
| cusSion was cleared up and the question
settled: Topeka will have an auditor
ium. 1t is no longer an air castle.
When the council meeting was called
to order the call was read and the dis
cussion of the project began Mayor
FelloWs explained the object of the
meeting and stated that a committee of
the Commercial club was present and
would explain their request
Mr. samuel T. Howe, chairman of the
was called upon. He said:
The sentiment of people generally is
IN favor of this I've talked with
number of prominent men about the
auditorium and they seem to be heart
| lily in favor of it -
Councilman Nettels-I want to ask the
city attorney if the council can turn
this coal hole fund into an auditorium?
City Attorney Bird-The coal hole
fund was made by issuing bonds The
legislature made a specific act for the
| ponds, / will
an act of the legislature now to trans
fer the money and to submit it to the
people.
G. c. Baker, wish to say that I
think this money ought to be put into
an auditorium. If the money is nut in
70 the general fund it will merely be a
drop in the bucket. Some of the most
influential men of the city think this
money should be used this way The
; commercial club passed unanimously
resolutions that the money be spent
this way, and think it represents the
= people thoroughly.
, Major T: J. Anderson think I have
done my share to make Topeka a town
1 think the great need of the city at
TINS time is an auditorium. We have no
. large manufacturing business here and
we must attend to this matter. An aud
1tOrlum is as essential to the city as the
Kansas avenue bridge. We have to en-
terrain the people when they come here.
Every political convention held here
leaves thousands of dollars here. 1t
would be pretty hard to build an audi
| ENTERPRISE
: Hutchinson is bidding for conventions.
and Wichita is finishing up a commod-
= 1ous auditorium. We must do some
r thing to hold our conventions Musical
: festivals could be held here and no
other city in the state could compete
with Topeka.
: Eric Nystrom, who holds small job
: at the state house, was opposed to the
project. He addressed the council as
! follows:
I am opposed to this auditorium
~ III
think you ought to take that money
/, ana put 1t into park where the people
can have some benefit from it. An
| auditorium wouldn't be used more than
twice year. Fix the park up and give
| the poor people a chance to work and
earn money. am opposed to this au-
| ditorium''
Nystrom's remarks were greeted with
DEAD silence. Evidently nobody was on
Edward Wilder-I feel much interest
in this auditorium idea 1t seems to me
best to get the necessary authority from
the legislature. bill can be submitted
to the legislature allowing this question
to be submitted to our people, First step
is to get the legislature to submit this
l can't see how anybody can oppose
this An auditorium will bring MANY
things to Topeka which would never
have been thought of before. 1t is worth
the effort.
Michael Heery-I have figured on this
auditorium. L find that it will cost at
least $4,000 to put up a building which
will last. The lots will cost extra. IT
IS Well to know this at first. I am one
of these people that thinks that our
taxes are too high. believe we should
retrench.
A. K. Rodgers-If it is the wish of
your constituents that this auditorium
be built then this question should be
submitted to the people. Now Gentle
men of the Counsel, let this be sub
m1tted to the people. BY submitting it
the question is answered satisfactorily
to everybody
Harrison Clarkson-We must have
the auditorium in the future we will
suffer loss. We've got railroad connec
tons and street car connections We
don't want the grounds to be merely
15Ox15O- We want room all around it
And more, I want to see a market house
in connection with the building. We
ought to have place where the farm
erS can bring their provisions in town
early in the morning and the people can
go there and buy their truck The
market could be thoroughly cleaned ev-
cry morning by 10 o'clock There is no
/; necessity for making it a butcher shop
for all day. But we Must have an au-
ditorium, and it must be a large one,
too.
Councilman Nettels brought the dis
cussion to point by the Introduction of
the following resolution:
Resolved, That the city attorney be
and is hereby requested to prepare and
our representatives in the legislature to
Introduce and use all honorable efforts
to secure the passage of a bill author
izing the mayor and council of the civ
of Topeka to submit to the qualified
electors of the city at the April, 1897
election, a proposition to appropriate
and expend the sum of $4,000 to aid in
the purchase of site and the erection
of suitable building thereon for the
use of large public gatherings, which
site and building shall be the property
| of the city,
! This developed a lively discussion
Councilman Skinner offered as an
amendment to the resolution changing
the qualified electors to real estate